In City Deals, cities, the government, other public administrations (e.g. provinces and water boards), the private sector and civil society organisations make concrete agreements with each other to tackle urban issues. In this multilevel governance approach the content is the central issue, and authorities work together ‘horizontally’ with private and civil parties. City Deals is a practical and results-driven project where solutions more often circumvent traditional administrative, financial and policy channels.
Whether it concerns inclusion, the growing demand for housing or security, a City Deal is used for concrete local and regional urban transition tasks. Leaders in the cities work on one of these themes to bring new solutions, in which they question existing practices and financing models. In doing so, they learn what works well and what is less effective, by fostering cooperation between urban regions. Unique to the City Deal model is that involved parties can also lead to the adaptation of national frameworks (regulation, funding), to make practical solutions for transitions possible.
The first activities started in 2016, and as of 2019, 19 City Deals had been implemented, out of which 7 have been completed. In total, more than 125 municipalities, 7 provinces, 8 ministries, 8 other government organisations, 40 companies, 27 knowledge institutions, 5 water boards and 26 partnerships are involved. Challenges tackled by the project include food, health, climate adaptation, knowledge, shared mobility and urban safety.
Main challenges tackled by the project are:
- customisation of the welfare system to accommodate individual needs for a sustainable future;
- security of the cities – working together to prevent criminality by connecting the healthcare system and the security system;
- making sure that issues that arise at individual level with vulnerable people are noticed early on, so escalation can be prevented.