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Urbasofia

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URBASOFIA is a town and regional planning company created in October 2011. Come visit - http://www.urbasofia.eu/index.php/en/

URBASOFIA is currently focusing on design, management and implementation of 2014-2020 territorial cooperation, territorial cohesion related instruments and programmes. Specifically, we are designing for:

Initiatives related to Romanian POR, POCU, PNDR
HORIZON 2020
INTERREG Programmes (Europe, Danube, SEE, Adrion)
URBACT and URBAN INNOVATIVE ACTIONS
ENI Black Sea and ENI MED Programmes
Romania Moldova Territorial Cooperation

16/10/2026

🌍 Different cities. Shared challenges. New perspectives.

From 7–9 October, the URBASOFIA team participated in the Emerging Communities Forum 2026 in Istanbul, proudly joining the event as one of its official sponsors.

Three days of inspiring conversations, urban stories, and knowledge exchange with professionals, researchers, and city representatives from across the world.

We particularly appreciated the Forum’s global openness and its emphasis on learning from different contexts, experiences, and perspectives.

And what better setting than Istanbul? A city that has long brought together people, cultures, and ideas, even across political and geographical divides. A fitting place for discussions among friends about the future of our cities.

For us, the key takeaway is simple: harnessing and sharing knowledge is essential to shaping better urban futures.

We were glad to contribute, listen, learn, and connect!
A big thank you to the IUPF and ITU CURE teams, the organisers, speakers, and participants for making this exchange possible.

📸 A few moments from Istanbul.

🔜 Coming next: Insights from our two workshops on Mobility by Night and Boosting Rural Areas’ Sustainable Competitiveness.

29/09/2026

How do cities turn political will into structured, lasting cooperation between education, employers and public authorities? That question drove the European Urban Initiative CARE-GET Transfer City Visit in Druskininkai, Lithuania (24-25 September), where URBASOFIA led the WP6 thematic workshop on skills and industry collaboration.

The visit opened in Druskininkai's health and wellness ecosystem, from its resort, medical and rehabilitation infrastructure to the Dineika Wellness Park, a living model of a place-based wellbeing economy. From there, we shared the WP6 Collaborative Working Methodology: the quadruple helix, a repeatable cycle of evidence, co-design, validation and feedback, and four meeting formats a city can actually run. Haskovo Municipality, the project's lead city and Main Urban Authority, made it concrete with two working examples: the Growth Catalyst Coalition and its inclusive Support Group meeting.

Then, in the hands-on "Your Local Skills Lab" with European Urban Initiative Transfer Expert Sandra Rainero, Druskininkai, Komotini - City for All and Siena each mapped their ecosystem, named the missing link, and designed a first coordination meeting to get cooperation moving.

The takeaway: the real barrier is rarely funding. It's coordination. Build the mechanism before you scale.

Thanks to the Druskininkų savivaldybė for hosting, and to all our CARE-GET partners. The work continues online on 4 November.

Alexandra Zlotea Miruna Draghia Adelin Lazăr

16/09/2026

Last week, URBASOFIA joined the WOODCIRCLES event in Tartu, Estonia, where the project’s Travelling Demonstrator was presented in its first full installation at the Estonian National Museum.

The demonstrator brings WOODCIRCLES’ research in practice, showing how timber buildings can be designed not for a single use, but for multiple lives. The structure combines modular mass-timber components and recovered timber through reversible connections and Design for Assembly and Disassembly. It can be assembled, dismantled, and reconfigured, demonstrating how buildings can function as material banks and keep valuable timber resources in circulation for longer.

During the Tartu event, URBASOFIA led the implementation of co-designed activities aimed at reaching different targets of local stakeholders, ranging from sector professionals to students and the general public. This was achieved through a series of interactive activities, including a 'Walk and Talk' session with the technical partner explaining the elements of the prototype, a hands-on workshop for students led by ICONS and a final policy panel to discuss the potential of circular construction within the national and local policy framework for the city of Tartu.

And Tartu is only the beginning. 🌍
The journeys will continue to Turin and Rotterdam taking on a different configuration at each stop and generating practical knowledge about reuse, adaptability and circular construction along the way.

