European Outdoor Cities
Work with the published results
Research, reports and practical resources documenting the journey from the first evidence base to the final European Outdoor Cities Framework and its application.
The project behind the Network
From STANDOUT to the European Outdoor Cities Network
Time spent outdoors supports health and wellbeing, yet 39% of Europeans still say they never exercise or play sport – down from 45% in 2022, but far from enough. Most Europeans live in urban areas, and that is where attractive, accessible places for outdoor activity are scarcest. Creating them can encourage participation and help offset inequalities.
Source: European Commission, Special Eurobarometer on sport and physical activity, September 2026
STANDOUT (Standards for Outdoor Sports Cities) was set up to answer this. Since January 2024, ten organisations from eight countries have worked in this Erasmus+ Sport project with municipalities, researchers and outdoor sport organisations on a common European Framework for outdoor-friendly cities. The European Outdoor Cities Network grew out of this work and carries the Framework and its tools to more cities.
Programme
Erasmus+ Sport
Duration
January 2024 – December 2026
Consortium
10 organisations in 8 countries
Coordinator
European Network of Outdoor Sports
Objectives
Three objectives – and how we met them
STANDOUT set itself three objectives. Each one led to something you can use today.
Objective 1
Standards and tools
Give urban planners standards and tools to guide inclusive green and blue infrastructure.
The result is the European Outdoor Cities Framework: four pillars, twelve categories and 65 indicators, open to everyone and available as a browsable page.
How we got there
Objective 2
Research and knowledge exchange
Base the standards on research and on exchange between partners and places.
The evidence base draws on research and on five Knowledge Exchanges in Silkeborg, Lecco, Viana do Castelo, Sundsvall and Munich.
How we got there
Objective 3
Reaching more cities
Communicate and distribute the results so that more municipalities become active, green European Outdoor Cities.
Everything is open for cities to use – starting with where you stand today.
How we got there
Knowledge Exchange 4 · Sweden 2025
Sundsvall and Västernorrland
Access for all, friluftsliv and the initiatives that make outdoor recreation part of everyday life across a whole region. The most recent of the five Knowledge Exchanges to be documented on film.
Reports and resources
Everything the project published
Eight documents, from the final framework back to the first research. The Framework is also available as a browsable page — explore it online.
Final framework · June 2026
Set of Clear Standards for an Outdoor City
The common European framework for assessing, planning and developing outdoor sports and recreation as part of local development — twelve categories carrying sixty-five indicators, written to work across different European governance systems, geographies and outdoor cultures.
Implementation guidance · June 2026
Resources Associated with the Standards
The companion volume. How to organise a collaborative Self-Assessment, involve the right people across departments, interpret each indicator and turn the findings into local priorities.
Project report · June 2026
Carbon Impact and Sustainable Mobility Model
The environmental cost of working as a European partnership, measured, with recommendations for lower-carbon cooperation in future projects.
Interactive report · June 2026
STANDOUT Exchanges Learnings
Innovative approaches to outdoor-friendly cities from the five exchange activities, and how local experience fed back into the final framework. Built to be navigated by map rather than read front to back.
Interactive resource · June 2026
Stakeholder Ecosystem
Who should be engaged when developing an outdoor-friendly city — the roles of municipalities, civil society, business and institutions around the outdoor participant.
Research report · 2025
What Makes an Outdoor City?
The evidence base behind the Framework: the benefits of outdoor sport in urban areas, the drivers and barriers that shape it, and practice collected across Europe.
Project report · July 2025
Mid-Way Progress Report
The first eighteen months of the project: research, Knowledge Exchanges and co-creation, and how the framework began to take shape.
Development report · July 2025
First Draft of the Standard Concept
The first structured version of categories and indicators, before pilot testing and refinement with the partner municipalities.
News
Latest from the project
Reports from the Knowledge Exchanges, project milestones and what comes next — published as the project went along.
From Local Practice to European Standards: the fifth and final STANDOUT Knowledge Exchange brought project partners together in Munich and Benediktbeuern in May 2026.
From co-creation to impact: how 2025 shaped the STANDOUT journey — and what comes next.
By embracing the spirit of friluftsliv and the principle of Allemansrätten in Västernorrland, the STANDOUT project continues its journey to shape European cities into Outdoor Cities for All.
Knowledge Exchanges
More from the exchanges
Five exchange activities brought municipalities, experts and local stakeholders together — Silkeborg, Lecco, Viana do Castelo, Sundsvall and Munich. Two more of them are documented on film. The videos open on YouTube.
Knowledge Exchange 2 · 2024
Lecco, Italy
Volunteering, digital tools and community partnerships for outdoor sport in an urban environment between lake and mountains.
Knowledge Exchange 1 · 2024
Silkeborg, Denmark
Outdoor policy, spatial planning and accessible nature in a self-proclaimed Outdoor Capital — experienced by bike and canoe.
Where does your city stand?
Take the Quick Check to identify your municipality’s strengths and its opportunities for further development — no contact details required.
See the Framework in practice
Explore the twelve categories online, or find examples from cities across Europe that are already working this way.
Project consortium
Built by ten organisations in eight countries
The European Outdoor Cities Framework is the result of an Erasmus+ Sport partnership of municipalities, universities, public authorities and outdoor organisations, coordinated by the European Network of Outdoor Sports.
