The Urban Insights Center
A practice-based collective generating actionable resources for city leaders, practitioners and communities navigating the complex challenges of urban change.
About us
Urban INC — the Urban Insights Center — is a practice-based collective rooted in over a decade of real-world city work. We generate actionable resources for city leaders, practitioners, and communities navigating the complex challenges of urban change.
We don't just theorize about cities—we co-create with them. Our practice is grounded in rigorous research and scientific evidence, but always driven by what works on the ground. We work with city teams, organisations, and networks across Europe and beyond, testing approaches, learning from failures, and scaling what delivers real impact.
Our work revolves around four interconnected dimensions that enable systemic urban change:
Unlocking financial and non-financial resources that enable change.
Building knowledge through hands-on experimentation and research-backed practice.
Weaving networks and alliances across cities and sectors.
Celebrating emerging practices and fostering a culture of innovation.
Today, our primary clients are the European Urban Initiative, URBACT networks and urban think tanks. We work at the intersection of sustainable tourism and ecosystem building, climate adaptation and just transitions, ethical AI for cities, and culture and social innovation—always rooted in practice, never theory alone.
The team
Director of Research
LinkedIn profile of Rodica Ianole-Călin (opens in a new tab)
In addition, we work with an extensive network of talented practitioners from diverse fields, including urban design, urban planning, performing arts, technology, sociology, economics, social entrepreneurship.
Services
Where we advise
Key areas of expertise include: sustainable tourism and ecosystem building · new work patterns · culture and creative industries · social innovation and entrepreneurship · just transitions
Work with small teams and organisations to rethink their strategic direction — particularly when change brings both internal and social value. Help organisations clarify their mission, reposition their work, and design initiatives that benefit their communities. Support through strategic pivots, resource constraints, and organisational transitions.
Advocate for a holistic approach in how we shape our living environments. This includes adaptation to new climate transformations and safeguarding critical social infrastructures such as libraries and independent press. Advise on urban strategies and policies that centre gender equality, social inclusion, and equitable access to public services and spaces. Work across culture and wellbeing, transport, housing, safety, and local economic development.
Help cities explore how ethical artificial intelligence can address complex urban problems. Work through governance, social, and technical dimensions of responsible AI adoption in urban contexts.
What we help teams build
Develop learning programmes and toolkits for city teams. Create accessible content that translates policy into practice. Design curricula that build skills in strategic thinking, innovation, and inclusive governance. Programmes can be tailored for city technicians, urban changemakers or frontline practitioners.
Capture and synthesise lessons from urban projects and initiatives. Turn on-the-ground experimentation into shared knowledge. Document good practices, failures, and transferable insights. Support cities in understanding what worked, why, and for whom.
Coach teams to design and test small-scale prototypes before scaling up. Help city practitioners understand what a 'small action' could achieve — and how to use it to learn, engage residents, and build political support.
How we bring people together
Moderate and host large-scale urban forums, workshops, and city networks. Curate speakers and storylines that connect research to practice. Facilitate deep conversations among practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. Design immersive learning experiences and study visits.
Design and establish governance structures for urban innovation (living) labs and collaborative processes. Build frameworks that bring together city teams, residents, businesses, and civil society. Set up decision-making processes that are inclusive and effective.
Organise and facilitate international learning exchanges between cities. Help practitioners adapt successful urban practices from one context to another. Support replication and scaling of urban innovations across networks and geographies.
Portfolio
Project links open in a new tab.
Past projects include
Co-founder of the Urban Innovation Unit Cluj-Napoca (opens in a new tab) 2017-2021, Strategic advisor for the Bucharest Community Foundation (opens in a new tab) new strategic framework 2025-2035.
Past projects include
Ad-hoc URBACT Innovation Expert for Gendered Landscape (opens in a new tab), DigiPlace (opens in a new tab), Playful Paradigm II (opens in a new tab), Co4Cities (opens in a new tab).
Current work
EUI Innovation expert for ConTe – Co-creating Madeira's Climate-Adapted Future with Novel Technology Schemes (opens in a new tab), Madeira Island, Portugal; EUI Innovation Expert for SCT HUB (opens in a new tab), Krakow, Poland.
Current work
Curriculum designer for URBACT e-Universities (opens in a new tab), Festivals and Campus; Curriculum designer for European Urban Initiative Guidance on Field Testing Actions and Innovative Solution Model (opens in a new tab), UrbanINC Innovation Toolbox (opens in a new tab) (Ro only).
Current work
EUI Innovation expert for ConTe, Madeira (Portugal); EUI Innovation expert for SCT Hub, Krakow (Poland) — key insights of year 1 of implementation (opens in a new tab); EUI Transfer Expert for innovative initiatives led by Valencia (Spain), Ravenna (Italy), Celje (Slovenia), Galway (Ireland), Egaleo (Greece); Lead Researcher for the study on good practices for Integrated Approach in Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) projects (opens in a new tab).
Current work
Field testing actions under implementation from Zentropy MICE (opens in a new tab) transfer cities – Heidelberg, Ljubljana and Larissa and from FOOTPRINTS (opens in a new tab) transfer cities – Dubrovnik, Veszprem and Altea; URBACT Tourism-friendly Cities 10 small scale prototypes (opens in a new tab) implemented by Venice, Rovaniemi, Druskininkai and 7 other European cities.
Current work
Main moderator / Master of Ceremony of URBACT Festival 2026 (opens in a new tab), Moderator for Cities Forum 2025 (opens in a new tab), Moderator for European Week of Cities and Regions 2022, Curator Urban Dialogues Series 2018-2021.
Past projects include
Co-founder of the Urban Innovation Unit Cluj-Napoca (opens in a new tab) 2017-2021, Co-designer and project manager for the Urban Innovative Action Cluj Future of Work (opens in a new tab).
Current work
EUI Transfer Expert for transferring good practices from Zentropy MICE (opens in a new tab) in Valencia to Heidelberg, Ljubljana and Larissa; from FOOTPRINTS (opens in a new tab) in Ravenna transfer cities – Dubrovnik, Veszprem and Altea; from MAG-NET (opens in a new tab) in Celje to Kosice, Varazdin and Nardo; from RocktheBlock (opens in a new tab) in Egaleo to Paris, Naples, Josefvaros; from WATERWAY (opens in a new tab) in Galway to Agueda, Ludbreg and Jesolo; Boston – Cluj-Napoca urban innovation exchange (opens in a new tab).
We have worked with
Our work has been supported by a range of funding programmes and partnerships across Europe. We've accessed grants through:
We've partnered with city administrations, cultural institutions, social enterprises, and research centres including:
Today, our primary clients are the European Urban Initiative and URBACT networks, working on projects that shape the future of European cities.