“We’ll pull through” – that’s the motto for Barcelona’s path back to normality after the corona pandemic. The city has put up a website to support that route, sharing the latest updates, for example on the use of protective masks, and information about social, emotional and financial support. The website is available in English, Spanish and Catalan
Contact: Marta Puchal
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has created a summary of the policy responses to the corona pandemic and the plans for recovery. You can download the document here. More information (in Turkish) is available here
Contact: Asena Selçuk
The city has published a dashboard collating data on the city’s response during the pandemic. It includes data on items like sanitary equipment, digital services, CRM and help desk requests. Read more here
Contact: Olimpia Vaccarino Aureli
From the Crisis Management Desk that handled the corona pandemic, to the website ‘Ankara One Heart’, to food for stray animals: the municipality of Ankara has compiled an overview of measures during the corona crisis. You can download the document here
Contact: Halime Battal
Paris started to gradually ease confinement on 11 May. Doing so has involved a host of measures, from distributing face masks and increasing testing, to information campaigns, reopening of schools, introduction of new bike lanes, and support measures for businesses, cultural institutions, NGO’s and other organisations that are now opening up. These measures are evolving as the situation progresses – read a full updated overview of these measures in English here, or in French here.
Contact: Jean-Yves Camus
The city of Tbilisi, Georgia, has compiled an overview of measures taken in the corona crisis, following the first confirmed case on 26 February: from the disinfection of public places to help for the elderly to support of local businesses. You can download the document here
Contact: Lika Davitadze
Throughout the pandemic, Gdansk has taken a number of measures to ensure that all people had access to information and support, not forgetting the most vulnerable members of society, and, among other things, that children’s education can continue with a minimum of disruption. Please find a partial overview of some of the actions that Gdansk has taken here.
Contact: Joanna Krupadziorow
Vienna has taken an approach of cautious exit and inclusive recovery as the country is slowly going back to ‘normal’. The updated overview highlights measures with regard to a smooth and safe running of city services, from childcare and schools to health and social services, support for the local economy and unemployed citizens and much more. It also contains a survey that shows that the city’s crisis management was positively received by the population. You can download the document here.
Contact: Michaela Kauer or stay up to date at @Stadt_Wien
Flexible start times at work and school, to avoid crowded busses and trams. Enhanced possibilities for cycling and walking in the city. Outdoor catering on closed roads for restaurants. – These are some of the proposals of Budapest’s mayor Gergely Karácsony for a gradual reopening of the city. According to him, the easing of the lockdown demands new thinking and deliberate decisions in many fields from both the national government and the municipality. You can download the document here
Contact: Adrienn Magyar
‘Transparency – so that everything that happens is visible to everyone’: that is the motto of a website from Madrid’s city council, to inform citizens about the council’s decisions and actions. A special section now gives access to information related to the city’s measures on COVID19 and data on the pandemic, also informing about public funds and citizen collaboration in the health crisis. You can visit the Spanish page here
Contact: Ana Buñuel
The city council of Bilbao has approved an action plan worth €15 million, to address the urgent needs resulting from the corona pandemic. More than 50 measures, agreed upon by all political parties, deal with economy and employment, social cohesion and culture. The focus is on people and companies, especially small local businesses, hotels and restaurants, tourism and the cultural and creative sector. You can download an English briefing of the plan here and read more here (in Spanish)
Contact: Alazne Zugazaga
Amsterdam has published a road map for the easing of its restrictions which includes plans for schools, cafés and restaurants to reopen in the next month and longer term plans for things like gyms and health spas. Meanwhile the city is already enacting a host of other measures to limit the spread such as the creation of a €50 million emergency fund. Read more here
Contact: Julia Robeer
Under the ‘Pacte per Barcelona’, the Spanish city has gathered more than 200 organisations to fight the impact of the corona pandemic. This and more is described in an updated version of Barcelona’s ‘Lessons learned’. You can download the document here
Contact: Marta Puchal
Reopening schools with small groups of pupils, making face masks mandatory in the metro and devoting roads to biking, to prevent an intensive surge in car use – these are some of the steps out of the corona lockdown in Paris. The city has compiled a summary of measures. You can download the document here
Contact: Jean-Yves Camus
The Municipality of Guimaraes has instituted a series of measures from housing for homeless people to providing tablets for students to enable distance learning and offering support for tourism focussed micro-enterprises. Read more here
Contact: Crisalia Alves
Paris has compiled a summary of some of the measures the city has taken to support healthcare workers, ensure continuity of municipal services, and take support the vulnerable. You can download the document here.
