“Cities at the Center” is the title of our latest infographic showcasing how MedCities supports Mediterranean municipalities in addressing some of today’s most pressing urban challenges. Across the region, we work with local governments and communities to strengthen urban resilience through projects focused on water management, waste management, sustainable mobility, and the revitalisation of public space.

Our actions range from concrete interventions in specific neighbourhoods — particularly in Southern Mediterranean cities where urgent gaps have been identified — to long-term strategic initiatives. These broader programmes help local authorities localise and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while embedding resilience into urban planning and governance frameworks.

At the heart of every project lies a shared principle: cities thrive when citizens are actively involved in shaping them. We promote co-creation processes that bring together local authorities, civil society, technical experts, and community members. This participatory paradigm shift strengthens ownership, improves solutions, and ensures that change is both inclusive and sustainable.

MedCities combines direct on-the-ground action with strong capacity-building components, empowering local institutions to sustain results over time. Knowledge sharing is also central to our mission: lessons learned are disseminated across our network so that municipalities and metropolitan areas throughout the Mediterranean can replicate and adapt successful practices.

These initiatives are made possible thanks to the support of key partners and funders, including Barcelona Metropolitan Area-International and Digital Metropolis service, the Provincial Council of Barcelona, Coopreation Department of the Government of Catalonia, Interreg Euro-MED Programme, Interreg NEXT MED Programme, PRIMA Programme, Horizon Europe, the European Committee of the Regions, Barcelona Municipality, the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), Mission Ocean Waters, or the European Commission, among others.

Positioning Mediterranean Cities in Key Political Processes

Beyond implementing technical projects on the ground, MedCities works to ensure that Mediterranean local authorities are actively represented in international political arenas. The visual “MedCities 2025: Positioning local authorities and metropolises in political processes in the Mediterranean” summarises our main advocacy and political engagement actions, highlighting how we amplify the voice of cities in strategic decision-making spaces.

Water management is one of the central themes we bring to international forums. In preparation for the upcoming Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum in Rome, MedCities has organised roadmap discussions and preparatory events in Barcelona, encouraging member cities to define shared positions and actively contribute to the regional water agenda. This work strengthens peer cooperation while ensuring that urban perspectives are reflected in high-level debates.

Our engagement also extends to broader regional frameworks, including ongoing discussions around the Pact for the Mediterranean. For years, MedCities has advocated for a stronger local dimension within these processes, emphasising that sustainable and inclusive development can only be achieved if cities and metropolitan areas are recognised as key actors. In parallel, we work to influence European financial frameworks so that funding mechanisms effectively reach local authorities and support decentralised cooperation.

Looking ahead to 2026, MedCities will continue reinforcing the collective presence of Mediterranean cities in global and regional events such as WUF13 and the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum. Through initiatives like the MedCities Dialogues and the Mediterranean Cities Conference, we strengthen political ties, foster regional cooperation, and consolidate the role of cities at the centre of Mediterranean governance.