Aug. 2, 2017, 6:24 p.m.
MedCities is a network of Mediterranean cities created in Barcelona in November 1991 at the initiative of the Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Programme (METAP).
The METAP, whose objective was the environmental improvement in the Mediterranean region, was established in 1990 by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Commission and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme).
The creation of MedCities was a consequence of METAP's objective of strengthening decentralised actions involving technical assistance as the best means of promoting awareness of urban environmental problems and making those actions into a vehicle for empowering municipalities in developing countries in respect of management of urban environmental issues. MedCities continues offering this support. Since then, MedCities has extended its activities from the initial local environment to the wider local sustainable development field.
Being a network of Mediterranean towns and cities belonging to different countries, its purpose is urban sustainable development as a way to improve living conditions in the Mediterranean region.
The main aims and purposes of the network are:
MedCities main goal is the implementation of projects in our cities. All of them are related to capacity-building, technical assistance and knowledge transfer.
City Development Stragies are at the core of cities future. Tetouan, Tripoli, Saida, Barcelona, Sousse, are only some examples of members having developed this process in recent years.
Urban Services & Environment is the second strategic line of MedCities. Daily life in Mediterranean cities depends on the good provision of these services.
Cities rely on new job opportunities and employment. Those need be developed guaranteeing social cohesion and avoiding the rise of inequalities.