1. WP2 Bridging the planning-implementation gap in eco- and smart cities
Reponsible Institutions: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/CAS Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hans-Martin NEUMANN

2. Objectives Strategic objective
Investigate the gap between strategy development, planning and implementation of eco and smart cities in China and advise by developing guidelines and toolboxes to enable transformative change to overcome implementation barriers
Operational objectives
Establish a systematic analysis framework to assess and improve long-term and binding strategic urban planning and implementation in China and Europe (1st year)
Provide fact-based and tested practical knowledge on the feasibility and acceptance of tools, guidelines and mechanisms to close the gap between strategy development, planning and implementation in China (2nd year)
Promote recommendations to policy makers in China about future development of urban strategies and integrative planning processes that lead to real implementation of eco cities and smart cities (3rd year)
WP 2

3. Tasks in WP2 I
Bridging the Planning-Implementation Gap in Smart and Eco Cities
Task 2.1 Strategic planning for sustainable urban development
(Lead AIT, Co-lead CAS, Contributors: CCUD, IOER, EUROCITIES, CAUPD)
Task 2.2 Integrative Planning in eco cities and smart cities
(Lead AIT, Co-Lead CCUD, Contributors: NTNU, CAS, EUROCITIES, CAUPD)
Task 2.3 Mechanisms for implementation, replication and upscaling
(Lead ISINNOVA, Co-lead CCUD, Contributors AIT, CAS, EUROCITIES, CAUPD)
will identify success factors for sustainable city strategies and practical knowledge for drivers, process design, funding and stakeholder involvement
will develop tools for integrated planning with a focus on the integration of technical and non-technical systems
will assess mechanism that support the implementation of integrative planning and the replicability and upscaling of project results to the city level
Neighbourhood
level
City level
Project
level

4. Tasks in WP2 II Task 2.1 Strategic Planning
Task 2.2 Integrative Planning
Task 2.3 Implementation, Replication and Upscaling
Know
(1st year)
Task 2.1.1
Task 2.2.1
Task 2.3.1
Identify success factors for strategic planning
Identify good practices of integrative planning
Identify mechanisms overcoming implementation barriers
Transform
(2nd year)
Task 2.1.2
Task 2.2.2
Task 2.3.2
Transfer ’game changers’ into a practical toolbox
Test adopted tools in 1-2 Living Labs in China
Develop 1-2 scenarios with cities in China (Living Labs) how integrative planning projects can be performed
Test mechanisms for Develop implementation, replication/upscaling with 1-2 Chinese cities (Living Labs)
Recom-
mend
(3 year)
Task 2.1.3
Task 2.2.3
Task 2.3.3
Develop a validated evidence-based toolbox to close the planning-implementation gap
Translate the validated practical toolbox into understandable policy recommendations

5. Approach in WP 2 to build the Knowledge Base (Task 2. 1. 2, 2. 2. 1, 2
Actors
governance
and leadership
Activities and
innovations
Reflexivity and social learning
Analytical Framework based on Wolfram (2016)
Strategic planning -
city level
City-Case-Studies
Geographical Context
Planning – neighbourhood level
Strategic city document review
Interviews with local stakeholders
Implementation project level
Planning Model -
Planning Tradition
Good Practice Case Studies
Success Factors

6. Results Task 2.1.2 Strategic Planning – Success Factors
Re-define the role of strategic planning as enabler/mobiliser of ideas to serve as catalyst for transformative capacity maximization (paradigm shift)
Obtaining an early commitment from local stakeholders, bottom-up involvement and co-creation between public, private und academic stakeholders in the strategic planning process
Presence of stakeholders who are consistently involved in all three phases: strategic, planning and implementation
Horizontal and vertical alignment between different sectoral strategies
Joint and participative alignment between city strategies (Umbrella Strategy) accompanied by strategic compliance of implementation projects

7. Results Task 2.2.1 Neighbourhood Planning – Good Practices
Early involvement and commitment from private stakeholders, engaged in planning, implementation and financing of different development steps and measures
Consistency in communication and stakeholder involvement (stakeholder platform)
Breaking-down of strategic goals, ‘translation’ and differentiation on the neighbourhood level and linking to the specific actions by stakeholder group
Considering the non-linearity of planning processes
Allowing negotiation process in the presence of conflicting interests
Strategies linked to specific action plans and budgetary distributions for neighbourhood planning

8. Results Task 2.3.1 Implementation – Successful Mechanisms
Availability of suitable implementation instruments
Integrate mechanism that implementation projects must be compliant with neighbourhood planning and strategic planning
Allowing bottom-up initiation of projects (vs. top-down) by local stakeholder groups, ‚feeding‘ the implementation of the city-wide strategy
Agile project management
Creating clear task „ownership” and consistency in the implementation process
Considering the non-linearity of implementation process
Identify references for establishing a knowledge base framework for Replication and Upscaling
Overview of main methods used to foster replication and upscaling activities in EU/China

9. Challenges Challenges Coping Strategies
Different understandings of smart and eco cities from European and Chinese perspective
Development of an understanding of smart and eco cities from European and Chinese perspective
Development of an understanding of strategic planning“, neighbourhood planning“ and „implementation“ from European and Chinese perspective
Glossary and Summary in Report D2.1
Different understandings of „strategic planning“, neighbourhood planning“ and „implementation, upscaling and replication“ in China and Europe
Strongly connect strategic planning“, neighbourhood planning“ and „implementation“ in the conceptual and emprical work (Task 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 2.3.1)
Development of an analytical framework to operationalise transformative capacity in „strategic planning“, neighbourhood planning“ and „implementation, upscaling and repliction“
Analytical Framework Summary in Report D2.1
Select comparable cities in China and Europe for Case Studies
Develop and implement joint selection strategy for case studies
2 Pilot Case Studies are conducted, but approaching cities for interviews is difficult
Strongly cooperate with city networks in the project
WP 2

10. Outlook 2nd Year: Generation of Transformative Knowledge
Case Studies/Living Labs
Methods
Step 1
Conduct additional case studies in China and Europe
Interviews with cities in Europe and China
Step 2
Identify innovation, good practice and success factors to close the planning-implementation gap
WP 2 Workshop on innovation, good practice and success factors to close the planning-implementation gap
Step 3
Development of a methodology for the estimation of the Replication potential of urban solutions in different contexts (EU-CHINA)
Questionnaires to Living Labs cities to collect data
Test the methodology
Discuss results (Replication Workshop)
Step 4
Develop and test measures and instruments (identified from good practice) to address close the planning-implementation gap
Use Living Lab Cities and organise workshops or planning games (including roundtable discussions, world café, etc.)
WP 2