Goals

River//Cities uses the 2020  Universal Declaration of River Rights (UDRR) as the inspiration for ideas to create better waterfront development in cities that helps both people and nature. We develop and study arts & culture projects to make waterfronts more lively, inclusive, and lasting.

Objectives

River//Cities integrates the principles of River Rights into urban waterfront development to ensure sustainable and equitable benefits for both human and non-human life. The Network leverages cultural projects and artistic interventions to create vibrant, inclusive, and resilient waterfronts.

We aim to be Europe's main source for culture-based waterfront improvement 

• Share our approach worldwide 
• Provide useful information and expert advice to our partners 
• Build skills among our members 
• Encourage European teamwork 
• Create new solutions for better cities.

What We Do

• We connect European and local projects and facilitate shared experiences 
• Create art and learning programs aimed at engaging communities and civic leaders on the ground
• Share knowledge and successful methods of regeneration through civic engagement and cultural mapping
• Build partnerships across different fields ranging from waterfront protection, land and water stewardship, human growth, sustainable living and working
• Help develop skills and knowledge to confront current polycrisis. 

 Benefits of Joining 

Thanks to our academic partners, River//Cities can offer regular dialogue events that bring together civic leaders and developers with specialist cultural planners and cross-disciplinary practitioners asking questions and promoting debate about the nature and practicalities of sustainable urban waterfronts.

Tailored training and cross sectoral rural/urban labs for individual municipalities keen to develop Rivers Rights, through a cultural planning approach to waterfront place-making.

Members bring their project ideas to the table, find partners and seek support from experts to develop EU funding bids.  If projects are successful in attracting funding, the River//Cities Network can support the delivery by hosting meetings, encouraging debate and supporting inquiry into the outcomes/findings from the project. Finally we can advertise, disseminate and archive report findings.