Summary

TRANSPLUS is a research project performed by an European team within the European Commission 5th RTD Framework Programme - City of Tomorrow Action. The aim of TRANSPLUS is studying best practices to manage transport demand through integrated land-use and transport planning - reducing private car use, fostering public and non motorised transport. TRANSPLUS aims at creating a common understanding among European transport and land use authorities, policy makers and practitioners of the best ways to combine policies, neutralising barriers to implementation and realisation of the desired outcomes, ensuring compatibility and transferability between countries and cities, based also on citizens participation in urban & transport planning.

TRANSPLUS research includes the following building blocks:

1. system analysis of mega trends in urban development and strategic approaches towards sustainable transport
2. a learning process involving researchers and users (representatives from local administrations)
3. analysis of barriers to realisation and structural compatibility (and hence potential transferability) of the policies implemented in different contexts
4. analysis of the different methodologies to promote citizens, stakeholders and users participation to the different policy planning and implementation steps
5. networking and dissemination carried out continuously throughout the execution of the previous steps.

Expected results and impacts include:

1. identification of best practice case studies and evaluation of integrated land use and transport policies
2. assessment of best ways to combine policies neutralising barriers, ensuring compatibility and transferability between countries and cities
3. identification and development of a consistent set of indicators to evaluate the success of integrated land use and transport (packages of) policies towards the goals of sustainability
4. identification of practical criteria for land use and transport policies/infrastructures impacts evaluation
5. harmonisation of the national land use and transport planning and policy frameworks in the EU member states
6. support to the application of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) directive in the EU member states
7. promotion of the European Spatial Development Perspective in the EU member states.

TRANSPLUS is a member of the Land Use and Transportion Cluster.