PLACES

Providing Local Actors with Case Studies, Evidence and Solutions

About

Across the world, cities and regions are testing innovative solutions for how to build more resilient, sustainable and inclusive communities. From preparing workers for the digital and green transition, to creating community hubs that promote pride in place, they are learning what does – and does not – work in the process. The OECD PLACES portal serves as a hub for local policy makers and practitioners to harness these experiences, providing access to the latest OECD evidence briefs and case studies. It is powered by the OECD Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Programme and its Local Development Forum.

In Focus: What will it take to future-proof skills systems in cities and regions?

In cooperation with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the OECD is conducting work to support cities and regions in improving their skills systems to respond to ongoing labour market changes. Interested in the latest local innovations? Check out case studies below.

For more information on the overall project, see the Future-proofing Adult Learning in Cities webpage.

What’s new? Browse our latest case studies

Housuujuku: Entrepreneurship education in Saga Prefecture, Japan

Saga Prefecture, Japan— • Established in 1999, Housuujuku (HSJ; “a school offering entrepreneurship education”) provides entrepreneurship education with the aim of developing and fostering talent in the region. • HSJ provides entrepreneurship education by utilising its...

10/04/2024

Inclusive Infrastructure: Scaling-up local investment in the United States

Infrastructure provides the foundation for regional economic development and wellbeing. Historically significant federal infrastructure funding in the United States provides a historic opportunity to close the current infrastructure investment gap. To scale-up investment in an...

13/02/2024

Understanding infrastructure market capacity constraints in Australia

Australia— • Australia has undergone a significant period of growth in public infrastructure investment that has placed pressure on the construction sector across all Australian states and territories. • In response to emerging market constraints, Infrastructure Australia...

09/02/2024

Hachioji City — Utilising 3D city models and Augmented Reality to enhance local public engagement

Hachioji City, Japan— • To support public engagement during the planning phase of the renovation of a public waste facility, Hachioji City (Japan), adopted a novel approach that included combined augmented reality technology with 3D city...

09/02/2024

Coordinating spatial planning and investment across state and local boundaries in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region

Hamburg Metropolitan Region, Germany— • The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (HMR) spans four federal states, creating an important need to coordinate spatial planning and infrastructure investment across jurisdictional boundaries. • Coordination within the HMR is supported through...

09/02/2024

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10/04/2024

In practice

Housuujuku: Entrepreneurship education in Saga Prefecture, Japan

Saga Prefecture, Japan— • Established in 1999, Housuujuku (HSJ; “a school offering entrepreneurship education”) provides entrepreneurship education with the aim of developing and fostering talent in the region. • HSJ provides entrepreneurship education by utilising its industry-academia-government network, contributing to the development of business and adult learning through hands-on activities such as internships and programmes in collaboration with companies. • Approximately 5 000 elementary to high school students have received career education through HSJ, helping them develop skills that are required to evaluate potential career paths, while over 600 individuals have graduated from its business school, some of whom have been able to list their companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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13/02/2024

Policy brief

Inclusive Infrastructure: Scaling-up local investment in the United States

Infrastructure provides the foundation for regional economic development and wellbeing. Historically significant federal infrastructure funding in the United States provides a historic opportunity to close the current infrastructure investment gap. To scale-up investment in an inclusive way, governments at all levels can seek to adopt more strategic and inclusive planning approaches, enhance coordination, build local public sector capacity and actively forecast market capacity.

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09/02/2024

In practice

Understanding infrastructure market capacity constraints in Australia

Australia— • Australia has undergone a significant period of growth in public infrastructure investment that has placed pressure on the construction sector across all Australian states and territories. • In response to emerging market constraints, Infrastructure Australia – the Australian Government’s independent infrastructure advisor – developed the Infrastructure Market Capacity Report. The report forecasts the demand and supply of labour, material and equipment required to deliver Australian federal, state and local governments infrastructure pipeline. • The report helps to identify market constraints to inform private and public sector decision making and better match infrastructure resource supply with demand. The report also provides recommendations to improve the capacity of the infrastructure market.

