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This policy brief introduces a successful solution to convert Zonguldak, a peripheral shrinking city in north-western Turkey, into a compact and connected urban area. Amongst many promising initiatives, recently identified by the local stakeholders, Zonguldak Harbour (Coastal Area) Recreation Project has been put forward as the exemplar of sustainable urban development, improved accessibility, and connectivity. This project, initiated by Zonguldak Governorship in 2012, is aimed at redeveloping the heavily industrialised coastal strip of Zonguldak for leisure, sports, recreation, and entertainment. The first implementation phase (2016-2018) involved drawing spatial design and architectural plans for the redevelopment of the coastal strip around Zonguldak harbour, cleaning up the harbour area, and demolishing unregistered buildings that were illegally constructed on public land. Zonguldak’s harbour redevelopment has been a transformational project that is changing the image of the city from a polluted coal-mining hub to a more liveable municipality, with attractive public amenities and recreational facilities. The key lesson learnt is that collaborative efforts of local stakeholders are imperative not only for favourably shifting the public perception of a shrinking city but also for giving its local inhabitants a sense of attachment, belonging, and pride.

Diverse neighbourhoods represent significant opportunities for different forms of entrepreneurship, which can contribute to their economic regeneration. This policy brief focuses on entrepreneurship in deprived and diverse neighbourhoods. It discusses the relations between diversity and entrepreneurship and presents evidence on the connections between entrepreneurship, diversity and economic performance, and the role of entrepreneurship on social cohesion. It argues for revising existing policies related to the different forms of entrepreneurship in diverse and deprived neighbourhoods, as well as for new measures to support entrepreneurship.

Critical analysis of existing urban policy programmes and discourses in Istanbul, Turkey. Includes overview of political systems and governance structures, key shifts in national discourses, and approaches to policy over migration, citizenship, and diversity.

This policy brief investigates an inventory of state interventions that are judged to be most effective in creating a sustainable urban environment and maintaining a vibrant local community in Zonguldak – a small shrinking city in north-western Turkey. Amongst many initiatives, two stand out, in particular. The first is Zonguldak’s urban renewal programme concerned with housing provision, city centre redevelopment, and upgrading municipal facilities and public infrastructure. The urban renewal efforts that are underway in the city are aimed at 1) regularising squatter settlements that were being built illegally, without the obligatory permits, on public land for many decades; 2) initiating the redevelopment of these residential areas; and 3) growing the stock of new, good quality housing in the city. The second – award-winning – smart shrinkage solution that Zonguldak offers to many mining and seaport cities across the globe concerns repurposing industrial and maritime heritage and converting the city’s historical legacy into a liveability asset. The key lesson learnt in Zonguldak is that a shrinking city must prioritise urban livability if it is to become resilient.

This policy brief investigates an inventory of state interventions that are judged to be most effective in creating a sustainable urban environment and maintaining a vibrant local community in Zonguldak – a small shrinking city in north-western Turkey. Amongst many initiatives, two stand out, in particular. The first is Zonguldak’s urban renewal programme concerned with housing provision, city centre redevelopment, and upgrading municipal facilities and public infrastructure. The urban renewal efforts that are underway in the city are aimed at 1) regularising squatter settlements that were being built illegally, without the obligatory permits, on public land for many decades; 2) initiating the redevelopment of these residential areas; and 3) growing the stock of new, good quality housing in the city. The second – award-winning – smart shrinkage solution that Zonguldak offers to many mining and seaport cities across the globe concerns repurposing industrial and maritime heritage and converting the city’s historical legacy into a liveability asset. The key lesson learnt in Zonguldak is that a shrinking city must prioritise urban livability if it is to become resilient., 3S RECIPE is part of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe's ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures Call (ENSUF). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857160.

This policy brief introduces a successful solution to convert Zonguldak, a peripheral shrinking city in north-western Turkey, into a compact and connected urban area. Amongst many promising initiatives, recently identified by the local stakeholders, Zonguldak Harbour (Coastal Area) Recreation Project has been put forward as the exemplar of sustainable urban development, improved accessibility, and connectivity. This project, initiated by Zonguldak Governorship in 2012, is aimed at redeveloping the heavily industrialised coastal strip of Zonguldak for leisure, sports, recreation, and entertainment. The first implementation phase (2016-2018) involved drawing spatial design and architectural plans for the redevelopment of the coastal strip around Zonguldak harbour, cleaning up the harbour area, and demolishing unregistered buildings that were illegally constructed on public land. Zonguldak’s harbour redevelopment has been a transformational project that is changing the image of the city from a polluted coal-mining hub to a more liveable municipality, with attractive public amenities and recreational facilities. The key lesson learnt is that collaborative efforts of local stakeholders are imperative not only for favourably shifting the public perception of a shrinking city but also for giving its local inhabitants a sense of attachment, belonging, and pride., 3S RECIPE is part of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe's ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures Call (ENSUF). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857160.

This policy brief showcases a successful solution to rising unemployment, job-seeking out-migration, and dependence on coal mining through university-based urban regeneration. This was achieved in the early 1990s in Zonguldak – a medium-sized city in north-western Turkey, coping with deindustrialisation and demographic decline. Building on local knowledge and the first-hand stakeholders’ experience, this brief demonstrates how to deliver a knowledge economy-based local economic development solution that works effectively for the whole city. The key lesson learnt is that decision-makers should i) build on local historical specialisations and align the university’s potentials with new economic opportunities; ii) recognise how the local university could positively interact with the wider urban environment and local stakeholders; iii) evaluate potential strategic solutions to facilitate such an interaction; and iv) effectively manage the implementation of this strategic urban regeneration and economic development partnership., 3S RECIPE is part of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe's ERA-NET Cofund Smart Urban Futures Call (ENSUF). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857160.

This policy brief showcases a successful solution to rising unemployment, job-seeking out-migration, and dependence on coal mining through university-based urban regeneration. This was achieved in the early 1990s in Zonguldak – a medium-sized city in north-western Turkey, coping with deindustrialisation and demographic decline. Building on local knowledge and the first-hand stakeholders’ experience, this brief demonstrates how to deliver a knowledge economy-based local economic development solution that works effectively for the whole city. The key lesson learnt is that decision-makers should i) build on local historical specialisations and align the university’s potentials with new economic opportunities; ii) recognise how the local university could positively interact with the wider urban environment and local stakeholders; iii) evaluate potential strategic solutions to facilitate such an interaction; and iv) effectively manage the implementation of this strategic urban regeneration and economic development partnership.