Matching Forerunner Cities: Coping with climate change in Turku, Malmö, Rostock, and Groningen (MaFoCi)

This project aims at analysing the climate change policy of the City of Turku and compare it with the experience of three comparable cities, Malmö, Rostock, and Groningen. The City of Turku aims at becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2029. The strategy encompasses an implementation programme and specific measures. Since similar strategies have been decided upon and implemented in many European cities, there is much to learn from other forerunner cities. The project focuses on two aspects: first, it studies four matching forerunner cities, assess the learning capacities of their key actors (including public, private and civil society actors) and the transfer potential of demonstration and lighthouse projects in these four cities. Second, it asks, on a more general scale, how mid-sized forerunner cities like Turku, Rostock, Malmö and Groningen can develop from city pioneers to city leaders, gain national and international recognition and reputation as leading cities, and thus help to upscale successful local projects nationally as well as internationally. The project is an applied research project which produces policy advice and recommendations for the four cities involved but also for mid-sized cities in Europe in general. The main findings of the project are published as a report, in addition various transfer activities are conducted to facilitate learning opportunities.