How to bridge the gap between research and practice in urban projects ?

ACUTE/UERA seminars  and workshops  

Since the project began at the end of 2022, three seminars open to scientists and practitioners were organized.  The seminars attracted 131 academics and 36 practitioners from 14 countries. The main outputs consist of a comprehensive list of issues and questions in European research on the 15-minute city, in particular on the role of proximity in research, on the current trends, and on the evaluation of the 15-min City.

Presentations from the first seminar in Milan shed light on  five research topics related to the concept of 15-min cities: 1/ Defining the 15-minute city, 2/ Identifying the transport modes of the 15-minute city,  3/Integration of proximity into urban planning, 4/ Supporting inclusiveness in the 15-minute city, and 5/ Evaluating the 15-minute city (L'Hostis and al. 2023).  

Research and experiences presented in the following seminars designated active mobilities as favoured transport modes in the 15-min cities. Accessibility of services through the inclusivity in public spaces design appears as a key factor in the concrete implementation of the 15-min City. The Antwerp seminar was an opportunity to bring on the table the transferability of the concept in peri urban areas and to question the accuracy of the concept outside the central urban areas. Karlsruhe seminar pushed the rethinking of the 15-min City concept through the aspects of inclusivity in the urban designs. As in Milano, the question of enjoyability of urban spaces and accessibility of public transports emerged through the research outcomes.  Oriana Kraemer, urban planner from the municipality of Karlsruhe gave us an insight, through the ORMI urban project,  on the good practices to smooth collaboration between research and practice in urban projects 

Lesson learned from the seminars : Identifying the obstacles to bridge the gap between research and practice 

Karlsruhe seminar was an opportunity to identify the obstacles in bridging the gap between research and practice in  urban projects.  

Oriana illustrated during the seminar a concrete example of implementation of the concept in Karlsruhe city center. In this proximity-centered project,  not involving the university of applied science from the very beginning  was due to a very dynamic process design, an unclear budget and very limited and unstable staff capacities which at the start of the project didn’t allow managing another collaboration. Finding a common language and bridging knowledge gaps need a constant effort that can constitute an impediment to planners having a limited time and budget. For a useful cooperation, it is necessary for stakeholders (researchers and practitioners) to have a respective understanding of  working mode, way of thinking and constraints. Among those constraints, legal framework and political mandate, is now becoming an essential factor. 

In the overview of the presented project, Oriana brought to our attention that the cooperation in the implementation of the project worked really well, since the involved researcher  had worked in their urban planning department before.  Moreover,  she had an academic background. At this effect, they could find a common ground and see mutual benefits in this cooperation. Oriana added that the full dedication of the research team as a service provider eased the collaboration and contributed to the success of the project.