Rapid Planning -Sustainable infrastructure, environmental and resource management for highly dynamic metropolises

Although cities are often seen as contributing to environmental loads they can also be models of environmental efficiency. Cities can benefit from new tools, techniques and policies to use their resources as efficient as possible, through optimizing planning processes and at the same time reducing the cost of service.

The Rapid Planning Project is an action oriented research project that has been developed under the umbrella of the Future Megacities Research Program of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Rapid Planning seeks to develop a rapid trans-sectoral urban planning methodology with a focus on urban basic services infrastructure, specifically targeting supply and disposal infrastructures. The service sectors covered by the project include energy, water, waste water, solid waste, and urban agriculture/ food systems. Trans-sectoral planning strives to take advantage of potential synergies when linking these individual infrastructural sectors together. Rapid Planning is conceptualized as a form of integrative overview planning providing the essential tools and capacity necessary to establish sustainable and resource efficient infrastructure management in highly dynamic (e.g. rapidly growing) cities in an adequate time. Rapid Planning allocates the instruments to speed up planning and implementation processes with view on sustainable, financial and climate related aspects according to the needs of the stakeholders.

The following results of the project are expected:

• Realizing a Rapid Planning trans-sectoral planning methodology and tool kit in case cities applicable in other rapidly growing cities.
• Initiating a change of thinking and acting with view on trans-sectoral resource efficient planning in city administrations.
• Establishing a thorough capacity building concept.