PACTE+

Promoting Active Cities Throughout Europe

Summary

The Promoting Active Cities Throughout Europe plus (PACTE+) project is a three-year initiative led by the Sport and Citizenship Think Tank and funded by the EU's Erasmus+ program. It is implemented by a total of 11 European partners. The project provides resources and tools to cities and municipalities to launch action plans for more physical activity and sports. The focus is on the improvement and practical application of the Matrix of Change, which was developed in the predecessor project PACTE. This is intended to make an important contribution to transforming urban spaces into places that are physical activity friendly and fit for the future.

Background

Previous projects and recent research have revealed some alarming facts regarding physical activity in Europe. For example, more than one-quarter of all Europeans are physically inactive, resulting in an annual cost of at least €80 billion in the EU. However, the majority of local European decision-makers are not aware of this situation. Therefore, these results have shown that politics at the local level need to pay more attention to the areas of sport, physical activity, and health because local administrations and actors can implement more effective policies to promote physical activity compared to the federal government.

Aim of the project

Kick-Off Meeting of the PACTE+ project in Brussels

The main goal of the project is to encourage decision-makers in cities and municipalities to take a proactive approach to promote physical activity to improve individual and collective well-being and health of the population. This will be made possible through the extensive use of the enhanced Matrix of Change.

The PACTE+ project has been divided into three main phases:

The first phase involves a Europe-wide, quantitative survey of cities and municipalities to assess the previous experience and the utility of the Matrix of Change. The second phase includes the implementation of a total of four actions at the local level in the cities of Angers (France), Frederikstad (Norway), Graz (Austria), and Limerick (Ireland), focusing on the four pillars of the Matrix of Change: 1) Active Education, 2) Active Mobility, 2) Active Workplace, and 4) Active Policy. The third and final phase is dedicated to transferring the lessons learned to the public as well as to specific stakeholders in the fields of urban planning, health, education, physical activity, and sport.