Working Group on Restorative Cities

A restorative city is a community that embraces restorative justice principles to respond to conflict, harm, injustice and inequality in inclusive, participatory, and healing ways. It embeds practices of dialogue, accountability, and relationship-building into its institutions, policies, and everyday interactions. Restorative cities aim to create safe, just, and cohesive urban environments by strengthening trust, addressing social fragmentation, and fostering civic engagement. They mobilise diverse actors—citizens, authorities, and organisations—to collaboratively cultivate empathy, respect, and equity across all sectors of the city life.

The mission of the EFRJ Working Group on Restorative Cities is to advance the concrete implementation of restorative practices in urban settings, responding to growing societal challenges such as polarisation, social exclusion, systemic violence and rising incarceration. Building on the conceptual groundwork of previous mandates (2019-2024), this new Working Group (2025-2026) aims to continue fostering safe, inclusive, and cohesive communities by embedding restorative principles into city systems and culture.
Through regular knowledge exchanges, the Working Group supports municipalities and other key stakeholders across Europe, Oceania, and North America, in adopting and adapting restorative methods across diverse domains—schools, policing, health care, housing, governance, and more. It offers a formal, collaborative space where local actors can reflect on both successes and setbacks, share tools and strategies, and learn from each other's experiences.
The group also serves as a bridge between practice and policy, enabling the co-creation of approaches that are not only effective but context-sensitive and values-driven. With representation from cities such as Bergamo, Canberra, Como, Dublin, Gdansk, Hull, Lecco, Leuven, Tempio Pausania, Utrecht, and Vancouver, it continues to inspire and connect communities striving to become restorative in vision and practice. By doing so, the group contributes to broader systemic change, enhancing justice, resilience, and social harmony within cities.

Restorative cities address harm and conflict as relational and systemic issues that unfold in complex urban contexts. Harm can occur on multiple levels: personal (e.g. interpersonal violence), structural (e.g. marginalisation, racism), and institutional (e.g. punitive policies). Its impacts ripple through individuals, communities, and trust in public systems. Key restorative concepts—dialogue, accountability, inclusion, empathy, respect, and mutual care—become tools to rebuild relationships and community cohesion. Restorative approaches prioritise meaningful engagement and transformation rather than punishment or exclusion, fostering healing and collective responsibility. A restorative city recognises diversity, promotes equity, and nurtures respectful coexistence through intentional, community-led processes in institutions and in everyday interactions.

January 2025 - December 2026

• Jolan Broeck
• Dr. Evelyn Zellerer
• Jorge Ollero
• Emanuela Biffi
• Christopher Straker
• Mara Schiff
• Jacek Wadoch
• Sarah Devriendt
• Federica Maggio
• Lucrezia Perrella
• Emma Wheatley
• Cristina Vasilescu
• Bruna Dighera
• Alessandra Gaetani
• Laura Bassi
• Annemieke Wolthuis
• Mina Rauschenbach
• Richard De Martin
• David L Purnell
• Janet Hope 
• Joana Lages
• Secretariat Representative: Emanuela Biffi, EFRJ Programme Coordinator

The current mandate of the Working Group on Restorative Cities (2025–2026) builds on the foundation laid by previous years to further support the concrete implementation of restorative practices in urban environments. With growing challenges such as polarisation, social fragmentation, and inequality affecting cities worldwide, the Working Group aims to deepen the use of restorative justice as a transformative tool for community building, dialogue, and inclusive governance.
The group’s primary objective is to create a dynamic and collaborative space where practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and city representatives can come together to exchange knowledge, explore innovative methods, and address the complexities of building restorative cities across various cultural and institutional contexts. It promotes the integration of restorative values into everyday urban life and systems, from schools and housing to justice, healthcare, and community safety.
A central focus of this mandate is identifying and sharing good practices that can be meaningfully adapted in diverse contexts. To this end, the group will apply an “extrapolation” approach to learning, exploring not just what was done in each city but why it worked or didn’t—allowing for more thoughtful and flexible transfer of insights.
Key objectives and planned activities may include:

• Updating and publishing an online version of the Travel Guide “A Journey Around Restorative Cities in the World” and translating it into national languages to enhance local accessibility; 
• Hosting an international webinar on restorative cities continuing international learning exchanges to reflect emerging practices;
• Creating an interactive map of restorative cities, highlighting local tools and methods;
• Continuing learning exchanges with other EFRJ Working Groups (e.g. on restorative schools, on institutions, on imprisonment);
• Engaging city representatives in regular virtual meetings to connect local governance and restorative practices and bridge the gap between policymakers and practitioners;
• Sustaining a participatory, rotating facilitation model to ensure shared leadership, experiential learning, and long-term sustainability of the Working Group’s activities.

Through these actions, the group aims to strengthen a global network of restorative cities committed to justice, empathy, and community resilience.

The EFRJ Working Group on Restorative Cities was born out of a growing international interest in applying restorative justice principles beyond traditional systems and into the fabric of everyday urban life. Its roots trace back to June 2018, when a group of practitioners and researchers came together during the 10th International EFRJ Conference in Tirana. Recognising a shared vision and the emergence of local restorative city initiatives, the need for a dedicated space for connection, reflection, and collaboration became clear.
In early 2019, this vision materialised with the co-organisation of the seminar “Building Restorative Cities” in Como, Italy. It marked the formal launch of the EFRJ Working Group on Restorative Cities, initially composed of members active in pioneering city projects in Bristol, Como, Leuven, Mentana, Palermo, and Tempio Pausania.
Since then, the group has evolved both in membership and scope. New cities - including Tirana and Wrocław - joined in 2021, while others continued to contribute through informal collaboration. The network also expanded beyond Europe, welcoming engagement from cities like Whanganui (New Zealand), Oakland (USA), and Vancouver (Canada), reflecting the global relevance of the restorative city concept. This cooperation resulted in the publication of the Travel Guide “A Journey Around Restorative Cities in the World” (2023).
Over time, the Working Group has served as a hub for knowledge exchange, mutual inspiration, and strategic guidance, even supporting the development of new initiatives in places like Portugal, Croatia, The Netherlands and Ireland. Through its work, the group has played a pivotal role in shaping the restorative cities movement within and beyond the EFRJ.

• Bristol Restorative City (UK): Marian Liebmann
• Como Restorative City (Italy): Claudio Fontana, Grazia Mannozzi, Viola Molteni, Chiara Perini, Cristina Vasilescu
• Lecco Restorative City (Italy): Bruna Dighera, Cristina Vasilescu
• Leuven Restorative City (Belgium): Ivo Aertsen, Lies Van Cleynenbreugel, Antony Pemberton, Elli Gilbert, Sarah Devriendt
• Tempio Pausania Restorative City (Italy): Gian Luigi Lepri, Lucrezia Perrella, Patrizia Patrizi
• Tirana Restorative City (Albania): Merita Bala, Rasim Gjoka
• Utrecht Restorative City (The Netherlands): Jolan Arnout Van den Broeck
• Vancouver Restorative City (Canada): Evelyn Zellerer
• Wrocław Restorative City (Poland): Honorata Czajkowska, Anna Matczak
• Other contributors: Christopher Straker (UK), Mauro Giardini (Mentana, Italy), Anna Robino and Maria Pia Giuffrida (Palermo, Italy), Tomas Kjær (Denmark) Emanuela Biffi (EFRJ Secretariat, Belgium), Jorge Ollero Perán (EFRJ Board, Spain).