Soon we will launch the competition for forerunner and committed cities that are eager to engage in and benefit from our peer-to-peer learning process. Forerunner cities are those who already have some experience in integrated urban planning at district level and would like to share their innovative solutions with the wider audience of EU cities and municipalities. Committed ones are those who lack that experience but want to develop in a smart way, consciously joining elements of sustainable transport, sustainable energy and sustainable spatial development. Both will benefit from the exchanges, taking inspiration for further actions and initiatives that could be implemented locally, as well as for finding long-term vision of their development. If you are interested to get involved with MULTIPLY, either as a forerunner or as a committed city, stay tuned for further information!

At the end of January 2019 the MULTIPLY consortium met for the first time to get to know each other and discuss how to support the uptake of integrated urban planning in European municipalities. Large part of the discussions concerned first important project activities, most importantly the organisation of the city competition to select forerunner and committed cities that will take part in the MULTIPLY peer-to-peer learning programme. We sharpened the definition of a forerunner and committed city and worked on related criteria and indicators. We also discussed how to organise the competition to reach the vastest possible group of potentially interested municipalities. Soon, you will see the results of these debates – the competition will be announced shortly!

With the 1st of December 2018 we have officially started the implementation of MULTIPLY aiming to encourage public authorities to uptake integrated urban planning at district level through a dedicated peer-to-peer learning programme. Within the next months we’re planning to organise a competition for forerunner and committed cities, who will be matched for the knowledge transfer. Committed cities will learn more on the practical implementation of integrated transport, energy and land-use planning solutions, which help to make use of the full energy saving potential of the district and – at the same time – make them comfortable places to live in. As a result of the intensive peer-to-peer exchanges the committed cities will develop plans for the energy efficient development of a model district in their territory. Also, the overall MULTIPLY experience will be widely disseminated (among others in a form of a European guidebook on integrated urban planning) to encourage other EU municipalities to follow and take concerted action towards energy transition.