PLANINT aims to contribute knowledge on the barriers and opportunities faced by Swedish municipalities when planning and governing the implementation of transport solutions. The purpose is to develop and test new approaches towards a more integrated and sustainable transport system. The project is based on the understanding that achieving energy and climate targets requires radical change, including stronger integration and coordination of different transport solutions, supported and promoted by a wide range of actors.
There is broad agreement on the crucial role municipalities play in driving this transition. However, much less is known about how municipalities can strengthen their capacity to implement transport solutions as part of long-term planning. Municipalities have a central role both as pioneers and as enablers in testing and developing solutions for a fossil-free and more resilient transport system.
Urban and regional planning for fossil-free transport and mobility
Today, there are few planning tools available for strategically managing the transition towards a fossil-free and energy-efficient transport system. The research project therefore aims to:
- improve the planning and governance of new transport solutions
- deepen the understanding of how municipal planners can better use their role as enablers of long-term system change in the transport sector
- develop and test new methods and strategies in collaboration with Uppsala municipality to support the implementation of new solutions.
The overall goal is to understand the conditions under which Swedish municipalities, in their role as spatial planners, can test new innovations and coordinate efforts towards an integrated transport system. Such planning needs a long-term perspective in order to better accommodate transformative changes within both the transport and energy systems. The focus is on planning and governance that support the development of an integrated transport system covering the region.
Innovation and energy in future integrated transport systems
The project is driven by three main objectives that together explore how cities can plan, organise, and implement new transport solutions to support a more sustainable and resilient transport system.
First, the project maps how new transport solutions are currently planned and governed. By reviewing research on transformative planning and urban governance, and by analysing key policy documents such as strategies, plans, guidelines, and regulations at both national and international levels, the project builds an overview of how cities are working towards fossil鈥慺ree transport systems. A key focus is on identifying inspiring examples and lessons learned from cities in Sweden, Europe, and beyond. This work results in a knowledge overview highlighting successful approaches to urban transformation, mobility, and transport planning.
Second, PLANINT examines the real鈥憌orld challenges cities and regions face when trying to put innovative transport solutions into practice. The project looks closely at how planning and governance can either support or hinder solutions that are both transport鈥� and energy鈥慹fficient. By studying planning practices in detail, the project aims to better understand what makes implementation easier or more difficult, and how municipalities can use their role as facilitators to better coordinate and integrate different parts of the transport system.
Third, the project works hands鈥憃n with Uppsala municipality to develop and test new methods and strategies for coordinating different transport solutions. The focus is on creating more connected and coherent transport systems that can support long鈥憈erm, sustainable change. Particular attention is given to the rapid growth of urban micromobility and how planning can help steer this development in a socially and environmentally sustainable direction. The results provide deeper insights into how municipalities can use planning not only to adapt to ongoing changes in transport and energy systems, but also to actively shape the transition towards a fossil鈥慺ree future.