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09/02/2024

In practice

Hachioji City — Utilising 3D city models and Augmented Reality to enhance local public engagement

Hachioji City, Japan— • To support public engagement during the planning phase of the renovation of a public waste facility, Hachioji City (Japan), adopted a novel approach that included combined augmented reality technology with 3D city models to allow workshop participants to visualise renovation ideas, fostering interactive discussion. • The success of the workshop was highlighted by its ability to attract a diverse age group, ranging from 20 to 60 years old, which shows the potential of using new technology to attract broader citizen participation in urban planning processes. • The workshop received a positive reception, with nearly 90% of participants expressing optimism about the future integration of Extended Reality (XR) technology, indicating a growing acceptance of innovative tools in urban planning.

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09/02/2024

In practice

Coordinating spatial planning and investment across state and local boundaries in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region

Hamburg Metropolitan Region, Germany— • The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (HMR) spans four federal states, creating an important need to coordinate spatial planning and infrastructure investment across jurisdictional boundaries. • Coordination within the HMR is supported through an institutional framework with joint decision making bodies consisting of federal states and municipalities who support the identification of joint priorities and investment projects. • Alongside the HMR, the Hamburg Public Transport Association coordinates public transport services and the planning of infrastructure projects in the region and serves as a prime example of effective inter-state collaboration on transport.

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19/01/2024

In practice

Mobilising the Elderly for Economic and Community Development: The Leaf Business in Kamikatsu, Japan

Kamikatsu Town of Tokushima Prefecture, Japan— • Kamikatsu is the smallest town in the Shikoku region with a population of 1 415, of whom more than half are 65 or older. Due to the combined impacts of societal aging, depopulation, and a waning agriculture industry, the rural town faced a stark economic decline in the second half of the 20th century. • The Irodori Corporation’s “leaf business” was introduced in response to these challenges. The company brings together local farmers and the Kamikatsu town government to sell tsumamono: seasonal leaves that can be used as garnishes for traditional Japanese cuisine. • The leaf business is a promising example of reviving a rural economy by making use of natural resources and the skills of an ageing society.

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19/01/2024

In practice

Youth Support Hub: Guidance centres for work, education and everyday life

Ohjaamo centers in Finland function as integrated multi-agency hubs, providing a single point of access for a wide range of services. These centres provide young people with support for challenges related to work, education, and everyday life without making an appointment in advance. The centers operate with flexible partnerships and funding models, ranging from extensive collaborations with chambers of commerce and NGOs to a focus on specific services. Funding comes from municipalities, the Finnish government, the European Social Fund and additional sources based on location, ensuring diverse and sustainable support.

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05/01/2024

In practice

Progettone – job matching for low-skilled workers

Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy— • The Progettone ("big project") is an innovative labour policy initiative that has been implemented in the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy, since 1990. • This programme matches unemployed people, predominantly older workers with low skills, to local needs, including infrastructure projects and community services. • It has played an important role in alleviating the negative impacts of substantial workforce reductions that have severely impacted Trentino's manufacturing sector in recent years.

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05/01/2024

In practice

Carolina Textile District, an industry cooperative, USA

Carolina Textile District (CTD) is an industry cooperative aspiring to revitalise the textile industry in the United States of America by creating quality products, generating valuable jobs, building local communities and providing a sustainable system of production that can be mainstreamed worldwide.

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05/01/2024

In practice

Community Wealth Building for a well-being economy

Community wealth building is a placed-based approach to development that seeks to harness the wealth that communities create by pre-distributing it and redistributing back into the hands of local communities and people. The Glasgow City region developed a Community Wealth Building plan focusing on spending and land use to create more local jobs, encourage training and develop a plan for land use that includes, economic, social and cultural priorities. Empowering local communities, focusing on local procurement and building social investment can help to improve local well-being and build economic resilience.

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05/01/2024

In practice

SGE – a solidary basic income in Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany— • The solidary basic income pilot (SGE) by the State of Berlin, running from 2019 to 2025, combats long-term unemployment by providing permanent jobs in socially relevant activities and creating opportunities for career advancement and training for participants. • The SGE has received positive feedback from its participants, as the majority are happy with their job and willing to work in the same position for the next few years. All of the 1 000 funded positions are currently filled. • Ongoing evaluations will document if the programme proves successful in moving long-term unemployed people back into regular employment on a voluntary basis, and the degree to which the SGE pilot provides a viable alternative to unemployment benefits.

