FOSTER in Bulgaria: Reimagining Urban Spaces in the Green City of Varna
On March 26–27, 2026, the city of Varna hosted one of the international events of the FOSTER – Future Oriented Solutions Toward Environmental Resilience project, bringing together project partners and local stakeholders for an action-oriented exchange on greener and more accessible urban spaces.
The event was designed as a participatory co-creation process, where UBBSLA facilitated a simulated multistakeholder roundtable. Participants jointly explored Varna’s urban challenges and co-developed proposals to transform underused areas into vibrant, inclusive green spaces. The focus was not only on identifying issues, but on shaping concrete and actionable ideas aligned with the city’s Green City Action Plan and the Green Urban Transition Plan 2030.
Within the broader FOSTER framework, the Varna Local Path contributes to developing governance approaches that can better anticipate and respond to climate-related challenges at the local level. Since the project’s launch in September 2024, partners have been working on strengthening capacities for strategic foresight and on co-designing solutions through inclusive, multistakeholder collaboration.
In Varna, this process builds on a needs assessment highlighting priorities such as improving quality of life, enhancing green infrastructure, and ensuring accessibility for all citizens—while addressing challenges like dense urban areas, underused public spaces, and limited green infrastructure.
Building on this context, the event created space for direct dialogue between project partners and local stakeholders, enabling participants to engage with diverse perspectives and collaboratively reflect on Varna’s urban environment.
A key moment of the event was the guided study visit across the city, where participants experienced firsthand the architectural barriers that hinder mobility—especially for people with disabilities, but also for elderly citizens, parents with strollers, and individuals with temporary injuries. This field-based activity grounded the discussions in real-life conditions and highlighted accessibility as a central issue.
Based on these observations, partners and stakeholders worked together to formulate concrete proposals, urgent measures, and policy recommendations to improve accessibility and ensure that urban green spaces in Varna can be enjoyed by all inhabitants.
During the final day of the event, FOSTER project partners gathered to reflect on the progress of the latest project phase. Following a plenary exchange on the results of the local pathways, they engaged in a peer-learning session to share feedback and insights across cities.
The discussion also marked the start of preparations for upcoming FOSTER milestones, including the online dissemination event on June 9 and the project’s final conference on September 17 in Vienna—both organised by Foster Europe, with further details to be shared soon.