Contact: Jean-Yves Camus
The municipality has establish an online community based on videocalls to allow those who feel lonely to share their feelings and receive support from others. This is just one among a number of initiatives to tackle the spread of the pandemic have been implemented since the lockdown began seven weeks ago. Read them all here
Contact: Alba Martínez García
Since the beginning of the lockdown the city bike sharing system, is now free of charge or reimbursed when used for under an hour trip. On other matters, Parisians are offered tailored services to maintain their access to culture, such as online museum visits and access to municipal libraries. These are just a few measures among the new updated overview of measures that you can download here
Contact: Jean-Yves Camus
The city of Reykjavik, Iceland, has compiled a summary of measures taken in the coronavirus crisis. The document describes the different phases in response to the pandemic and how “aggressive testing, tracing and quarantining” has slowed the spreading of the virus. Iceland has introduced a tracing app which has been downloaded by one third of the population. Restrictions are eased since beginning of May. You can download the document here
Contact: Hilmar Hildar Magnúsarson
Ljubljana is increasing its offer to all age groups; from working with volunteers to keep the elderly company and offering free counselling via telephone; to digital services for the young and
telemedicine by telephone or other telecommunication means introduced for all.
Further measures adopted by the city include providing additional space for the homeless and working with volunteers from Ljubljana’s firefighter association and members of Ljubljana’s mountain rescue association and civil protection on public communication. Read more here
Contact: Polona Novak
“Budapest awaits!” is the message of a music and dance video, aimed at city residents and tourists. The film, created by the Budapest Festival and Tourism Center, shows the formerly cheerful and lively, but now empty city, waiting to see life returning to the streets and public spaces.
Budapest has also compiled a summary of measures the city has taken in the corona crisis. You can download the document here
Contact: Adrienn Magyar
Vulnerable residents of Riga have the opportunity to receive allowance to ensure the guaranteed minimum of the income level and housing allowance to pay for housing expenses as well as allowance for health care and others. Read more updated measure here
Contact: Egita Alzsilniece
The municipal hospitals of the city of Zurich have patients refraining from going to the hospital and get treatment because they are afraid of getting infected. In order to make some treatments and also appointments possible, the city hospitals set up online diagnostic tools, where patients can contact their doctor if a physical meeting is not needed. You can read other measures in this summary
Contact: Antoine Schnegg
Lisbon City Council has taken a range of extraordinary measures to protect culture. These include €200,000 in immediate support to the city’s Fado houses, as well as exemptions on rent payments for both cultural institutions and individual artists operating in municipal spaces. Read more here
Contact: Jose Pedro Gonçalves
Bilbao city council has undertaken a host of measures to give a boost to access to culture during confinement. These include publishing the city’s cultural agenda online; offering free access to thousands of digitised services through its libraries; and offering some virtual access to the Bilbao Guggenheim museum. Read more here
Contact: Alazne Zugazaga
Some of the actions undertaken by the city of Bilbao include its ‘adopt a shop’ initiative, whereby small retailers can sell vouchers to people, to earn some income now, in exchange for goods when they are later able to open. Other measures include a programme of online leisure activities for young people and an interactive map showing which shops are currently open. Read more here
Contact: Alazne Zugazaga
Tallinn has allocated a municipal food supply and 15,000 euro in financial contribution to the NGO Food Bank, it has kept two day-care centres in the city open 24h, the city library is reading books to children via Skype or by phone, and drones are used to give information in Estonian, Russian and English. Download the full overview here (updated version: 30 April 2020)
Contact: Kerttu Märtin
Vienna has compiled a summary of measures the city has taken in the coronavirus crisis. They include the areas health and social care, public services, help for the economy, housing and homelessness, arts and culture, communication and citizen engagement as well as a part on ‘life after the crisis’. You can download the document here.