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05/01/2024

In practice

The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership

Montreal, Canada— • The Quartier des Spectacles (QDS) in Montreal, Canada is home to 450 cultural businesses and organisations providing more than 7 000 culture-related jobs. • Created in 2003, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is a not-for-profit organisation that brings together around 85 members from various backgrounds who collaboratively support the development and promotion of the cultural value of the Quartier. • The QDS Partnership is characterised by its unique governance structure, allowing for co-creation among local stakeholders and valuing participatory processes.

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05/01/2024

In practice

A perfect match – supporting SMEs in filling their vacant apprenticeship positions

Germany— • To support SMEs in recruiting trainees and skilled workers, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action initiated the programme Passgenaue Besetzung (“perfect match”). • Around 150 advisors across the country are employed through the programme supporting SMEs to identify their needs, draw up requirement profiles, search for potential candidates, and support the recruitment process. • For one out of two matches, Passgenaue Besetzung fills training places with people who would not have been considered by the SMEs in the selection process without the programme.

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22/12/2023

In practice

The Green Enterprise Partnership

London Borough of Sutton, United Kingdom— • The Green Enterprise Partnership (GEP) brings together local enterprises, leading business and organised interested groups to test net-zero business models and foster innovation for new sustainable products and services in Sutton High Street (South London). • Through the GEP, the London Borough of Sutton hopes to improve revenues for local businesses and tackle business closures, support the regeneration of the central district, and achieve borough-wide emissions reduction targets. • At an early stage of the project, the main learnings highlight the importance for local governments to explore the full extent of their powers to effectively address the challenges of the climate emergency. Local governments can embrace risk tolerance and allocate sufficient resources for policy development and project planning, as well as build on the best scientific and empirical evidence available.

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19/12/2023

In practice

Nature-based solutions for city centre revitalisation

Liverpool, United Kingdom¬— • While visitors have returned to Liverpool’s city centre at pre-pandemic levels, local businesses continue to face challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis. • To address these challenges, the city identified the value of nature in promoting greater connectivity, encouraging investments and making Liverpool an attractive place to live and work. • Short-term impacts are already visible, for example in a local high street, where businesses have benefitted from the broader greening efforts in the area.

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15/12/2023

Policy brief

Regional social economy strategies

Traditionally, the social economy has been seen as primarily a means to “repair” social problems (such as homelessness, labour market exclusion and other forms of social exclusion experienced by vulnerable groups). However, the social economy can, and in many places already does, play a much larger role in supporting local development, including the transformation to more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies.

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27/09/2023

Policy brief

Attracting talent: The (no longer) remote option for regions and cities

Remote work has become more widespread in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and high levels of remote work are likely to persist. All countries for which comparable data are available have seen an expansion of remote work in recent years, and most businesses and individuals expect a greater use of this working practice than before the pandemic.

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27/09/2023

Policy brief

The surge of teleworking: a new tool for local development?

Teleworking has risen to record levels since the COVID-19 outbreak. Countries experienced a dramatic rise in teleworking levels after governments mandated minimising physical presence at work. For example, 47% of workers in France and the UK teleworked during the lockdown in early 2020, and Australia reached the same rate by the end of the year. Teleworking rose by 25, 20 and 15 percentage points respectively, compared to pre-pandemic levels.

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13/09/2023

In practice

The So Stay Hotel

Gdansk, Poland— The municipality of Gdansk, Poland, established the So Stay Hotel in 2016 to improve the economic prospects and labour market opportunities of young people who grew up in care homes. The hotel is run by a social enterprise and is the first socially responsible facility in Poland.

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05/09/2023

Policy brief

Greening high streets: sustaining community centres

High streets, town centres and commercial districts are both economic and social hubs for communities. They provide residents with local access to services and goods; are important sources of jobs and turnover; and serve as community gathering points and sources of local pride and identity. However, these places – and the businesses that locate there – face a number of challenges, such as rising rent and energy costs, declining foot traffic and climate pressures. To cope with these challenges, “greening” strategies can offer win-win solutions, helping to both address climate change and making these places more attractive to residents and visitors.

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