Across Europe, cities are emerging as the quiet heroes of our times. From the cobbled streets of historic capitals to the innovation hubs of tomorrow, local governments are steering - proving that real transformation starts from within and from the ground up. Amid growing climate, democratic and economic pressures, cities are balancing bold climate neutrality ambitions with the everyday needs of their citizens and the challenges of a wavering trust in public institutions. This Urban October we celebrate their inspiring work. World Cities Day reminds us that local leadership is the engine of the global sustainability transition.
For over three decades, ICLEI has stood alongside cities helping to turn sustainability visions into tangible policy and practice. From shaping Agenda 21 to influencing the European Green Deal and now the Clean Industrial Deal, ICLEI members have championed local innovation as the key to systemic transformations. Today, through initiatives like Local Green Deals (LGDs), Climate City Contracts (CCCs), and the newly launched Urban Sustainability Management (USM) Model, ICLEI Europe strengthens cities’ capacity to adopt a practical, flexible approach towards sustainability and circular, climate-resilient economies.
Building trust by rethinking governance
Across Europe, cities are rewriting the rulebook on governance and how climate action on the local level can go hand in hand with democratic renewal. As public trust in institutions waver and misinformation spreads, many local governments are opting for a new path rooted in openness, participation and accountability. Rather than making green decisions for their citizens, cities are learning to make them with their citizens.
With the GreenDEMO project, pioneering cities such as Aalborg, Bristol and Mannheim are testing new governance models that strengthen democracy while advancing the green transition.
In Mannheim this means rethinking how its administration communicates. Transparency and dialogue are key tools to countering misinformation and fostering civic engagement. Through its public Climate Dashboard, residents can track the city’s progress toward achieving their climate targets. Neighbourhood initiatives like Blumme und Bääm, and the Heat Transition Academy connect residents and professionals around practical climate solutions, making sustainability tangible and inclusive. When false claims about topics like heating systems or greening projects arise, the city responds quickly through trusted local networks and addressing this in the public realm through creative events like the Facts Against Climate Fakes exhibition.
Aalborg, meanwhile, is charting its own course to participatory climate governance. The Danish city is designing new governance models that bring together political leadership, public administration and civil society around shared climate goals. From 2026, the city will launch an ambitious mapping of community actors, from youth and families to local councils and businesses, to understand how residents want to engage in the climate transition. Insights from surveys and focus groups will directly inform decision-making, creating a Climate Plan co-owned by citizens and institutions alike.
By rethinking governance, like Mannheim and Aalborg, cities can build lasting trust and accountability in their climate action. Their innovative approaches towards new governance models shows how local governments can serve not only as administrators of government policy but facilitators of collective action and trust.
Circular economies emerge through sustainability management
Cities are not only rethinking their governance models, they are reimagining their economies. Across Europe they are using sustainability management to steer the shift towards circular, climate resilient economies. As part of the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC), participating cities promoted clean tech production and deployment by adopting new Local Green Deals (LGDs). These represent an innovative governance approach that helps local governments pursue integrated sustainability strategies and adopt collaboration agreements between public administrations and local stakeholders.
In Nicosia (Cyprus), the city has shown how partnering with universities, canteens and the national Department of Environment can turn circularity into daily practice. Within the framework of Local Green Deal on sustainable food waste management, the city installed mechanical composters across institutional kitchens to turn food waste into organic fertiliser. Food waste that was once sent to landfill, is transformed into nutrient-rich fertiliser, feeding campus gardens and reducing emissions. Nicosia’s approach not only advances Cyprus’s national waste diversion targets but also shows how clean technologies can turn waste recovery into a greener and more innovative economy.
Over the past five years, ICLEI Europe has supported more than 80 European cities in developing over 400 Local Green Deals, accelerating implementation of frameworks such as Climate City Contracts and Regional Adaptation Strategies. Each of these initiatives is a building block for systemic transformation to make sustainability, tangibly measurable and shared.
Turning systemic change into practice
Systemic transformation requires more than ambition: it needs structure, continuity and shared purpose. ICLEI Europe’s Urban Sustainability Management Model (USM) serves as the operational backbone for cities to plan, implement and track their Local Green Deals as place-based frameworks for climate adaptation.
The cities of Maribor (Slovenia) and Burgas (Bulgaria), participating in the TICCA4DANU project, are applying this model to develop climate adaptation-focused Local Green Deals, linking policy experimentation with clear data-driven outcomes. By aligning with the project’s Transformative Innovation Policy framework, the USM bridges the gap between policy and practice, ensuring that systemic change becomes operational and durable.
Across Europe, cities are not waiting for change, they are building it. From transparent governance in Mannheim, to participatory planning in Aalborg, circular innovation in Nicosia and adaptive management in Maribor and Burgas, these cities show what transformation looks like in practice. Their efforts echo new scientific insights that local leadership is central to accelerating the global sustainability transition.
For the 31 days of October, for Word Cities Day and indeed all year round, ICLEI Europe remains committed to empowering local leadership, supporting cities in advancing the Clean Industrial Deal. Systemic change is no longer just an aspiration; it is happening now, in neighbourhoods, councils and communities led by cities redefining how Europe lives, works and thrives together.
For more stories from ICLEI member cities and to learn how to engage with ICLEI’s networks and models, click here.