The gist of the BRIDGE - Lifeline Danube project was the creation of a common network of Danube cities between the public administration and the universities geared towards a model of sustainable development and open space design of the Danube region. Learning from other cities plays a central role; after all, different mentalities and experiences as well as different political and legal frameworks in the participating cities result in different approaches to problem solving and the definition of objectives. The objectives of the project correlate with the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP). In the future, New Bridge will be about developing such a model for the Danube region (as mentioned above) and initiating its implications through pilot projects.

It seems to be crucial that the structure of the coming project phase focuses on certain themes for which consequently a schedule of concrete pilots, their treatment and the relevant exchange of knowledge and experience can be prepared. At the final conference in Györ and at the meeting of the project team on 15 Dec. 2000, the project partners agreed on the following issues subsumed under four major themes:

ecocorridor Danube: city by the water, open spaces, urban development, nature and landscape design by the river
studying on the Danube: cooperation of Danube universities
umbrella: traffic issues, Danube tourism, nature protection
ecologisation of the Danube region: models of an economic region of sustainability

If an extensive and long term project such as the one drafted here is to be carried out successfully, project management, steering the project and the actual content related project work must be clearly assigned.

project management - support
steering the project - professional responsibility

Steering the project refers to the city representatives participating in the steering committee and to the related expenses.
Project management/support refers to the professional and technical-administrative responsibility for the whole process.
Specialist events (publicity) support the exchange of experience and take place, if dealing with major issues, among few, if dealing with topics of general interest (criteria of quality, guarantee of quality) with larger groups.
Pilot projects stand for the concrete implementation of projects in the various cities, partly also done cooperatively. They include professional advice, observation and documentation of the project experiences.

SCHEDULE AND PROCEDURE OF NEW BRIDGE
The specific quality of the New Danube project is due to the combination of international exchange of experience, model orientation and the relevant quality criteria for projects on the one hand and the exemplary implementation of high quality pilot projects on the other hand. This is a process which guarantees that the principles of a model can actually be put in concrete terms and finally implemented on the level of a project. Experiences made in such a process (quality criteria, selection, effect of the project) should be adapted in such a way that they can be applied to other (mainstream) programmes.

A schedule should therefore aim at an ideal procedure that can enable project participants to gain and pass on experience:

Put the model in concrete terms; topics for the key issues
Quality and selection criteria for the pilot projects
Carry out pilot projects with supervision and advice: requirements, effects, quality criteria
Exchange of experience, discussion of the results, publicity
Modify the guidelines of the model, the quality and the selection criteria
Select project/s and implement it/them

The procedure of New Bridge resembles an open learning loop which should enable a realistic monitoring of innovative projects in the participating cities and an open exchange of experience with professional support. The continuous analysis of experiences as well as discussions professionally supported aim at reaching a higher level of quality when selecting and modifying projects in the participating cities.

The following process is to be promoted by the city administrations of the member cities within the framework of the local AGENDA 21 as intended in the original application and approved of in the BRIDGE - Lifeline Danube Charter. This entails that not only the universities but also all the institutions and citizens are to be integrated into the following development. More over, the surrounding area of the cities is to be further integrated into the planning process (as already started in Deggendorf and Budapest).

Concrete designs are supposed to give shape to the BRIDGE project in the future and make visible what the region along the Danube might look like. This region could therefore become a test case of EU regional policy, the BRIDGE project a model project from the point of view of environmental protection and sustainable land use. It could very well act as a model of European significance.