Open Calls

Welcome to YouRban — a European platform where design, sustainability, and urban innovation come together. Our open calls for Milan or Barcelona invite artists, designers, and creative thinkers to explore new ways of recycling and upcycling reinforced polymers while shaping more inclusive and circular cities. Whether you’re responding to a local challenge or developing your own solution, YouRban offers funding, mentorship, and a space to bring your ideas into action.

Open Call 1: for Artists, Citizens & Designers 

MILAN

Approach: Problems Looking for a Solution
Location: Milan, Italy
For Whom: Designers, Artists, Urban Creators

The YouRban project invites professionals from the creative and design sectors to participate in a residency based in Milan. Selected applicants will develop innovative, sustainable solutions to address specific urban challenges previously identified through consultation with local stakeholders.

Thematic Focus

Applicants are expected to respond to one of the following predefined challenges:

  1. Eco-friendly Urban Mobility
  2. Temporary Activation of Neglected Spaces
  3. Revitalization of Public Squares
  4. Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation

Projects should propose practical, design-based interventions using recycled fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. Site-specific installations are encouraged, with suggested urban areas mapped for implementation.

Grant & Support
  • Financial contribution: €17,500 per project
  • Duration: 8-month residency (September 2025 – April 2026)
  • Support includes:
    • Mentorship from YouRban experts
    • Access to co-creation digital tools (Kartu platform)
    • Collaboration with an Urban Factory in Milan
Key Dates
  • Mandatory in-person participation:
    • Kick-off event in Milan (September 2025)
    • Mid-term review (Oct 2025 – Feb 2026)
    • Final showcase in Barcelona (April 2026)
  • Application Deadline: 30 July 2025, 17:00 (Brussels Time)
How to Apply

Applicants must submit via the official YouRban Kartu platform.

Required documents:
CV (if applying as a natural person)
Project proposal (PDF, max 10MB)
Project presentation (10-slide PDF)

Guidelines for applicants_OC1_MilanDownload

BARCELONA

Approach: Solutions Looking for a Problem
Location: Barcelona, Spain
For Whom: Designers, Artists, Urban Creators

The YouRban project offers an artistic and design residency in Barcelona, focused on creators who bring forward independent ideas for sustainable, urban-centered innovation. Rather than responding to a predefined challenge, applicants are expected to develop a conceptual or physical solution and identify the problem it addresses throughout the design process.

Thematic Focus

Applicants are encouraged to approach urban challenges from any scale (domestic to public) and to define the issue their solution will address. This open-ended framework supports experimental thinking and conceptual exploration, with an emphasis on recyclable materials, particularly fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP).

The selected projects may be artistic, functional, or conceptual. They do not need to be tied to specific urban sites.

Grant & Support
  • Financial contribution: €17,500 per project
  • Duration: 8-month residency (September 2025 – April 2026)
  • Support includes:
    • Access to local Fab Labs and Urban Factories
    • Mentoring by YouRban experts
    • Community engagement and participatory processes
Key Dates
  • Mandatory in-person participation:
    • Kick-off event in Barcelona (September 2025)
    • Mid-term review (Oct 2025 – Feb 2026)
    • Final 10-day event in Barcelona (April 2026)
  • Suggested in-residence period: September 2025 – March 2026
  • Application Deadline: 30 July 2025, 17:00 (Brussels Time)
How to Apply

Applicants must submit via the official YouRban Kartu platform.

Required documents:
CV (if applying as a natural person)
Project proposal (PDF, max 10MB)
Project presentation (10-slide PDF)

Guidelines for applicants_OC1_BarcelonaDownload

For a detailed overview of the expected results from OC1, please read carefully the technical annex YouRban OC1 .

YouRban_OC1_ANNEX-ADownload

Submission Platform for Open Call 1

Proposals can be submitted until 30 July 2025, at 17:00 Brussels Time and must be uploaded in the YouRban Kartu online platform accessible via the button below. Register to the platform and use this link to access all the information and relevant documents for the Open Call 1.

Register: Open Call 1

Open Call 2: for Urban Factories

Approach: Partners Empowering Creators
Location: Milan, Italy and Barcelona, Spain
For Whom: FabLabs, MSMEs, laboratories and other organisations interested to become an Urban Factory 

The YouRban Open Call 2 invites European Urban Factories to provide to designers and artists (YouRban OC1) the technical expertise, tools, and infrastructure necessary to support co-design and co-production activities within the artistic residencies at the Urban Factory in Milan or Barcelona.

Objectives

Selected Urban Factories will:

  • Host and mentor 8 creators selected in Open Call 1
  • Lead training and co-creation activities
  • Adapt and upgrade their facilities for reinforced polymer reprocessing
  • Participate in city events and public workshops
  • Collaborate with the YouRban mobile plant
Grant & Activities Funded
  • Financial contribution: €80,000 (one project per city)
  • Duration: 8-months
  • Activities Funded:
    • Facility upgrades and equipment acquisition
    • Technical support and mentorship for artists/designers
    • Prototyping and materials testing
    • Public workshops and demonstrations
    • Travel, training, and dissemination activities
Key Dates
  • Mandatory in-person participation:
    • One or more meetings with YouRban experts (remote or in-person, dates TBD) to create a mentoring plan
    • Visit to the Urban Factory in the other pilot city (dates TBD)
    • Milan Urban Factory – 10-day event in Milan (September 2025)
    • Mid-term review (Oct 2025 – Feb 2026)
    • Barcelona Urban Factory – 10-day event in Barcelona (April 2026)
  • Application Deadline: 30 July 2025, 17:00 (Brussels Time)
How to Apply
  • Submit via Kartu platform
  • Use the official YouRban proposal template OC2
  • Proposals must be in English
  • Only one submission per applicant is allowed
YouRban_Guidelines for applicants_OC2Download


Submission Platform for Open Call 2

Proposals can be submitted until 30 July 2025, at 17:00 Brussels Time and must be uploaded in the YouRban Kartu online platform accessible via the button below. Register to the platform and use this link to access all the information and relevant documents for the Open Call 2.

Register: Open Call 2

Info Sessions

Applicants are encouraged to stay informed through our official communication channels for webinar schedules, registration details and continuously updated EAQ section on our website.

Next Webinar for potential applicants:
17 July 2025, 10:00-11:00 CEST

See the meeting agenda here.

Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/lau(…)&suppressPrompt=true

Join the Webinar Now

Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram for the latest updates.

This is your chance to help shape the future of cities—through collaboration, innovation, and sustainable design.

Webinar Recording: YouRban Open Call Webinar for Potential Applicants
13 June 2025

FAQ

Can the project involve other materials like glass and metal?

As long as the project also contains recycled GFRP, the integration of other materials is possible.

Who can participate?

All EU residents.
The eligible applicants are natural persons, professionals and companies as single partners or small consortia, formed by maximum two legal entities of any EU countries. 

Can two individuals apply together as a team for the Open Call 1?

Yes, two individuals can apply together as a team.
Each applicant must submit a personal CV, as this is mandatory for individuals. Please note that the total project budget is €17,500, which is shared between both applicants to carry out the project activities. The budget is allocated per project, not per person.