Urbasofia

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.

11/06/2026

🌳 At the World Urban Forum 2026, and WOODCIRCLES explored how timber is reshaping sustainable cities thanks to their partner Urbasofia.

Real examples from Berlin - modular timber schools and the Schumacher Quartier - prove that wood construction can deliver climate-friendly, affordable, resilient housing at scale.

Transformation across Europe requires collaboration across public authorities, developers, researchers, and communities. That's what TIMBERHAUS is building.

Read more: https://timberhaus.eu/news-events/timberhaus-at-wuf13-rethinking-how-we-build-cities-through-sustainable-and-circular-wood-construction/

08/06/2026

Ce se întâmplă când pui la aceeași masă un lider local, un dezvoltator privat, un fond de investiții și un ONG și le ceri să finanțeze împreună regenerarea unei zone degradate?

Discutăm pe 21 iunie de la 15:00–16:00, la workshopul Green Investment Simulation Game: Who Governs the Transformation?

Prin intermediul unui joc de simulare, participanții își asumă roluri din ecosistemul unei investiții verzi și negociază un pachet de finanțare pentru un sit degradat real din Cluj-Napoca sau București. Instrumentele pe masă sunt cele cu care lucrăm în practică (ERDF, BEI, blended finance, PPP, fonduri de impact), iar miza este să înțelegem ce mecanisme de guvernanță fac posibil (sau imposibil) un astfel de acord.

Workshopul pornește de la modelul multi-nivel dezvoltat în proiectul NONA - New Governance for New Spaces și se adresează urbaniștilor, arhitecților, reprezentanților administrației publice, actorilor din sectorul privat și financiar, studenților și tuturor celor interesați de guvernanță urbană și finanțare verde.

Înscrieri: https://tinyurl.com/ye25ccfd

03/06/2026

On 27-28 May, the Timberhaus consortium gathered in Baia Mare, Romania, for the M18 General Assembly, organised by the Municipiul Baia Mare in a region with a strong and visible connection to wood, craftsmanship and local building traditions.

Urbasofia was represented by Madalina Rusen, Domenico Pellitteri and Daria Dutu, who contributed to the discussions on the challenges, opportunities and enabling conditions for the climate-smart use of wood in construction.

The team presented progress on market potential assessment, regulatory and policy mapping, EU best practices and future recommendations, while also highlighting the finalisation of the study on local cultural traditions, crafts and design languages in the partner cities. The presentations also reported on the successful completion of the first round of local summits across the three partner cities, emphasizing the role of place-based dialogue in fostering the climate-smart use of wood in construction.

A special highlight of the meeting was the visit to Maramureș, where partners had the opportunity to experience the region’s wooden churches, traditional architecture and craftsmanship. This offered a strong reminder that timber construction is not only a technical or climate-related topic, but also a cultural and territorial resource.

Many thanks to the Municipality of Baia Mare for hosting the General Assembly, and to all partners for the valuable exchanges, collaboration and continued work toward more sustainable, inclusive and locally grounded timber construction pathways.

29/05/2026

29/05/2026

🌍 Looking back at the WUF13 Azerbaijan in Baku on the topic of mobility

Together with Michael W. Mehaffy and Rolf Schuett, we explored mobility not only as transport infrastructure, but as a way of connecting people, housing, opportunity and everyday urban life. A key idea was that sustainable mobility depends on a network of choices: walking, public transport, cycling and, when needed, cars as one option among many. Walkability remains the foundation, because every journey still begins and ends with the pedestrian experience.

The discussion moderated by Miruna Draghia also showed how mobility can become a tool for social inclusion. Examples such as cable car systems in Medellín and La Paz demonstrate that infrastructure can connect fragmented territories, reduce distances and bring different social groups into shared urban space.

Many thanks to Michael W. Mehaffy and Rolf Schuett for the inspiring exchange and for helping us rethink mobility as a key element of more connected, inclusive and liveable cities.

28/05/2026

On the second day of the SET-PED annual consortium meeting in Eskilstuna, our URBASOFIA team continued working on one of the key questions of the project: how can circular urban furniture be adapted, replicated and scaled in different local contexts?