📷 Ph Marion Kade

11/09/2026

Highlights from the CAST SCOM meeting in Budva-Petrovac, Montenegro, where URBASOFIA, as SO2 Lead, brought together all 11 pilot partners for a progress check-in, and early ideas for accessible tourism offers started taking shape. Swipe through for the details.

Looking forward to the next milestones as CAST continues building lighthouse resilient communities through culture.

A big thank you to Urbani kult for the careful organisation, and to our Lead Partner Iskriva for their continued coordination.

Project

23/07/2026

Last week, our colleague Irina Alexandra Panait represented URBASOFIA at the Danube Festival in Ulm & Neu-Ulm, Germany — as part of our ongoing work as partner in ELEVATE, the Interreg Danube project on Age-Friendly Cities.

The programme offered a rare, hands-on look at age-friendly policy in practice: visits to the Generationentreff, the University of the Third Age at Ulm University, and an intergenerational housing project, alongside sessions on fall prevention and digital tools helping older adults stay independent at home. Three days of real-world inspiration for what we work on every day.

At the "Democracy Needs Everyone" conference on July 10th, Irina moderated Table 19: Democracy and Age — a roundtable on why social security is inseparable from democratic participation, and why older citizens belong at the centre of civic life, not at its margins.
Irina also presented the ELEVATE model during the afternoon working group session, showcasing how our transnational partnership is turning the age-friendly city concept into concrete tools, policies and practices across the Danube region.

We're proud to have URBASOFIA's voice in these conversations — and to be part of a network where research, local governance and civil society genuinely talk to each other.

23/07/2026

Last week, our colleague Irina Alexandra Panait represented Urbasofia at the Danube Festival in Ulm & Neu-Ulm, Germany — as part of our ongoing work as partner in Elevate project, the Danube Region Programme project on Age-Friendly Cities.

The programme offered a rare, hands-on look at age-friendly policy in practice: visits to the Generationentreff, the University of the Third Age at Ulm University, and an intergenerational housing project, alongside sessions on fall prevention and digital tools helping older adults stay independent at home. Three days of real-world inspiration for what we work on every day.

At the "Democracy Needs Everyone" conference on July 10th, Irina moderated Table 19: Democracy and Age — a roundtable on why social security is inseparable from democratic participation, and why older citizens belong at the centre of civic life, not at its margins.

Irina also presented the ELEVATE model during the afternoon working group session, showcasing how our transnational partnership is turning the age-friendly city concept into concrete tools, policies and practices across the Danube region.

We're proud to have URBASOFIA's voice in these conversations — and to be part of a network where research, local governance and civil society genuinely talk to each other.

03/07/2026

Pentru noi, proiectul URBREATH a fost o provocare frumoasă: cm putem pune în valoare patru terenuri aflate într-un țesut urban fragmentat, dar care beneficiază de un peisaj natural aparte datorită apropierii de malurile Someșului.

În luna iunie, cu sprijinul Primăria Cluj-Napoca și al echipei Rustic Construct Baia Mare, am instalat mobilierul urban pe care l-am proiectat pornind de la discuțiile cu comunitatea și de la conceptele dezvoltate de studenții de la USAMV Cluj-Napoca. Aceste intervenții reprezintă a doua etapă a transformării siturilor, după acțiunile de voluntariat prin care au fost plantați arbori, arbuști și graminee.

Sunt intervenții simple, care invită la observarea naturii, la întâlniri spontane, la un moment de repaus în ritmul cotidian. Din terenuri puțin utilizate, aceste spații devin locuri deschise pentru utilizări flexibile: o conversație cu vecinii, un picnic, câteva ore de lucru sau de studiu la umbră ori, pur și simplu, un loc unde să asculți susurul Someșului.

Mulțumim tuturor celor care au contribuit la acest proces: echipei de proiect, Primăriei Cluj-Napoca, studenților USAMV și tuturor colaboratorilor implicați.

22/06/2026

On June 21, 2026, Urbasofia represented the CityWalk project 2.0 project and Fair Mobility project at the national level during the New Urban Habits Festival, organized by UrbanizeHub in Bucharest. The festival brought together professionals from national and local public administrations, as well as experts in urban planning, architecture, sociology, and other related fields.

