Sportconference 2005

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INTA is an international network that encourages the exchange of information, experience and best practices on urban development and renewal across the world. Incorporated in Paris in 1974 as a not-for-profit association, INTA has been granted Category 2 Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and has Consultative Status with the Council of Europe.

SportUrban is an inter-regional exchange of methods and approaches by which sport facilities can have a leverage effect on urban regeneration and local development. SportUrban will make recommendations for furthering the potential of sports related projects to contribute positively to aspects of urban regeneration and social inclusion. The project is divided into three main components:
1) An extensive exchange of experiences between partners on the contribution of sport related facilities and equipment to providing employment, to community development, environmental improvement and issues relating to urban rehabilitation. 
2) A series of pilot case studies in the partner cities on a selection of sports related initiatives to explore the extent to which outcomes had been defined, monitored and achieved, the lessons learned and innovative methods and best practice potential for urban development. Methods and practices will be collected via relevant documents, in-depth interviews, group-discussions and field study. 
3) A cycle of professional stages (training period and exchange of civil servants) - to take place in each partner's organisation - will provide another practical dimension to the exchange of methods and experience.

24 partners of the European Union have joined efforts to address a common issue: how to make sports facilities contribute to economic development, urban regeneration, social inclusion and the image of towns and cities. New trends in the practice of sport are calling into question the spatial status quo: new and more individualistic sports are developing outside established sports institutions; new territorial spaces are opening up to the practice of sports, in particular on public spaces in urban areas. The appearance of new sporting places and the requalification of traditional urban spaces have helped many games to develop into full-fledged sports. These new sporting areas, or areas where the public can enjoy sports events, have created the need for new transport and facilities, and often the creation of new services. This, in turn, has changed the townscape. Faced with these trends, local authorities have a key role to play in defining the use of public space and in regulating the public service and social functions of sport.