The UN has recognised the key role that cities and towns have in achieving global sustainability goals (including the reduction of per capita pollution produced by cities, particularly with regard to air quality and waste management) with the inclusion of Goal 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities’” within the 2030 Agenda.

This goal can only be achieved through a participatory, integrated and sustainable planning and governance of urban settlements, to be used across the different sectors and levels of the government, and through the promotion of synergies and joint actions between public administrations (top-down approach) and citizens (bottom-up approach).

Life HELP is a European project . that aims to improve the planning, management and evaluation process of environmental policies in order to achieve sustainable development goals. The project is part of the LIFE programme, the main financial instrument of the European Union to support the development, implementation and updating of EU environmental policies.

The project is promoted by the Municipality of Rimini as project coordinator,together with the ItalianInstitute for Environmental Protection and Research (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale- ISPRA),Vie en.ro.se., an environmental and civil engineering company, and the . . Fondazione Piano Strategico of Rimini, which has been involved in the participatory strategic planning for the Rimini area for over 15 years.

Life HELP wants to experiment a new governance model of environmental policies – to be tested in the City of Rimini and replicable in other cities – by promoting an integrated and intersectoral approach aimed at achieving the environmental and climate goals set by the EU and the 2030 Agenda in a more efficient way.

The project will be implemented through a series of strategic actions that will work on three main dimensions:

• The decision-making and planning system of the Municipality of Rimini concerning the environment;
• The collection, management and use of environmental data, also used to monitor the environmental performance;
• Un cambio comportamentale misurabile sui temi ambientali da parte del grande pubblico (cittadini, studenti, aziende).

The main results the project aims to achieve by 2026 are:

• The achievement of direct environmental benefits through the acquisition of ISO 14001 certification, EMAS Registration and the signing of the Green City Accord;
• The adoption of a model for the management, monitoring and communication of environmental performances (that can also be replicated in other cities) through the adoption of specific guidelines and a new adimensional index;
• A measurable change in the general public’s behavior about environmental issues (citizens, students, companies).

The project will involve a wide range of territorial and national stakeholders, such as the various technical sectors of the Municipality of Rimini, the companies that are responsible for the management of public services (water, waste, public transport, management of parks and protected areas), as well as theentire community, which will be involved in the different stages of the project through some participatory activities.

Beginning of the project: July 2023

Duration: 36 months

Budget: € 1.515.506,27 (60% co-funded by the European Union)

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