Date: Friday 23 October 2026
Time: 13:00 - 14:30 BST
Location: Online via Zoom

Join us virtually this autumn as we hear from from the Urbanism Awards' 2026 finalists about the stories that have shaped great places across the UK and Europe.

This session will focus on the European City of the Year finalists who will introduce each place and share the case studies that have helped make the city a successful urban place – touching on the assessment criteria of Leadership + Governance; Local Character; Amenity + Housing; Commercial Success + Viability; Environmental Sustainability; Community, Health + Wellbeing; Connectivity; and Joy (2026 theme).

European City of the Year finalists

Groningen is a standout Dutch city showcasing exemplary housing innovation, sustainable urban logistics, and world-class cycling infrastructure, offering valuable lessons in progressive, high-quality northern European urbanism.

Prato is a remarkable Italian city successfully blending circular economy principles, textile manufacturing heritage, multicultural integration, and community-led regeneration into a uniquely compelling and scalable urban model.

Tirana impresses with its pioneering child-centred approach to urbanism, incremental tactical improvements, and inclusive public spaces that are transforming city life in inspiring ways.

Speakers

Valerio Barberis

Representing Prato, Italy

Valerio Barberis is an architect, urban designer and PhD in Architectural and Urban Design. He was Professor at the University of Florence and served as Councillor for Urban Planning, Public Works, Environment and Circular Economy for the City of Prato from 2014 to 2024. He contributed to Prato’s urban development strategy, focusing on regeneration, circular economy, urban forestry, ecological transition and climate neutrality. Founder of Barberis & Partners, he works with public and private organisations on urban planning and sustainable territorial transformation. His research explores the relationship between architecture, urban policies and environmental transition. He has participated in international events including the Venice Architecture Biennale and Oslo Architecture Triennale. 

Anuela Ristani

Representing Tirana, Albania

Anuela Ristani has served as Acting Mayor of Tirana and Deputy Mayor, leading International Affairs and Sustainable Development. She joined the City in 2015 as the Chief of Staff and was appointed Deputy after the 2019 elections.
During her work for the city, she has overseen the Green City Action Plan, the Tirana Child Friendly agenda and the Resilience and Sustainability strategies. Prior to joining local government, she established the National Youth Service, where she also co-founded RYCO (Regional Youth Cooperation Office with the participation of the six Western Balkan Countries. Ms Ristani joined public service after more than a decade of experience with multinational corporations and International Organizations, where she served as a Strategic Management and Communications expert.

Alfred Kazemier

Representing Groningen, Netherlands

Alfred Kazemier (Groningen, 1968) has served as director of urban planning for the City of Groningen since 2013. He studied contemporary history at the University of Groningen and has worked for the municipality since 1993. Alfred began his career in marketing and communication, serving as spokesman and advisor to the mayor and several aldermen.
He became involved in urban planning, organising referenda on the future of the Grote Markt, the main square of Groningen, in 2001 and 2005. Since then, he has coordinated many transitions of public space and building sites in the city, using architectural competitions and public voting as an instrument to get inhabitants truly involved in urban planning. 

Alfred strongly believes that an exemplary mid-sized European city like Groningen can help solve challenges other cities across Europe will face in the decades to come. 

“Maintaining and cherishing our high quality of life in a joyful city like Groningen is key to our future urban planning.”

Ben Van Der Meer

Representing Groningen, Netherlands

Ben van der Meer (Leeuwarden, 1976) serves as City Architect of the Municipality of Groningen.
Ben is an architect with a practice based in Groningen, where he also lives. During his career from 2005 to 2015 at the Dutch-Germanarchitectural firm DeZwarteHond, Ben worked on various projects within theGrote Markt Oostzijde / Forum urban development (2002–2022), under the supervision of Berlin-based architect Thomas Muller and the then-City Architect Niek Verdonk. During that period, Ben also worked on a well-known Groningen creative hub, Theatre in de Machinefabriek, for the Noord Nederlands Toneel.
In 2015, Ben was commissioned by the city of Groningen to continue working on the inner-city transformation around the Forum, which led to the founding of his own firm, vector-i, that same year. Ben serves as a guest lecturer in architecture for the bachelor’s and master’s programs at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and also teaches architecture to children at various elementary and secondary schools in the city.

Voting

This webinar acts as a precursor to Urbanism Awards voting, which will open in this category directly following the event. Links to European City assessment reports and the voting form will be circulated to webinar attendees and the AoU Membership in the afternoon of Friday 23 October, once this event has taken place.

Access to assessment reports and voting is restricted to AoU Members only.

Voting for other categories will open directly following the respective 'Learning from' webinars on the following dates:

Winners will be announced at the Urbanism Awards Party on Wednesday 11 November 2026.

Urbanism Awards Party tickets

4-for-3! Non-Members can attend all four 'Learning from' sessions for the price of three by getting in touch at [email protected], or join the AoU as a member for free access to all online sessions and Urbanism Awards voting.

Book tickets

You cannot book tickets for past events.