Background

The Urban Sustainability project is motivated by a structural mismatch between the strategic potential of higher education institutions and their actual integration into the implementation of the UAEU, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and SDG11 on sustainable cities and communities across European territories. Empirical evidence collected through a multi actor needs assessment confirms persistent coordination deficits between universities, public authorities and societal actors.

This project addresses that gap through an integrated and transnational approach. It combines analytical assessment, participatory experimentation and methodological consolidation.

Aims

Given the aforementioned structural mismatch and the lack of inclusion of higher education institutions within the implementation of the UAEU, the project aims to strengthen the strategic role of universities in sustainable urban development by improving their structured alignment with Urban Agendas and reinforcing their contribution to European sustainability objectives.

The specific objectives Urban Sustainability project would like to achieve are:

• Generate a shared and evidence-based understanding of how universities currently align their sustainability strategies with local and regional Urban Agendas.
• Operationalise university–city collaboration through structured experimentation and competence development.
• Consolidate analytical and experimental learning into a Replicable Alignment Framework and Operational Toolkit.

Target Groups

The main project Target Groups are:

University community includes academic staff, sustainability officers, strategic planning units and research managers. Survey results show low levels of involvement in Urban Agenda implementation and strong demand for structured alignment tools and competence recognition. Universities are therefore engaged not only as beneficiaries but as core implementers. They lead the development of the analytical framework and Digital Mapping Platform (WP2), host and coordinate City Labs (WP3) and integrate competence-based training into institutional practices.

Local and regional public authorities responsible for urban development and sustainability are key governance partners. The needs analysis confirms coordination deficits and demand for structured cooperation tools. Public authorities participate in baseline assessment activities, co-design and test pilot interventions within City Labs and contribute to the validation of the Replicable Alignment Framework (WP4).

Civil society organisations and private actors engaged in urban innovation, environmental action and community development are involved to strengthen participatory governance and practical relevance. Survey responses indicate limited perceived inclusion in implementation processes. The project addresses this through structured stakeholder mapping, participatory workshops and pilot actions within City Labs, ensuring their active role in co-creation processes. Engagement is therefore not ad hoc but embedded in a systematic European City Labs Network.

Results

The results Urban Sustainability project are:

• Comparative baseline study providing first systematic and replicable assessment of alignment between universities and Urban Agendas derived from UAEU
• Digital mapping platform supporting institutional self-assessment, policy learning and evidence-based dialogue between universities and urban authorities.
• City Labs Network as long-term spaces for experimentation, co creation and mutual learning.
• Transferable methodological framework and toolkit supporting strategic policy alignment between HEIs-UA

Partners

• Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain)
• University of Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic)
• University of the Aegean (Greece)
• Pixel (Italy)
• Università of Rome “La Sapienza” (Italy)
• University of Agricoltural Sciences Ion Ionescu (Romania)