The Future of Terrassa: A Glimpse into Emerging Cultural Hubs and Urban Innovations
Loredana ValeVice-president, Asociația Future Hubs
Published from Cluj-Napoca
European cities, reported from Cluj
206 cities
What each one is building, across 38 countries — economy, transport, governance, cost of living.
13 interviews
Mayors, deputy mayors and city officers, at length and on the record.
Everything sourced
Each figure carries where it came from and the date it was checked.
Most reporting on cities arrives as a ranking or a press release.
We do it the slow way instead: one page per city, written from what the city is actually building, and conversations with the people responsible — recorded at the Eurocities conference Cluj-Napoca hosted in 2024, and kept going since. When something we published stops being true, we say so and fix it in the open.
Recently
Notes from the four people who make this — on what changed in European cities, and on our own corrections.
- Europe cannot say where its local news has goneYou cannot report on a city whose newsroom nobody is counting.Loredana Vale
- Europe's offices are not empty. They are unevenly full.The vacancy headline and the leasing desk have been telling different stories for three years.Debrețeni Raynhold-Hunor
- The cheapest urban intervention in Europe is a closed street at 8amI run outdoor workshops for children in Cluj. The hardest part is never the workshop — it is getting them there.Meda Andreea Căpîlna
- We lost BestCluj.com, and rebuilt it from the Internet ArchiveA cultural platform is only as permanent as its least-backed-up page.Robert Eduard Antal
On the record
Behind every profile is somebody who has to make it work. Loredana Vale interviewed them — mayors, deputy mayors, city officers and organisers, from Vantaa to Terrassa.All interviews
Ibrahim Tanko Amidu on Empowering Youth and Building Sustainable Cities
Explore how Ghana is leading the way in youth empowerment and sustainable urban growth. Discover initiatives that foster civic engagement.
Innovative Urban Solutions: Stéphanie Poppe on Rennes' Green Future
Explore Rennes' urban projects and sustainability initiatives through the insights of Stéphanie Poppe. Combating Disinformation, France Rennes
Mayor Pekka Timonen: “A Sustainable City is a Better City for Everyone”
Vantaa Mayor Pekka Timonen: “A Sustainable City is a Better City for Everyone”. Explore how Vantaa is leading the way in sustainable urban development through innovative projects and green initiatives.
And the archive behind them
One page for every city we covered: what it is working on, who runs it, how people get around and what it costs to live there. Gathered in 2024 during the Eurocities year, and checked against its sources since.
38 countries
179 themes
206 cities
The newsrooms we point to
Countering disinformation is the first purpose in our statute, and in practice that means naming the people already doing the work — independent newsrooms that fund themselves, publish the evidence and correct themselves in public.
Truth TellersAnd the local half
Brings Cluj-Napoca's creative professionals forward, on a stage wider than the city — the local half of the same idea.
BestCluj.comWritten by
Robert Eduard Antal , Loredana Vale , Debrețeni Raynhold-Hunor and Meda Andreea Căpîlna — four people in Cluj-Napoca who run this as a registered association .
Take part
The association has four kinds of membership, from active members with a vote to partner organisations. Applications go to the president and are confirmed by the Council.