The visit to the AMA Center, where the first SET-PED prototype for Eskilstuna was built, was especially valuable for our work. Seeing the material preparation, construction process and local collaboration behind the prototype helped us better understand what needs to be considered when developing the future prototype in Bucharest.

In Bucharest, Urbasofia is working together with Primăria Sectorului 6 al Municipiului Bucuresti, Între Vecini, ADP Sector 6 and to bring Sector 6 Urban Innovation and Design Center SRL the SET-PED concept into the local context and adapt it to the needs of the city, its public spaces and communities.

Later in the day, Giorgia Romagnoli and Miruna Cioaca facilitated a local stakeholder workshop focused on use-case scenarios. The session explored how smart and circular urban furniture could respond to different needs, locations and target users, and how this concept can support both new public spaces and the improvement of existing ones.

The inputs collected during the workshop will contribute to URBASOFIA’s work on the SET-PED strategy for replicating and scaling the urban furniture concept at city level. These use-case scenarios will serve as practical examples for municipalities and other relevant stakeholders interested in integrating circular, co-created and energy-positive solutions into urban regeneration processes.

We are grateful for the exchange in Eskilstuna and look forward to applying these lessons in the Bucharest pilot.

🔗 Learn more about SET-PED: https://lnkd.in/djF86BZJ

28/05/2026

📩 The latest CARE-GET E-Newsletter No. 3 is now available!

This edition highlights recent project activities throughout 2026, including pilot developments, local engagement initiatives and collaborative actions contributing to improved care services in European cities. 🌍

Curious to find out more?
Available here:

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27/05/2026

Yesterday in Eskilstuna, Sweden, our Urbasofia team, represented by Miruna-Mihaela Cioacă and Giorgia Romagnoli, joined the SET-PED annual consortium meeting, hosted by Eskilstuna kommun at the Energy Evolution Center.

The meeting was a valuable opportunity to reconnect with project partners, share progress, and discuss the next steps for SET-PED’s work on circular, co-created and energy-positive urban solutions.

During Day 1, Giorgia Romagnoli presented URBASOFIA’s work on use-case scenarios and replication logic, while Miruna-Mihaela Cioacă shared updates on the Bucharest pilot progress and the project’s dissemination and communication efforts.

The day also included an inspiring visit to ReTuna Återbruksgalleria Recycling Mall, the world’s first recycling mall and a strong example of circular economy in practice.

We are happy to contribute to this collaborative process and look forward to the next steps of the project.

🔗 Learn more about SET-PED: https://setpedproject.wixsite.com/set-ped

27/05/2026

On 19–20 May, our colleague Adelin Lazăr represented Urbasofia at the Final Conference of the Danube Indeet project in Zrenjanin, Serbia, where he presented the results of the Model Testing activity and the outcomes of six pilot regions across Romania, Montenegro, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A key achievement of the project has been the testing and validation of the Danube Indeet Model; an innovative decision-support tool designed to help public authorities, infrastructure operators, energy planners, businesses, and investors explore future scenarios for integrated energy and transport systems. By simulating different combinations of renewable energy production, battery storage, electric mobility infrastructure, Vehicle-to-Grid applications, and green hydrogen solutions, the model provides valuable insights into the technical and economic feasibility of investments, supporting evidence-based decisions for the energy transition.

We would like to sincerely thank our hosts, the Regional Agency for Socio-Economic Development – Banat (RDA Banat), for the flawless organisation of this excellent event and for creating a valuable space for knowledge exchange among partners and stakeholders from across the Danube Region.

URBASOFIA is proud to have been part of such a dedicated and inspiring consortium, working together towards a shared vision of a cleaner, more resilient, and better-connected energy future. The project reflects our continued commitment to excellence within the Interreg Danube Region Programme and to developing innovative solutions that support sustainable mobility, renewable energy integration, and climate-neutral development across Europe. Danube Indeet has shown how cooperation, innovation, and evidence-based planning can help turn ambitious energy transition goals into practical and replicable solutions.