As part of the festival, URBASOFIA hosted the "Behaviour-Change Lab", an interactive workshop dedicated to behavioural change and sustainable urban mobility, building on the experience and outcomes of the projects CityWalk2.0 and Fair Mobility.

The exercise encouraged participants to better understand the diverse mobility needs of different user groups and highlighted the importance of integrating behavioural change into the transition towards sustainable mobility. By combining storytelling with practical problem-solving, the workshop invited participants to develop concrete, people-centred solutions for changing travel behaviour.

We were pleased to be joined by the CityWalk 2.0 project team from Satu Mare, who presented their pilot action, shared their experience as one of the project's pilot cities.

Let’s keep walking! 🚶‍♀️🌍

19/06/2026

From planning to implementation: CAST Project pilots take the next step in Chișinău

Urbasofia is taking part in the 5th CAST Steering Committee Meeting in Chișinău as leader of Specific Objective 2 (SO2), advancing resilient communities through participatory design and accessible culture.

During the CAST First Year Review, our colleague Miruna Draghia highlighted the project’s transition from planning to action. She showcased the framework we have developed to help pilots turn initial concepts into structured, realistic implementation roadmaps.

On the second day, URBASOFIA facilitated the Implementation Roadmap Workshop – From Cultural Resources Mapping to Pilot Implementation, supporting partners in defining concrete actions, stakeholders, accessibility measures, responsibilities and timelines.

Across 10 countries, 11 CAST pilots are now preparing to activate local cultural resources, improve access to culture, co-create inclusive tourism experiences and test community-led solutions.

From industrial heritage and beekeeping culture to naïve art, museums, castles, neighbourhood spaces, craftsmanship and rural tourism, all pilots share one ambition:

to make culture more accessible, inclusive and capable of strengthening communities and local economies.

Throughout the event, we were joined by our associated strategic partner, the Romanian Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, represented by Ms Irina COZMA, National Coordinator for EUSDR Priority Area 3. Her contribution highlighted opportunities for synergies, capitalisation and cooperation across projects supported under PA3 and beyond.

The roadmaps are set. Now, we test how cultural heritage can become a practical driver for community resilience and sustainable development. Stay tuned! 💡

A warm thank you to CAST Lead Partner Zavod Iskriva, iskrišče za razvoj lokalnih potencialov Institute and Asociatia Nationala pentru Turism Receptor si Intern (ANTRIM) for the warm welcome, excellent hosting and impeccable organisation of the meeting.

Alexandra Zlotea

15/06/2026

Urban transformation becomes meaningful when ideas are tested in real places, together with the people who use them.

Between 8-10 June, within the URBREATH Horizon Europe Project, the urban furniture designed for the four pilot sites in Cluj-Napoca (Sahia, Nădășel, Timișului and Bărc III) was implemented on site, together with the Primăria Cluj-Napoca and the Rustic Construct from Maramureș.

This intervention builds on a longer URBREATH process in Cluj-Napoca, combining co-design, student involvement, planting activities and on-site testing. Urbasofia coordinated the work with USAMV Cluj-Napoca students and developed the final urban furniture design based on site-specific observations and community needs. The implemented elements bring together simple benches, modular seating, multifunctional platforms, planter boxes, circular activity modules and a landscape-viewing frame, complemented by soft rope fencing that helps structure the sites. Dedicated dog-friendly areas were also defined, where specific play furniture for pets will be added.

What became visible from the first moments of implementation was the immediate local response. Children, adults, older residents and even pets began using the new installations almost instantly, showing how small-scale interventions can generate tangible local impact when they respond to real needs and everyday behaviours.

For URBREATH, this implementation is one stage in a broader European process focused on nature-based solutions, climate-responsive urban regeneration and community-oriented public space. In Cluj-Napoca, the four pilot sites continue to function as living testing grounds for exploring how greener, more inclusive and more liveable urban environments can be created through collaboration, local knowledge and on-site experimentation.

Special thanks to Primăria Cluj-Napoca, the Rustic Construct from Maramureș, USAMV Cluj-Napoca, and all local actors involved in bringing this stage to life.

Address

Strada Frumoasa, Nr. 8
Bucharest
010985

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00

Website

http://www.urbasofia.eu/

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