An exploratory research journey on the EU Green Transition
This report examines barriers and enablers shaping the role of cities in the EU green transition pathway. It presents the outcomes of an international expert workshop organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission in collaboration with Politecnico di Torino, Italy. The workshop is part of a series of JRC exploratory research activities applying innovative methods to co-create shared visions for system transitions across the EU food, urban, and green innovation domains.
During the workshop, experts from academia, architectural and landscape firms, policymaking institutions, major urban networks, living labs, the European Committee of the Regions, and non-governmental organisations identified enablers and local good practices to strengthen the implementation of selected European Green Deal targets at the urban level and to address structural challenges hampering transformative change.
Seven enabling conditions emerged as critical for advancing urban green transitions: strengthened and systematic community and citizen engagement; upgrading urban infrastructure and uptake of nature-based solutions; innovative governance and policymaking; sustainability education and skills; coupled energy and digital transitions; adequate financial resources and public-private cooperation; and transparent communication and information sharing.
A central element of the workshop was ShapeEUrbe, a science-based board game specifically designed for this event. Through the game, participants explored policy gaps, good practices, barriers and enablers for achieving the European Green Deal targets and envisioning urban futures towards the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality ambition.
TRANE Matteo;
BORCHARDT Steve;
FRONZA Verdiana;
LOMBARDI Patrizia;
POLLO Riccardo;
MARELLI Luisa;
2026-02-04
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC144296
978-92-68-35325-7 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40596,
OP KJ-01-25-676-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC144296,
10.2760/2390235 (online),
