Athens, Green Living Areas: From experimentation to territorial policies

From 22 to 23 April 2026, EStà took part in Athens in the 3rd gathering of the Green Living Areas Thematic Community, part of the Interreg Euro-MED programme. This initiative brings together European projects working on solutions for more sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities and territories.

The community involves over 250 partners from across the Euro-Mediterranean area and aims to support local and regional authorities in developing tools, methodologies and policies capable of improving quality of life, addressing climate change and advancing a concrete ecological transition.

A key transition: from solutions to policies

After an initial phase focused on experimentation, the projects involved are now entering a more advanced stage, where the goal is no longer only to develop innovative solutions, but to ensure their transferability, integration into public policies, and long-term sustainability. The Athens gathering was a key moment in this transition: an opportunity for partners to reflect together on how to scale up results and strengthen their impact across territories.

Day 1: solutions, collaboration and capacity building

The first day focused on the projects and the solutions developed.

During the plenary session, each project briefly presented its main outputs, highlighting tools and practices that can be replicated across Mediterranean contexts.

A central role was played by the thematic working groups, where partners engaged directly in discussions on how to strengthen collaboration across projects and, above all, how to adapt and transfer solutions to different territorial contexts.

In the afternoon, activities shifted towards a more operational dimension, with training sessions addressing key competences needed to make solutions truly implementable. Discussions covered how to integrate the principles of the New European Bauhaus into urban planning, with a focus on social inclusion and structural inequalities; how to build effective strategies to engage policymakers and support the uptake of solutions; and how to present projects convincingly in order to attract funding.

The day concluded with informal team-building activities, designed to strengthen relationships within the community and foster new collaborations.

Day 2: policies, governance and European perspectives

The second day focused on policies and the role of institutions.

The opening keynote highlighted the need to move beyond pilot projects and towards the stable integration of solutions into territorial policies, particularly in view of upcoming European programming cycles.

Within this framework, the Ecosystemic Transition Hub (ETU) was presented as a key platform to support the dissemination and uptake of solutions developed by the projects. The session showed how this tool can help local and regional authorities navigate practices, opportunities and European networks, while also strengthening connections with other EU initiatives, especially those related to climate adaptation.

The day continued with a policy-oriented discussion on climate change, aimed at gathering inputs from different projects and defining shared priorities. The event concluded with a session dedicated to next steps, outlining upcoming activities and future collaboration among partners.

The value for EStà

For EStà, participating in this kind of setting means working within European networks where research, project design and public policy are closely interconnected.

Engaging with other territories allows not only the sharing of experiences and approaches developed in Italy, but also learning from practices and tools tested elsewhere, strengthening the ability to design more effective and adaptable interventions.

In particular, the strong focus that emerged in Athens on the transferability of solutions and their integration into public policies is fully aligned with EStà’s work on territorial systems and sustainability governance.

Looking ahead

The Athens gathering delivered a clear message: the challenge today is not only to innovate, but to make innovation structural, embedding it into policies and decision-making processes.

The coming months will be crucial to consolidate results, strengthen collaboration among partners, and support territories in the concrete adoption of the solutions developed.