One of the main goals of the Multiply project is to promote integrated ways of working to reach sustainability goals. Challenges faced in the transition to sustainable urban environments are large, multi-faceted and interrelated. The committed and forerunner cities are faced with increasingly large claims on their physical space and available funding, both from challenges related and unrelated to sustainability. Working in an integrated manner, by collaborating, creating multilayered plans and connecting to higher and lower scales of planning, might be the only way to address these challenges. In practice, however, the participating cities described the way short staffing, existing organizational structures, lack of knowledge or authority, and a difficulty to find funding are preventing an integrated planning approach. Nontheless, many cities have taken steps towards an integrated approach. Below are three goals employed by the Multiply cities to achieve a more integrated approach to planning more sustainable urban environments, click on each goal to reveal specific solutions.

URBAN PLANNING

Urban design sets the preconditions that urban configuration. The challenges faced in urban design are large, multi-faceted and interrelated. Designers are often trained to cut across disciplines and silos in order to truly address a challenge within all its complexity and identify opportunities to solve problems holistically.

COLLABORATION

Working together with stakeholders, citizens, other municipal departments and government institutions embeds a project in its context, enriches the available knowledge and creates local ownership. This makes initiatives more robust to change over time and faster implementation due to local support.

RESEARCH

Identifying relationships between different challenges requires knowledge and overview, research can help make connections that lead to integrated solutions. Research reveals chances and identifies the solutions that have the biggest impact.