To help cities achieve the EU’s climate neutrality goals by 2030, an international consortium is trialling a full-scale transformation strategy within the scope of the UP2030 project. The needs, obstacles and motivating forces on the path toward neutrality will be identified in eight pilot cities across Europe, and the results prepared for transfer to other cities.
How will cities that produce a significant proportion of the world’s emissions achieve the climate neutrality goals of the European Green Deal by 2030? Most cities and communities are taking steps towards decarbonization through projects in the form of climate action plans, for instance. But with energy consumption remaining a constant need and occurring as a result of numerous factors (in areas such as mobility, buildings, waste and green spaces within urban environments), cities need to consider ways in which every infrastructure system can do its part to reduce emissions. At the same time, residents interact daily with the systems found in these urban environments, making them stakeholders whose day-to-day decisions and actions have an impact on cities and ultimately determine their carbon footprint. Against this backdrop, there is a need to move toward a strategy-based approach that relies on multi-level, cross-sector collaboration and is anchored in an environment that promotes innovation. Through its research project entitled “UP2030 — Urban Planning and design ready for 2030”, the European Commission is therefore financing innovation activities that will help cities make the socio-technical shift needed to achieve climate neutrality goals. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO is coordinating the consortium that is trialling the UP strategy in eight European pilot cities, with a total of 47 project partners from 14 countries.
The aim of the project is to identify transformative changes in pilot cities applying an approach known as 5UP: UP-dating, UP-skilling, UP-grading, UP-scaling and UP-taking. “It isn’t enough to perform isolated actions and focus on technology alone. City transformations have to take in absolutely everything,” explains Trinidad Fernandez, who is coordinating the project as a whole and works as a researcher at Fraunhofer IAO. With this mindset, the institute is working with cities to develop urban planning solutions and methods based on the values of justice, resilience, neutrality and sustainability. The eight European pilot cities are Milan (Italy), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Zagreb (Croatia), Thessaloniki (Greece), Granollers (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Lisbon (Portugal) and Münster (Germany). The two cities of Istanbul (Turkey) and Belfast (United Kingdom) from countries affiliated with the project will also be involved, as will Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), representing a city in an emerging economy.
The project will identify needs, obstacles and motivating forces on the path toward neutrality, with the aim of determining the positions that each city is starting from. Visions will be developed collectively in order to address innovations in three key interlinked areas of urban planning and design: creating cities that are (1) networked, (2) compact and (3) net-zero. “We want to empower cities to develop road maps and follow them using practical methods, which include adapting and developing existing tools and approaches,” continues Fernandez. Getting people actively involved will also be key to the project’s success: “It’s essential to collaborate with city residents as stakeholders in the transformation process, because climate neutrality can only be achieved if we make long-term changes to how we act and what our lifestyles look like.”
Information gleaned from the 36-month project will be analyzed, extracted and made available to other cities in the form of what are known as replication and transferability packages. The results will also include an open-access training program on the subject of urban planning and design for climate-neutral and intelligent cities. Additionally, the consortium is planning to create synergies with EU Missions for cities and initiatives with the aim of optimizing the use of resources and maximizing impact.
In February, the consortium met in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the kick-off meeting and project launch. As the project coordinator, Fraunhofer IAO is responsible for consensus-building and developing a shared 5UP project vision. To achieve this, it will be able to draw on its own expertise in urban planning and development, plus analysis tools and methods, ultimately making it possible to establish a shared understanding of the level of maturity being reached by socio-technical transitions in the pilot cities.
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO