EMC2 – The Evolutive Meshed Compact City

The research project “EMC2 – The Evolutive Meshed Compact City. A pragmatic transition pathway to the 15-minute City for European metropolitan peripheries” has been selected for financing within the European tender of the Horizon Europe call “Driving Urban Transitions”. The project will be carried out by a consortium of four academic research units and four local authorities in four different European countries : UMR ESPACE (CNRS – Université Côte d’Azur – Aix-Marseille Université – Avignon Université), Agence d’Urbanisme Azuréenne and Agence d’Urbanisme de Lille Métropole in France, SMoG (Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering) and City of Gothenburg in Sweden, DESTeC (University of Pisa) and City of Viareggio in Italy, as well as the Department of Urban Design (TU Wien) in Austria. The EMC2 project is coordinated by Giovanni Fusco (UMR ESPACE), supported by Meta Berghauser Pont (SMoG), Valerio Cutini (DESTeC), Angelika Psenner (Urban Structure Studies and Urban Design) and Laurence Jacquier (AUA) as co-applicants. It received a total grant of 1.3 M Euros by ANR (France), Vinnova (Sweden), MUR (Italy) and FFG (Austria). Running from October 2023 to September 2026, it is a research-oriented project focusing on the transition pathway to the 15-minute city.

The Austrian team: Angelika Psenner, Susanne Tobisch and Daniel Löschenbrand (TU Wien, Research Unit of Urban Design)

Content & research goal

The 15-minute city aims to improve the quality of life in the cities of the 21st century. However, the transition to a 15-minute city is much more difficult in suburbs and car-dependent outskirts. To reduce the risk of 15-minute city policies exacerbating the tensions between central cities and peripheral areas, the project proposes a new model, adapted to conditions in peripheral areas: Evolutive Meshed Compact City (EMC2).

The EMC2 model proposes developments along existing main roads. By being adapted for pedestrian traffic, these roads are transformed into interconnected, vibrant and inclusive high streets with a wide variety of services and connections to wider mobility options. The idea is that this requires only small improvements to the existing suburban structure.

The project will evaluate the EMC2 model in six European case studies. This is done using a triangular research methodology that includes innovative geospatial modeling, field observations and comparative morpho-functional analyses.

The main goal of the project is a detailed specification of the EMC2 model, to successfully implement the 15-minute city in car-dependent outskirts and reduce the risk that 15-minute city policies limited to urban cores exacerbate the underlying tensions between gentrifying centres and left-behind peripheral areas. More specifically, the project will produce: a transferable, multi-scale method to assess EMC2 potential in European suburban areas, and guidelines for EMC2 implementation, including examples and obstacles. The consortium will disseminate results both in academia and among urban stakeholders.

For more information, contact Giovanni Fusco, Meta Berghauser Pont, Valerio Cutini, Angelika Psenner and Laurence Jacquier.