UNIC Centre for City Futures


A transnational living laboratory for societal impact - We strive for transformations with our cities and communities.

The UNIC Centre for City Futures (CCF) is a change agency for University and City to collaboratively foster transformative urban innovation.

Our mission is to understand complex societal phenomena and to envision attractive city futures that overcome urban challenges. Our hub enables transdisciplinary city-engaged research, innovation and co-creation across the UNIC Univer-City alliance.


The Founding Charter


All ten of our Cities are signatories to our Founding Charter. This guides our common purpose and joint ambition to increase transdisciplinary collaboration and engagement around city-needs based challenges and opportunities.


The UNIC Centre for City Futures operates the UNIC CityLabs as a transnational living laboratory that responds to these challenges and opportunities, driving productive interactions and facilitating co-creation for transformative innovation.


Operating in genuine real-world settings with our Cities, our CityLabs bridge the gap between theory and practice. They bring people together from different backgrounds to identify needs and challenges, envision preferable futures, and to develop, test and refine solutions.



Read more from our Founding Charter [PDF, 1mb]

MEET THE CITIES

Explore our City pages for information on local city challenges, CityLabs highlights and contact details to connect with the Centre for City Futures in your city.

Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Historically a harbour city, Rotterdam is undergoing a rapid phase of development to transition to a knowledge-intensive economy.

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Bochum
Germany

Once a centre of coal mining and steel production, Bochum is pursuing an ambitious Sustainability Strategy, aiming to be climate neutral by 2035.

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Cork
Ireland

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Oulu
Finland

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Istanbul
Türkiye

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Malmö
Sweden

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Zagreb
Croatia

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Liège
Belgium

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Bilbao
Spain

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Łódź
Poland

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Our Local Directors work with City actors to tackle cities’ challenges using our
unique open discovery process, to iteratively envision city futures, strategize
research and education collaborations, take action and assess the impacts.

The nucleus of the dynamic eco-system activity is our bespoke 360 City Futures Roadmap
knowledge management tool for tracking city needs and challenges.



We build city-engaged research and innovation partnerships, and work together closely with researchers, teachers and students collaborating with municipalities, other governments, companies and NGOs to research, innovate, pilot and incubate new solutions for the cities’ challenges.

To date over 240 CityLabs co-creation events have been delivered , bringing university and city actors together to co-create transformation in their cities.

City Futures Roadmaps

We actively engage with cities, other government agencies, companies and communities to ensure that UNIC’s academic endeavors are firmly rooted in the cities’ context and provide service to society.
Innovation

Through productive interactions and applying an open discovery process, we drive knowledge co-production and innovation around our most pressing contemporary urban challenges.
UNIC CityLabs

Our dynamic CityLabs are bringing stakeholders together to co-learn, co-create new innovative solutions and collaboratively test innovative responses to city challenges towards meaningful societal transformation.

LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS

Learn more about the Centre's work by participating in one of our forthcoming events. Contribute your insights, ideas, and solutions, and find ways to collaborate with us:

citylabs

The Becoming of Sanctuary: The (un)making of sanctuary and solidarity ...

Sanctuary has been an essential response to provide protection, shelter, and solidarity for “u...

13 Nov 2025 - 13 Nov 2025

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citylabs

A Just Transition for Cities – Mandate, Materiality, Morality and Moxi...

With support from the UNIC4ER Seed Fund, an interdisciplinary collaboration between colleagues...

28 Feb 2024 - 29 Feb 2024

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citylabs

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: “New Research Approaches to the Crossroads of Reli...

Launch of the new European Research Network for Religion, Society and Culture UNIC-RESCUe,

11 Dec 2023 - 12 Dec 2023

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citylabs vmp

Gender and equality from an institutional perspective. Strategies and ...

UNIC CityLabs is organizing an online event on the topic of gender and equality. The event is ...

06 Jun 2023 - 06 Jun 2023

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citylabs vmp

Social Inclusion and Living in Community for Persons with Intellectual...

A Virtual Meeting Platform that discusses the different aspects of deinstitutionalization and ...

25 May 2023 - 25 May 2023

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citylabs vmp

Towards more Societal Engagement & Inclusion in Medical Practices

This special event brings together medical faculties across the UNIC alliance to talk public h...

16 May 2023 - 16 May 2023

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Contact the Centre for City Futures

Join us in shaping future-proof cities!

The UNIC Centre for City Futures serves as the broker between UNIC universities, cities, and organizations
interested in societal improvement. Our Local Directors, Co-Creation Specialists, and Engaged Research Officers
help develop partnerships able to strive for societal improvement.

With their help you can address cities’ needs and enrich and improve cities and communities
with the contributions of researchers, teachers, students, and citizens.

Email us


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