C 125/60
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
5.4.2023
Wednesday 14 September 2022
2.
Welcomes the NEB initiative, which aspires to create a pan-European cultural movement that will contribute to a smarter, more sustainable, inclusive and enjoyable living environment and foster local and global knowledge; emphasises that it must primarily focus on improving the quality of people’s lives by creating healthy and affordable living spaces, rethinking the status quo and transforming the spaces, buildings, cities and territories in which they live, including in less developed, suburban, rural, remote or cross-border areas and regions, in line with the Urban Agenda for the EU and building on the successful work carried out by URBACT, while improving coexistence and public space for social and territorial cohesion and democratic life, addressing the spatial segregation and historical exclusion of social groups and protecting the environment during the planning and construction of buildings and surrounding spaces;
3.
Recognises the NEB as a creative and inter- and transdisciplinary initiative which brings together architecture, design, the arts and science at the forefront of EU policies for the first time, while aiming to contribute to other Union programmes and initiatives, including its digital and green transitions, making the European Green Deal a tangible, positive and inclusive experience for all and giving it a creative and cultural dimension, thereby launching the next wave of innovation; underlines that the NEB also needs to protect citizens against natural and climate-related disasters by including a safety component in its objectives; notes that this will stimulate new ways of building and the use of innovative, high-quality, sustainable and resilient building materials, including post-disaster restoration;
4.
Reaffirms that the NEB has the potential to reshape the way policies are conceived, including by engaging with communities, to nurture policies and legislative developments which have an impact on the built environment and the well-being of the workforce, and to define the environment of the future by meeting the need for spaces that are accessible and adapted to new and changing ways of life, such as spaces for non-traditional household configurations, multigenerational housing, flexible co-working spaces, child-friendly urban environments and safer spaces for women and vulnerable people; insists that the NEB must display a level of ambition in line with the Union’s climate commitments and create guidelines for the Member States, including local and regional authorities, for its implementation;
5.
Emphasises that, in order to be successful, the NEB must be accessible, transparent, affordable, socially and geographically fair and inclusive and must actively involve EU citizens, community-based organisations and local residents, ensuring social and territorial diversity and supporting all scales of projects, in a bottom-up way — from project design to roll-out and evaluation — while taking active steps to prevent any elitist approaches or adverse effects of gentrification and enhancing citizens’ consultations and participation; highlights the need to engage young people in the initiative, especially young architects, artists and workers in the CCSI;
6.
Highlights the importance of ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities or reduced mobility, special needs and disadvantaged groups, by making public services, cultural, social and economic life accessible to all; highlights in this regard the importance of good design; insists that resources must also target excluded, marginalised and disadvantaged communities;
7.
Considers that this innovative cultural movement has the potential to position Europe as a global frontrunner in the area of sustainable architecture, territorial and spatial planning, design, culture, sustainable mobility and logistics, technology, the circular economy, energy efficiency and renewable energies by promoting ways of living, working and engaging in recreational activities better together, which can also be applied beyond the EU; believes that social and technological innovation must be adequately supported, including through public and private investment in research and development;
8.
Calls on the Commission to further broaden the reach of the NEB by involving associated and partner countries outside the EU to take part in the initiative, including by means of a permanent dialogue on the NEB; acknowledges that the NEB has the potential to contribute to the post-war restoration of cities, societies and the economy, in particular in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine and with the involvement of the Ukrainian CCSI and its professionals;