Since 2016, partners in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Helsinki (together with Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, BE) have offered transnational social work education specializing in urban issues. The partners also collaborated in an Erasmus+ project from 2019-2022. In URGE, we use parts of the analytical and theoretical framework that has been developed in URBAN SOS (see www.urbansos.eu), especially by drawing on ideas and theories from human geography, anthropology, and philosophy, but as opposed to the URBAN SOS project, the URGE project directly addresses a need to renew our democracies and think much more sustainable, especially in relation to the effects of urbanization. Also, in URGE we work much more explicit with the Global Agenda for Social Work 2020-2023 where sustainability, decolonization, and the inclusion of indigenous knowledges have been given a much more prominent role (see, The Global Agenda – International Federation of Social Workers).

Research shows a need to renew our democracies, especially in relation to effects of urbanization. According to studies, citizens across the European urban landscape experience a democratic deficit and lack of trust in institutions (Tortzen 2020, Rosa 2013). Different forms of citizen-based initiatives have been promoted in the last decade. Our motivation for integrating a protreptic discourse into urban social work is directly related to the need for new communicative spaces that are designed to accommodate what could be called the ‘frictions of inclusion.’

Including more voices in urban planning is the alpha and omega for producing more socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable cities. Urban changes always profit some and trouble others. Thus, even the most incremental and participatory process of transformation can be disrupted by competing needs and interests. From our own research and collaboration with work field partners, as well as from our collaboration with partners across Europe, we have identified a need for clarifying what sustainability even means for

social workers. Inspired by Jane Addams, we see ethics and sustainability as deeply intertwined. A socially diverse city, with space for the marginalized and vulnerable citizens as well as the wealthy and resourceful, is a place where humanity and democracy can thrive. As Jane Addams put it, it is necessary to “at least see the size of each other’s burdens” to have a democratic society (Addams 1902). Without contact with people who are different from us, we are at risk of living in segregated and conflicting urban spaces.

Dialogue is under pressure, in part due to the extreme acceleration of our time that has led to a deficit in ethical articulations of societal development (Han 2015, 2024; Rosa 2013). Furthermore, the need for educational and curriculum development within urban ethics and sustainability is directly linked to the individualization of social problems. In their curriculum, social work education has also become focused on the individual instead of the common, both when it comes to problem analysis and intervention. Yet, the urban development we face calls for an educational focus on common issues and solutions that can build up the sustainability competencies of students. URGE addresses all the mentioned issues and challenges.