Benchmarking Integrated Infrastructure Planning Across Europe – Moving Forward to Vital Infrastructure Networks and Urban Regions

Achieving a smart green and integrated transport system is key to sustaining and developing the economic, social and environmental vitality of urban Europe. Within this context the challenge is to deliver the next generation of infrastructure governance, design, management and operation that enables optimal accessibility, liveability and vitality across the various scales: from the local daily urban system to the wider EU-regions that cluster metropolitan areas. To tackle this challenge, a research programme has been developed for EU's Horizon 2020 – Networking for Urban Vitality (NUVit) – that focuses on the integration of the planning of multi-modal transport infrastructure with land-use planning. This paper discusses best practices amongst Europe of such integrated infrastructure planning – including cases from The Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, Belgium. On basis of a benchmark we do an analysis addressing such issues as: spatial concepts (multi-modal corridors, nodal development); multi-modal network optimisation at various spatial scales; life-cycle issues; value creation and capturing; and, institutional and governance approaches. The paper ends by exploring the main elements of an integrated infrastructure planning approach that enables us to move forward to innovative, vital infrastructure networks and urban regions of tomorrow.