Contact: Michaela Kauer or stay up to date at @Stadt_Wien
Riga City Council will grant benefits also to foreign students who have remained in Latvia, who study remotely and who do not have the means to provide basic needs. In other measures, the city is offering counselling services to young people, school children and families; and its call centre for seniors is continuing its operation. Read more here
The City of Amsterdam has compiled an overview of the measures put in place so far to tackle the crisis. These decisions cover areas such as support to homeless people, education, work and income, technology in the office, mobility and economy, among others. Download the document here
Contact: Julia Robeer
The Turkish city of Izmir is organising its work in the corona crisis through a special governance. The city has established a Critical Incident Management Team with a Supreme Board, an Executive Board and a Science Board. A new directive provides those bodies with the necessary authority to take decisions in the crisis. The directive also regulates the cooperation of the metropolitan and the 30 district municipalities in Izmir, as well as with business and civil society. You can read more and download an overview of measures here and here on the municipality’s website
Contact: Ozan Sumerkan
The City of Thessaloniki has taken actions to create a public information campaign, through measures like sharing personal hygiene advertisements at bus stops; social actions such as providing daily meals for those in need; and disinfecting public areas such as schools and municipal buildings. Download the full overview here
Contact: Stella Psarropoulou
The city of Çiğli has compiled its efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis. This exhaustive overview goes from disifection works to public services, including stray animals and awareness raising activities. Download the full document here
Contact: Serdar Karaduman
Tel Aviv has compiled a summary of the measures it has taken to tackle the crisis. The comprehensive report includes a range of measures, from contact and community activities with residents to education and social services, to technology and businesses support. The city has also dedicated a section to seizing opportunities and one to looking at the future after corona. You can download the document here.
Contact: Sharon Landes-Fischer
Corlu has compiled a summary of the measures the city has taken in the coronavirus crisis. The comprehensive report includes a range of measures, from internal restructuring and the creation of new municipal units for crisis management and for fighting the pandemic, to information activities, social services, waste management, and online cultural activities. You can download the document here.
Contact: Fatih Dogan
Lyon Métropole has launched a distribution tool for the 350 farms on the territory. With food markets closed, agriculture producers have been mapped and offer their products via digital platforms. Customers receive the food at grocery stores nearby. Thus, citizens can support the local producers while having a healthy diet. You can read more about this and other initiatives in the city overview.
Contact: Adrien Alberni
The city of Nicosia, Cyprus, has compiled a summary of the municipality’s measures in the corona crisis, from confinement regulations over ‘solidarity baskets’ for the elderly to creative activities for kids, painting their vision of ‘Nicosia 2030’ while at home. The document also provides contact names for further information. You can download it here
Contact: Charis Theocharous
A short summary of Florence’s actions in terms of containment of contagion, movement of people and meeting peoples’ needs. Download the city overview here
Contact: Alessandra Barbieri
Athens has updated their overview of measures
The city of Tirana has compiled a summary of the city’s measures in the corona crisis. It covers measures to minimise the spread of the virus, manage its impact and provide relief for the most vulnerable. You can download the document here
Contact: Blerina Beshku
The Italian city of Genova has compiled a summary of the city’s measures in response to the corona pandemic. The presentation describes a stepwise approach to care for people, jobs and services first, while preparing for reboot and resilient and sustainable growth after the crisis. You can download the document here
Contact: Corrado Ragucci
With music in the streets, the municipality of Kartal, a district of Istanbul, entertains and supports people at home during the corona crisis. A marching band played a series of concerts in ten neighbourhoods and was greeted with flags and applause. The municipality also developed a video programme for kindergarten kids. You can read more and find an overview of measures here (in Turkish and English)
In the Turkish city of Kadikoy, people in need get morale support and healthy food during the corona crisis through the initiative ‘You stay safe’. Meals are prepared by the popular nutrition expert Dilara Koçak and cooked by famous chefs, with ingredients sponsored by restaurants and companies. The municipality delivers the meals. “Balanced nutrition, drinking enough water, good sleep are important for the immune system”, says Dilara Koçak. “In our menus, seasonal vegetables, fruits, balanced protein, enough fiber and cooking methods suitable for health were our priority. I wish it to be healing.” You can read more here (in Turkish) and download an overview of Kadikoy’s measures here
Contact: Duygu Tanrikulu
The district municipality in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul, is feeding stray animals during the corona lockdown. While shops are closed, the local veterinary service units leave animal food at central places. In Istanbul, there are thought to be 130,000 dogs and 125,000 cats roaming free. Other measures of the municipality aim to prevent the spread of the virus in public places like bazaars and to support people in need.
