IN-PLAN PRACTICE
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Spatial planning is inherently complex. It deals with long-term decisions under conditions of uncertainty, competing interests and limited resources. This complexity becomes tangible, when multiple sectoral demands materialise in the same physical space. Energy infrastructure, mobility systems, climate adaptation measures, housing, economic activities and public space – all compete for limited land and resources. If these interactions are not anticipated and addressed proactively, conflicts of use, inefficiencies and lock-in effects are likely to occur.
At the same time, space also offers opportunities for synergy. When interventions are coordinated across sectors and over time, the same space can fulfil multiple functions and generate added value. Integrated planning therefore does not eliminate complexity, but provides a framework to make conflicts visible, to negotiate trade-offs transparently and to deliberately leverage synergies.
While the previous sections of this chapter addressed renewable energy, climate adaptation and sustainable mobility separately, experience from practice clearly shows that sectoral planning alone is insufficient. Only an integrated approach allows municipalities and regions to navigate competing demands, avoid contradictory measures and achieve coherent spatial outcomes.
Space is the practical interface where energy, mobility and climate adaptation intersect and where integration – or the lack of it – becomes visible.
Energy systems, mobility patterns and climate adaptation measures all have a strong spatial dimension:
Recognising space as the connecting dimension helps planners to identify both potential conflicts and possible synergies early on. Integrated spatial planning provides the framework to systematically address these interactions, rather than responding to them in an ad hoc manner at later stages of implementation.
A shared, overarching objective that provides orientation across sectors is key to integrated planning. The EU-target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 provides a widely acknowledged guiding objective for local and regional authorities.
Achieving climate neutrality cannot only be delegated to individual sectoral plans or departments. Instead, climate protection targets need to function as a common reference point for all municipal strategies, projects and investments – including spatial planning, mobility, energy, housing and the design of public space.
From this perspective, climate protection is a cross-cutting mandate. It creates a shared direction that encourages actors to look beyond their sectoral responsibilities, to actively cooperate with other departments and to coordinate interventions in space and time. Without such an overarching orientation, sectoral strategies risk optimising their own objectives while collectively falling short of climate targets.
Integrated spatial planning provides the institutional and spatial framework to translate this common objective into concrete, place-based decisions. It enables municipalities to align sectoral measures, to manage trade-offs transparently and to ensure that individual projects contribute to the broader climate protection goals of the city or region.
Experience from municipalities across Europe highlights several recurring patterns:
Integrated planning does not aim to avoid all conflicts. Rather, it makes them explicit and manageable and supports the identification of solutions that generate co-benefits across multiple policy areas.
Rather than providing an exhaustive catalogue, the following two planning contexts illustrate how integrated approaches can unlock synergies between climate protection, mobility and climate adaptation.
New development areas offer a unique opportunity to embed integrated solutions from the outset.
Typical synergies include:
Because spatial structures are still flexible, integrated solutions can be embedded structurally rather than retrofitted later at higher cost.
In existing neighbourhoods, integration is particularly important to manage constraints and avoid disruption.
Typical synergies include:
Well-timed coordination across sectors can turn necessary infrastructure works into visible improvements for residents and users of public space.
The redesign of the Äußere Mariahilfer Straße in Vienna illustrates integrated spatial planning in practice. The project combines the installation of district heating and cooling networks and the renewal of water infrastructure with climate adaptation measures such as new trees, greening, cooling elements and permeable surfaces to support rainwater infiltration. One car lane was removed by introducing one-way traffic, creating space for a high-quality, bi-directional cycle track, wider pavements and improved public space. Tram lines retain a dedicated track, ensuring efficient public transport while enhancing overall liveability.
For further information see Transformation of Äußere Mariahilfer Straße
The examples above demonstrate that conflicts and synergies are not exceptions, but the norm in spatial planning for climate action. Integrated planning does not aim to optimise individual sectors in isolation. Instead, it seeks spatially coherent solutions that contribute to climate protection while addressing mobility needs, climate adaptation requirements and quality of life.