Cities4ZERO: Overcoming Carbon Lock-in in Municipalities through Smart Urban Transformation Processes

Abstract

How can local authorities effectively address the decarbonization of urban environments in the long run? How would their interests and expertise be aligned into an integrated approach towards decarbonization? This paper delves into how strategic processes can help to integrate diverse disciplines and stakeholders when facing urban decarbonization and presents Cities4ZERO, a step-by-step methodology for local authorities, able to guide them through the process of developing the most appropriate plans and projects for an effective urban transition; all from an integrated, participatory and cross-cutting planning approach. For the development of the Cities4ZERO methodology, plans, projects, and strategic processes from five European cities that are part of the Smart Cities and Communities European Commission program have been monitored for 4 years, in close collaboration with local authorities, analyzing ad-hoc local strategic approaches to determine key success factors and barriers to be considered from their transitioning experiences. The study indicates that an iterative strategic approach and a project-oriented vision, combined with a stable institutional commitment, are opening a window of opportunity for cities to achieve effective decarbonization.

Towards an Integrated Approach to Urban Decarbonisation in Practice: The Case of Vitoria-Gasteiz

“…Furthermore, the urban-energy model has supported the whole process and the engagement dynamics, from city characterisation, diagnosis, and 2030 scenarios' generation, to the definition of the 41 key actions of the APIET 2030. Cities4ZERO's strategic stage objective is to provide "a strategic planning framework (strategies, plans, actions) which enables the city administration to perform an effective transition towards a Smart Zero Carbon City" [10]; this "strategic planning framework" has been developed in Vitoria-Gasteiz. During the coming years, thorough monitoring of the APIET 2030 fulfilment will determine if the Cities4ZERO approach is also valid for the development of key actions (design stage/intervention and assessment stage), as well as for achieving decarbonisation goals after their implementation.…”

“…The development of the Action Plan for an Integrated Energy Transition 2030 (APIET 2030) in Vitoria-Gasteiz follows the Cities4ZERO urban decarbonisation methodology, "a step-by-step methodology able to guide local authorities through the process of developing the most appropriate plans and projects for an effective urban transition; all from an integrated, participatory and cross-cutting planning approach" [10]. This methodology builds upon the smart zerocarbon city (SZCC) concept, which defines a resource-efficient urban environment where the carbon footprint is nearly eliminated [14].…”

“…The document describes the co-generation process at all stages, achieving an unprecedented level of agreement among the local community. Furthermore, it presents the city diagnosis, the master scenario, and the city vision 2030, leading to the final action plan 2030 (summary on Table 4), consisting of strategic objectives (2 general; 7 specific), strategic areas (5), strategic lines (10), and key actions (41). Regarding key actions, each of them was defined according to a systematised layout, enabling the potential of performing a joint analysis through a digital dashboard (Figure 3), visualising overall APIET 2030 figures and interconnections.…”

“…The Cities4ZERO methodology [10] was developed as a consistent guide to effectively integrate urban planning and energy policies, plans, and practices. It provides a holistic approach to strategic municipal processes for urban decarbonisation in the mid-long term, which includes key local stakeholders' engagement into integrated energy planning processes (for Vitoria's foresight case, see [11], as well as tools for effective energy decarbonisation modelling (such as ENER-BI; see [12]).…”

“…A municipality with institutions that exercise powerful leadership and act in an exemplary way together with a co-responsible citizenship with a high level of awareness, reinforced by a model of community cooperation capable of facing the challenges of the energy transition at the local level. All this is within a prosperous, innovative, and competitive economic environment, which ensures a collaborative social model in which no one is left behind [10].…”