Continue reading “Istanbul – Feeding stray cats and dogs”The European Commission has published a summary of policy measures taken against the spread and the impact of the coronavirus. The 50 pages document lists initiatives with economic and financial relevance in the member states, including regional and city level. You can download the document here
During the COVID-19 lockdown in Greece, “Home Assistants” help vulnerable groups in Thessaloniki with their daily needs like shopping food or medicines. The municipality provides daily meals for people in need, supported by local restaurants. And the city’s tv channel broadcasts lessons for students as well as messages from children to their grandparents.
Continue reading “Thessaloniki – Overview of measures”The City of Zagrzeb has taken a host of actions in response to COVID-19. These include opening a free information based telephone service; exempting fees for nursery school participation; promoting e-service in the public libraries; and opening several new ‘public kitchens’ to offer hot meals to those currently struggling. Read more here
Contact: international.relations@zagreb.hr
Vienna has compiled a summary of measures the city has taken in the coronavirus crisis. They include the areas health and social care, public services, help for the economy, housing and homelessness, arts and culture, communication and citizen engagement as well as a part on ‘life after the crisis’. You can download the document here
The actions of the city of Sofia include two 24/7 online main communication channels dedicated solely to the COVID-19 outbreak, providing news, information, and advice; new e-services such as construction permits and planning permission; temporary relief measures for retails and corporate customers; a call for volunteers to help the most vulnerable; and the creation of a temporary economic council to work on specifics of how to support businesses. Read more here
Contact: Sevdalina Voynova
The City of Pesaro has create 2 facebook groups, among other initatives, that provide activities for people to do while quarantined at home. The original content includes activities concerning sports, cuisine, educational activities, music and culture.
The services also include a telephone support service to request information on health issues, and sharing a list of shops and restaurants that can bring groceries, meals and other necessities direct to people’s homes. read more here
Contact: Filippo Galeazzi
Bilbao has created a summary fo measures taken by the city administration during the coronavirus crisis. This includes converting municipal and sport halls to increase the number of beds offered for social accommodation; city firefighters joining the disinfection efforts; an online sports app; special measures for the city’s market; and a free comprehensive advisory and consultancy service that has been launched by the city council. Read more here
Contact: Alazne Zugazaga
Athens has compiled a summary of measures the city has taken in the corona crisis, including putting a number of police services online, distribution of essential goods, cleaning of the public space, distribution of multi-lingual information, open psychological hotlines, and economic relief for affected businesses. You can download the document with further examples and more information here.
Contact: Dimitris Konstantopoulos
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has compiled a summary of measures and actions taken in the coronavirus crisis. They include disinfecting busses, stations and other public areas, food supply for the 16 million inhabitants, additional health services, housing for the homeless and the communication with the public via different channels. You can download the document here.
Contact: Ayensur Suberk
Warsaw has compiled a summary of measures the city has taken in the corona crisis, including a support package for entrepreneurs, a campaign to encourage neighbour aid for seniors, a cultural progamme that can be enjoyed from home and a coronavirus hotline for foreigners. You can download the document with further examples and more information here.
Contact: Natalia Boitot
The city of Madrid has updated its summary of their measures in response to COVID-19: measures to cover fiscal and economic issues, social issues, mobility, supplies, and cleaning and waste. You can download the document here. The city has also produced a video to motivate its citizens.
Contact: Ana Buñuel
The city of Braga, Portugal, has compiled a summary of measures of the city in response to COVID-19: measures to citizens, social measures, help for the hospitals and the business community as well as international cooperation. You can download the document here. Mayor Ricardo Rio describes the measures in a comprehensive video – watch the film here.
Contact: Nuno Gouveia
Lisbon has compiled a summary of the measures the city has taken in the coronavirus crisis. The comprehensive overview covers areas such as social support, mobility, housing, culture, economy and jobs. Download the full document here
Contact: Jose Pedro Gonçalves
Madrid has compiled a summary of the measures the city has taken in the coronavirus crisis. The comprehensive overview covers the areas civil protection, supply of essential goods, social emergency, cleaning and waste, mobility, as well as measures on the economy. You can download the document here
Contact: Ana Buñuel
