Damien Duffy URBACT Open Cities

OPENCities is based on a concept developed by British Council and a network of European Cities led by Belfast.

OPENCities – a driver for successful cities

URBACT II : CITY LAB

Benefiting from Migration

26th May 2009

Brussels

Damian DuffyLead Expert OPENCities



Free Trade/Geo-Political Shift

• Since World War II and especially since the fall of the Soviet Bloc, there has been a strong commitment by many nations to free trade.

• This is achieved in principle through reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade.

• There have been numerous multi-lateral trade agreements between countries and overseen by the World Trade Organisation.

• The establishment of the EU has allowed and encouraged the free movement of goods, services and capital between its member states.

Falling Transport Costs

• An important factor that has driven globalisation over the last 50 years is the significant falls in the costs of transportation.

• Containerisation and haulage have dramatically increased the capacity and speed with which goods can be transported around the globe and domestically.

• This has reduced the need for goods to be manufactured near to the consumer.

• Recently there has also been significant falls in the cost of air travel allowing people to move easily around the world.

Advances in Technology

• There have been significant advances in information and communication technology over the last 20-30 years.

• This has facilitated information exchange and has lowered transactions costs.

• Combined with lower transportation costs, this has enabled firms to outsource different elements of their business to various locations and hence the growth of multinationals.

• There is also a direct effect with new technology industries offering opportunities and a greater need for skills.

Mobility of People

• Both internal and international migration have been drivers of globalisation.

• The willingness and ability of people to move has provided an increasingly flexible labour market

• Internal both inter- and intra-regional migration has increased steadily over the last few decades.

• International migration has also been on the increase, with indications suggesting that this trend will accelerate in the coming years,



OPENCities Drivers

Long Term Drivers:Long Term Drivers:Economic Internationalisation.Economic Internationalisation.Human mobility and demographics.Human mobility and demographics.Environmental change and challenge.Environmental change and challenge.Technology development.Technology development.Urbanisation of poverty and inequality.Urbanisation of poverty and inequality.Continental governance.Continental governance.

How cities and regions respond matters.How cities and regions respond matters.Governance, investment, strategy, leadership, marketing Governance, investment, strategy, leadership, marketing & branding, catalyst, collaboration, inclusion, openness …& branding, catalyst, collaboration, inclusion, openness …



OPENCities QUESTIONS ???

• What is Openness ? Openness is the ability of cities to attract and retain

international populations over time…

• What is an OPENCity ?

• What is it OPEN for ?

• Who is OPEN to ?

• How do you plan to create more OPENCities ?

OPENCities is also about the positive aspects of the social and economic

integration of economic migrants



OPENCities DRIVERs

• What attracts (ATTRACTION) migrants to a particular city ?

• What factors would encourage migrants to stay in a particular city

(RETENTION) ?

ATTRACTION RETENTION



OPENCities DRIVERs

• What attracts (ATTRACTION) migrants to a particular city ?

• What factors would encourage migrants to stay in a particular city

(RETENTION) ?

• How can cities losing skilled workers adopt proactive approaches to seek the

(RETURN) of their workers ?

ATTRACTION RETENTION RETURN



OPENCities – What are we trying to achieve ?

• Consider the positive aspects of the attraction and retention of migrant workers

• International populations contribution to cities success

• Human capital is mobile and skilled workers can choose where they want to locate

• In order to be attractive to international populations (economic migrants) cities

need to be open

• Accept that immigration has central role to play in Lisbon agenda, cities need

access to flexible workforce to develop

• OPENCities will try to identify the links between migration and cities

competitiveness



OPENCities – Benefits of Migration

• Offers competitive advantage of diversity

• Flexible workers with new skills

• Intercultural interaction and dialogue enhances quality of life

• Efforts should be made to exploit the huge potential of the cultural and

social diversity

• Knowledge economies require interaction and exchange of ideas

• New arrivals are spur to creativity and innovation



Openness Factors

EconomicEconomicInternationalisationInternationalisation

AccessibiltyAccessibilty

RegulatoryRegulatory Risks and Security

Risks and Security

LeadershipLeadership

AmenityAmenity

low qualifiedmigrants


CulturalCultural



OPENCities Factors and Measures8 factors and 40 measures of Openness?

Economic factors: Population, Employment, Enterprise, Skills & Qualifications.

Regulatory factors: Citizenship, Welfare, Health, Housing, social inclusion.

Cultural factors: Civic organisations, mixed marriages, creative expressions, media, food.

Amenity factors: Signage/information, language, education, retail, and neighbourhood mix.

Connectivity/Accessibility factors: Ports and Gateways, digital access, public transport, city centres.

Internationalisation factors: International populations, business, events, institutions, visitors, and students.

Risk factors: Crime, security, disasters, deportation, racism and xenophobia.

Leadership factors: Diversity strategy, brand and belonging, voting and representation, active projects.



Refined Openness Factors Thematic Workshops

Integration/Inclusion

Integration/Inclusion

InternationalisationInternationalisation

Leadership and Governance

Leadership and Governance





OPENCities Emerging themes / Observations

• Recent enlargement of EU has created flows of migrant workers across Europe

• Difficulties in some cities in tracking and measuring how many and which nationalities

• Economic growth creates demand for new arrivals

• Pressure on public sector budgets to support new arrivals

• Need to develop leadership resources for new groups to facilitate integration

• Language barriers to integration across generations

• Barriers to labour market, education and enterprise

• Integration V Assimilation

• Different groups of migrants – EU and third country nationals

• Population decline in many larger cities amongst indigenous population

• Need to ringfence ESF/ERDF funds to deal with integration challenges ????



PAST IN IRELAND



PAST PRESENT



Damian Duffy

OPENCities Lead Expert

[email protected]

www.tribalgroup.co.uk

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Damien Duffy URBACT Open Cities