Municipal peer-to-peer learning in integrating transport,
land-use planning and energy policy at district level
The MULTIPLY project goes on! The next part of the project implementation is the conference, at which we will present the best practices from the municipalities in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Sweden, for which integrated urban planning has been one of the top priorities. Conference topics include: renewable energy, energy efficiency, mobility and participation. The event is organized by Legambiente in collaboration with 7 partners who work on the MULTIPLY project: research and innovation project of the HORIZON 2020 call funded by the European Union, whose purpose is to stimulate the increase of environmental sustainability actions from the public administration for their cities with the ultimate aim of achieving the objectives of reducing CO2 emissions in their territories.
Integrated urban planning is one of the basic approaches to modern planning and is, due to the complex character of spatial phenomena, a logical and necessary one. Policy-making for sustainable urban development and the creation of institutional frameworks at all levels has acknowledged integrated planning as the mechanism for achieving a sustainable and resilient urban space and environment. The main aim of integrated urban planning is to “identify opportunities to solve problems holistically.” (Ovink & Boeijengap.191). The multi-disciplinary nature of the solutions ensures that these are capable of withstanding unexpected challenges and have the flexibility to adapt to new situations. Furthermore, a broad range of stakeholders, planners and experts which are involved in the development of comprehensive solutions forms a strong support for the implementation of urban development projects.
Read more: Universities as a part of integrated urban planning in the cities
During the two-part workshops concerning integrated city planning, representatives of seven Polish cities participating in MULTIPLY project were working on spatial concepts that responded to previously defined challenges and aimed to help to achieve their set goals.
Read more: Integrated city planning workshops in Poland with experts from Netherlands
The 4th event of the 6 part peer-learning workshop series of the H2020 MULTIPLY project was organized as the 2nd event for the technical planning staff of the municipalities (the 1st one took place in Szarvas during summer). The event was held in a hybrid format (with the possibility to join online and offline) and our Dutch partner facilitated a great workshop that made the event really unconventional.
Read more: 2nd workshop for technical planning staff in Hungary
As a leader of integrated urban actions, Bydgoszcz shared its experience with cities that need additional knowledge and skills to effectively implement the idea of integrated urban planning. The transfer of knowledge and experience began 7th September with the RES Demonstration Center in Bydgoszcz, which supports the development of innovative technologies and promotes energy generation from clean renewable sources, conducting a number of research, consulting, training and educational activities. This place was an excellent environment to hold next workshop within the MULTIPLY project and to present Bydgoszcz's sustainable energy solutions to other cities. The city of Bydgoszcz, playing a pioneering role in the MULTIPLY project, skillfully combining sustainable solutions in the project's three areas, shared with other cities its experience in the implementation of pro-energy activities, including the implementation of energy management systems in public buildings.
Read more: Forerunner city of Bydgoszcz shows how integrated urban planning looks in practice
MULTIPLY aims to increase energy efficiency through the development of cities and districts with a focus on energy systems, land-use planning and mobility. These three themes are inseparable and must be treated and developed jointly. The programme therefore stimulates integrated planning, i.e. planning that cuts across disciplines and silos in order to address a challenge within all its complexity.
As part of MULTIPLY, the Dutch design offices Generation.Energy and PosadMaxwan hosted expert workshops to share their experiences on integrated urban planning with all committed- and forerunner cities. They encourage sustainability through integrated planning in many of their projects. Most recently, the two design agencies have acted as the spatial and energy experts for the development of a regional energy strategy for the Dutch province of North Holland. In this project they advised on how to apply integrated planning in the transition towards renewable energy.
Read more: Beyond MULTIPLY: promoting integrated urban planning
The Multiply workshop series has been continued –finally- with a 2-day physical meeting in Szarvas, one of the Forerunner Cities of the project. The primary target group of the meeting was the technical staff of the municipalities, who had the chance to expand their knowledge about the topics of integrated urban planning via expert’s presentations, groupworks and study tours.
Read more: Workshop for the experts of the municipalities in Szarvas
Due to the pandemic situation the MULTIPLY project in Sweden continues with digital workshops. Special guest this time was the Dutch consulting firm PosadMaxwan, who together with their affiliate Generation.Energy brought expertise on sustainable city development.
The show must go on – this also applies to the Multiply project whose purpose is to increase national cooperation for integrated energy, mobility and land-use planning. And when you cannot meet live, go digital.
Read more: Digital workshop to start the peer-to-peer learning network
One of the main pillars of the Multiply project is the 6 part peer-learning workshop series, where the participant municipalities who already have some experiences and good practices in energy planning in the fields of energy consumption, transportation and land-use have the chance to share their knowledge with those municipalities who would like to enter the path and develop in integrated urban planning. Unfortunately, given the current pandemic situation, our physical workshops have to be intermitted, but Energiaklub has enabled a chance for a virtual meeting after the 1. Workshop for municipal high-level policy makers, by organizing an online workshop for the participant municipalities of the MULTIPLY project.
Read more: MULTIPLY- Online workshop about the elaboration of the Energy Plans