Supported projects

VIENNA - The fact that Vienna was named the most liveable city in the world in 2024 for the third year in a row by The Economist is largely due to its generous social housing policy. The central question in this dossier is “what can Flanders learn from Vienna in terms of social, affordable housing”?

BRNO/WARSAW - 'Dammed Waters' examines the political and economic interests behind contrasting flood defence approaches across the Czech Republic and Poland. Through field reporting, data analysis and in-depth interviews, this cross-border investigation uncovers why some flood defences in the region succeed whilst others fail catastrophically.

LILLE/ROTTERDAM - This research explores the intersection of urban development projects and drug crime reduction, looking at the shortcomings and successful strategies of two cities.

PETROSANI - The Just Transition Mechanism promised Europe's coal regions that their communities would not be left behind as coal-intensive industries close. This team of journalists investigates what's happening in the coal regions of Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria.

ROTTERDAM - In the late 1980s, an existing plans to convert Rotterdam The Hague Airport into a residential area was already underway. A team of investigative journalists aims to find out how closing down airports within close proximity to a city delivers a higher quality of life to the residents of the surrounding cities.

VALENCIA - In recent years, several European countries have faced devastating floods, sparking discussions on how to mitigate or prevent such disasters. In Spain, the tragedy in Valencia in October 2024 has led to the exploration of solutions like early warning systems, architectural adaptations, and better regulation of flood-prone areas. 

BRUSSELS - In this investigation, a diverse group of journalists analysed climate risk reports, academic literature and EU strategies for climate adaption to grasp the current state of adaptation in Europe. They also looked at local climate adaptation in Oradea, Romania, Loulé, Portugal and Rostock, Germany to see what local circumstances hinder or encourage good climate adaptation practice.

MILAN / BOLOGNA / BARCELONA / DRESDEN – This investigation looked in the climate action plans of leading cities in Italy, Spain and Germany, scrutinising their use of EU funding, and identifying effective solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

MILANO - The number of homeless people in Europe has doubled since 2009. A recent report from the Feantsa states that Europe has almost 895,000 homeless people.

MILAN/ROTTERDAM - Many cities in Europe are experimenting with citizen’s assemblies to develop stronger and more inclusive climate policies. But are these experiments effective? The team investigated the value and shortcomings of the assemblies as a climate policies solution.