Driving Urban Transitions

In the battle against climate change, cities and municipalities play a central role. The Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) Partnership enables research, innovation, and capacity building on a transnational level. It focuses on the needs of local authorities, city administrations, communities, service providers, infrastructure providers, and citizens, supporting them in translating global strategies into local actions. The partnership follows a holistic, cross-sectoral approach for urban transformations.

With 67 current partners from 28 countries, the DUT Partnership contributes to creating secure, resilient, climate-neutral, and sustainable cities with a high quality of life throughout Europe.

Through mission- and needs-oriented calls for proposals, the DUT Partnership makes a significant contribution to the development of innovative solutions for climate-neutral cities. As a transnational initiative, the DUT Partnership is also a crucial instrument for achieving the European and global missions for climate-neutral cities, the European Green Deal, and the EU's urban agenda.

Research and innovation, along with targeted capacity building, empower urban stakeholders (local authorities, service and infrastructure providers, etc.) and citizens to implement global, forward-thinking strategies in local actions.

In the framework of the annual calls for proposals by the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership (DUT), cities and municipalities, companies, research institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders can form transnational consortia. Jointly conducted research and innovation projects aim to enable and support urban transformation in the fields of urban mobility and energy transition.

The calls for proposals are conducted on a transnational basis and are organized as two-stage processes. In the first stage, mandatory short proposals (pre-proposals) must be submitted. If the evaluation of the short proposal is successful, an invitation is extended to submit a full proposal.

To holistically support cities, the DUT Partnership implements three transition paths:

Positive Energy Districts (PED)
The Positive Energy Districts Transition path (PED) aims to develop climate-neutral neighborhoods. It addresses local energy systems optimized for energy efficiency, flexibility, and local energy generation from renewable sources, contributing to the energy transition and climate neutrality.
15-Minute City (15mC)
The 15-Minute City Transition path (15mC) focuses on shaping inner-city land use mix to prioritize active mobility for daily activities. This sets the stage for climate-neutral, livable, and inclusive cities.
Circular Urban Economy (CUE)
The Circular Urban Economies Transition path (CUE) promotes the design of urban spaces characterized by regenerative urbanism—creating livable, inclusive, and green communities and neighborhoods that embrace urban circular economies and circular resource flows.