Conference on SMEs and the Urban Fabric

15-16 April 2019  Trento, Italy    

Organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development in collaboration with the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Sweden and the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy

What makes a liveable place? What makes a place a thriving hub of entrepreneurship and growth?

These two questions might have the same answer. SMEs and entrepreneurs can benefit from well-functioning, well-designed and well-planned cities, the same way these cities and their neighbourhoods can benefit from local entrepreneurs and SMEs that create jobs, but also authenticity, charm, social integration and social connections.

But the ecosystem for entrepreneurs and SMEs is not guaranteed given, as not all urban environments are conducive to having a dynamic business community. It is therefore crucial to understand what economic policies, business regulation, land use and urban planning can help leverage the benefits that SMEs and entrepreneurs can provide to create liveable places.

What will be discussed?

The two-day OECD conference on SMEs and the Urban Fabric will help assess how far we can go in answering two questions: “What can SMEs do for their cities?” and “What can cities do for their SMEs?”.

This conference brings together speakers that tackle the questions at different scales, such as cities, clusters, or neighbourhoods, and from different backgrounds, that take an economic, planning or social lens when considering the complex interplay between SMEs and the city.

For more information, please visit the conference website - http://www.oecd.org/cfe/smes-cities-trento-conference.htm