6.1.4. The promotion of sustainable and inclusive environments through innovative spatial and urban planning and design

80 % of Union citizens live today in and around cities, and inadequate urban planning and design can thus have tremendous consequences on their lives. Understanding how they function for all citizens, as well as understanding their design, liveability and their attractiveness to, inter alia, investment and skills, is critical to Europe's success in creating growth, jobs and a sustainable future. European research and innovation should provide tools and methods for a more sustainable, open, innovative and inclusive urban and peri-urban planning and design; a better understanding of the dynamics of urban societies and social changes and of the nexus of energy, environment, transport and land-use, including the interplay with surrounding rural areas; an improved understanding of design and use of public space within cities, also in the context of migration, to improve social inclusion and development and reduce urban risks and crime; new ways to reduce pressures on natural resources and stimulate sustainable economic growth while improving the quality of life of European urban citizens; and a forward-looking vision on the socio-ecological transition towards a new model of urban development reinforcing Union cities as hubs of innovation and centres of job creation and social cohesion.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.