Transforming European Cities – the Role of Smart Urban Intermediaries

Smart Urban Intermediaries – Trans-European Research, Learning and Action is a cutting-edge, ESRC-funded programme of research exploring smart urban development and social innovation in four case study cities: Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen and Glasgow. Bringing together academics from Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK, it is currently conducting fieldwork through the creation of local labs to gather data, build partnerships and share knowledge.

The project team recently staged a Transnational Lab in Glasgow for researcher from the four cities to exchange their findings so far. A video of the event is available below.

Han van Geel, working with the Netherlands team, has also written some reflections on the similarities and divergences between the different cities in the programme in response to the lively social initiatives he witnessed in Glasgow, while Finn Dyrby Hermansen and Annika Agger considered the role of smart urban intermediaries in local activism.

To find out more about the project and receive updates on their findings, please sign up to their newsletter on the project website.