Timișoara from Today's Cultural Capital to the City of the Future. Design the Future of Your City,

Narrative Synthesis 

The SEE 821 project, titled "Timișoara from Today's Cultural Capital to the City of the Future. Design the Future of Your City," was an initiative led by Universitatea Politehnica Timișoara (UPT), aimed at fostering a forward-thinking civic attitude to ensure the sustainable future of cities. The project was designed to connect past, present, and future cultural values, leveraging the energy of civic engagement to drive urban development and cultural preservation.

Through a series of bilateral exchanges, exhibitions, workshops, and knowledge-sharing initiatives, the project provided a platform for community engagement and international cooperation between Romania and Norway, particularly in the context of Timișoara's role as the 2023 European Capital of Culture.

Objectives and Vision

At its core, the project sought to stimulate a visionary mindset among citizens, encouraging them to take an active role in shaping their cities. By integrating cultural heritage with innovative urban development strategies, the initiative aimed to bridge the gap between historical preservation and future city planning. The collaboration with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) played a crucial role in developing methodologies to evaluate urban resources and sustainable city planning.

To achieve these goals, the project focused on several key areas:

• Enhancing cross-border institutional collaboration through bilateral exchanges.
• Promoting Timișoara as a European Capital of Culture and exploring its long-term cultural and economic impact.
• Developing educational materials and training programs on rethinking urban resources for a sustainable future.
• Encouraging cultural entrepreneurship and digital accessibility of cultural services.
• Organizing international discussions on urban development challenges and sustainable city planning.

Key Activities and Achievements

1. Bilateral Visits and Institutional Exchanges

A core aspect of the project was the exchange of expertise and best practices between Romanian and Norwegian institutions. Two major bilateral visits were organized:

• March 2023 (Trondheim, Norway) – UPT representatives engaged with experts from NTNU and the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) to discuss urban sustainability, city planning, and cultural heritage management.
• October 2023 (Timișoara, Romania) – Norwegian partners visited Timișoara, participating in cultural events and exploring practical applications of sustainable urban development.

These exchanges facilitated direct collaboration, providing an opportunity for experts, students, and policymakers to develop strategies for integrating cultural heritage into modern urban planning.

2. Educational Initiatives and Training

One of the most significant outcomes of the project was the development of a digital training course, "Reevaluating City Resources for a Sustainable Future," co-created with NTNU. The course was piloted between October and November 2023, attracting over 40 participants, significantly exceeding the initial target. Topics included:

• Smart cities and urban digitalization.
• Green infrastructure and sustainable city planning.
• The role of artificial intelligence in urban environments.
• Managing urban light pollution.
• The impact of media on civic engagement.

By incorporating real-world examples from both Romania and Norway, the course provided a practical, interdisciplinary approach to sustainable city development, ensuring a lasting educational impact.

3. Cultural Exhibitions and Community Engagement

The project placed significant emphasis on community participation, involving students, researchers, and professionals in a variety of activities. Two major exhibitions were organized:

• "Expoziția Culturii Bănățene" (The Banat Culture Exhibition) – Showcased the multi-ethnic and multicultural history of the Banat region, featuring over 200 cultural figures and 150 artifacts. The exhibition provided a space for knowledge exchange, helping visitors understand the diverse historical influences shaping Timișoara.
• "Proiectează Viitorul Orașului Tău" (Design the Future of Your City) – This forward-thinking exhibition, held in October 2023, displayed student-created models and concepts for urban sustainability, encouraging young people to envision future cityscapes centered around green infrastructure and digital innovation.

Through these events, the project successfully engaged local communities, fostering a dialogue between different generations on urban transformation and sustainability.

4. International Roundtable and Hackathon

To deepen the conversation on urban sustainability, the project hosted a high-level roundtable titled "Current and Future Challenges of Urban Development", bringing together Romanian and Norwegian experts, students, and policymakers. Discussions focused on:

• Best practices in sustainable city planning.
• The role of civic engagement in urban regeneration.
• Digital tools for urban resilience.

A hackathon was also organized, where 31 students worked in teams to develop practical solutions for urban challenges, including mobility, energy efficiency, and smart city integration. The event strengthened international collaboration and encouraged young professionals to approach city planning with an innovative, problem-solving mindset.

5. Study Visit to Sibiu

Recognizing the importance of learning from past experiences, the project included a study visit to Sibiu, a former European Capital of Culture. Participants explored successful urban regeneration models, drawing comparisons between Timișoara and Sibiu to understand how cultural heritage can serve as a driver for economic and social development.

Impact and Sustainability

The SEE 821 project created a long-term framework for integrating cultural heritage, sustainability, and digital innovation into urban planning. Several initiatives were designed to ensure the sustainability of the project's outcomes:

• Establishing open-access educational resources, making the training course widely available to professionals and students.
• Strengthening research collaborations between UPT and NTNU, including future participation in programs like COST, Horizon Europe, and Erasmus+.
• Enhancing digital cultural accessibility by digitizing cultural resources and making them widely available online.
• Encouraging policy integration, ensuring that insights from the project inform local urban planning initiatives.

The project also had a strong media presence, with multiple articles published, broadening its impact and increasing public awareness of urban sustainability challenges.

Conclusion

Through SEE 821, UPT and its Norwegian partners successfully bridged the past and the future, demonstrating that cultural heritage can play a key role in sustainable city development. By engaging citizens, researchers, and policymakers, the project fostered a collective vision for the future of urban environments—one that balances historical preservation with digital innovation and sustainable growth.

The initiative set a strong foundation for future collaborations, ensuring that Timișoara's cultural and urban legacy continues to inspire forward-thinking development well beyond its role as a European Capital of Culture.

For more information please contact Dr. Habil. Eng. Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, project manager (rares.halbac-cotoara-zamfir@upt.ro)