Mobility & Sustainable Cities

Sustainable transportation and urban planning are much more than contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Both form the basis for the habitats of the future.

Shape the transport and building sectors of tomorrow

Find your way to sustainable cities and smart mobility solutions.

What is urban planning?

Urban planning deals with the question of how cities, regions and urban spaces need to be organized. Since urban planning must respond to many developments the challenges are many: More and more cities are becoming heat islands due to climate change. Rapid urbanization and urban sprawl also pose challenges for urban and regional planning. Concepts for smart cities are more in demand than ever.

Sustainable urban development must address a wide range of issues related to mobility and logistics. These are not only essential for the quality of life and attractiveness of a metropolitan area for society and the economy. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from construction and transportation is also a key issue of sustainable transport solutions.

Companies play an important role in this context. As part of their sustainability strategy and decarbonization plans, smart mobility concepts are often a major lever for improving a company’s sustainability performance. This includes employee commuting, business travel, or the low-emission transportation of goods and commodities.

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Making cities, transport, and logistics sustainable

It has become today’s biggest challenge to decarbonize the transport and building sectors while contributing to a more accessible, sustainable, and healthy mobility system as well as more liveable, resilient, and equitable spaces.

The demands on metropolitan areas, transport, and logistics are increasing due to various factors. Urbanization, demographic shifts, changing market dynamics, climate change, regulation, digitalization, and innovation are transforming cities and regions. This challenge is also an opportunity:

For businesses

Reduce your transport emissions by working with your employees on a more sustainable and convenient commute or business travel and by implementing green logistics concepts.

For real estate developers and owners

Integrate sustainability on your project and strategic level to manage ESG performance and climate-related risks, and for dealing with increasing investor and regulatory demands.

For municipalities

Manage the multifaceted challenges of improving quality of life, adapting to a changing climate, providing a stable infrastructure, integrating different stakeholders’ needs, and boosting the economy.

Our services – your benefits:

Reduce your employees’ and freight transport emissions and costs
Improve your employees’ health, well-being, and job satisfaction
Create and sustain long-term value and attract investors and tenants through better real estate projects
Build liveable, smart, and inclusive cities and districts

Our services for sustainable transport and urban planning

Working towards Net Zero transport and buildings as well as liveable and sustainable cities requires ambition, courage, expertise, and interdisciplinary solutions. We are here to support you in this transition.

Smart cities and district development

Shape the future: develop sustainable, inclusive, and liveable cities and neighborhoods

Integrating sustainability early in the development of a green city or smart district creates value, reduces costs, and increases the quality of life. We support the real estate sector with sustainability concepts and new district developments that build on ambitious qualities and objectives. Moreover, we support cities on their way to becoming more sustainable, resilient, and liveable, combining technological solutions with social innovation.

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Sustainability strategy for real estate

Integrate sustainability in strategy and projects, work towards Net Zero buildings, and manage ESG performance and risks

We support you with sound sustainability and climate strategies, a solid understanding of building certification and taxonomy requirements, and a broad set of measures. This is becoming increasingly important as real estate developers, owners and investors face a tremendous challenge in the transition towards sustainable, Net Zero buildings. Moreover, financial markets and regulators are demanding ambitious strategies and reliable ESG data.

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Corporate mobility management

Reduce emissions from employee commute, business travel, and your fleet

Employee commute has a sustainability, health, and well-being impact. Moreover, business travel often accounts for a significant portion of a company’s carbon footprint. Our corporate mobility management services seek cost and emissions reductions and a higher level of employee engagement. It enables you to demonstrate commitment towards a sustainable mobility transition by fostering public transport, active travel, shared mobility, virtual mobility, and zero-emission vehicles.

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Green buildings and certification

Develop better buildings, achieve certification, and increase long-term value

Compliance with internationally recognized standards helps engineers, architects, and building owners to develop sustainable buildings that meet the tests of both environmental and user-friendliness. Our denkstatt experts provide technical expertise throughout the various phases of building design work and project implementation. This includes the systematic consideration of the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions as well as DGNB, LEED, and BREEAM sustainable building and district certifications.

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Sustainable logistics

Reduce freight transport emissions and costs

Freight accounts for 40% of transport emissions and there is an urgent need to decarbonize road transport, in particular in cities. As businesses face a changing technological and regulatory landscape with uncertainty about the viability of solutions, we work with the public and private sector on sustainable logistics concepts for businesses, cities, and regions.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions on mobility & sustainable cities

What is a smart city?

A smart city is a modern metropolitan area that is built on technological and social innovation to achieve a high level of well-being for its residents. This includes, for example, sustainable urban transit or forward-looking urban development, participatory structures and inclusivity. Learn more about it.

What makes a city sustainable?

Sustainable cities are characterized by a high quality of life. The sustainability of a city is characterized by its impacts in social, environmental, and economic terms. The urban footprint, as well as safety and job prospects, can shape a city’s sustainability. Eco city or green city are also common names for modern metropolitan areas that strive for urban sustainability.

How can urban planning help to deal with climate change?

Urban planning is strongly related to climate change. On the one hand, many people in urban areas are affected by the impacts of climate change – for example, through the development of heat islands. Therefore, cities also need to undertake climate change adaptation measures. On the other hand, urban spaces generate high greenhouse gas emissions that must be reduced in order to mitigate climate change. Urban planning has to react to both topics.

How to achieve sustainable transportation?

Sustainable transportation can be achieved through accessible, sustainable, and healthy mobility systems. In addition to reducing transportation-related emissions, sustainable transportation also seeks affordable and accessible solutions for society and the economy.

Why is sustainable transportation important?

Sustainable transportation is important because transportation has a huge environmental and social impact. Solutions for sustainable transportation such as expanded public transportation infrastructure can reduce carbon emissions, foster economic growth, and contribute to the satisfaction and quality of life of society. Moreover, a comprehensive view of sustainable transport is important for companies that want to reduce their transport-related emissions.

Mobility & Sustainable Cities

Shape the transport and building sectors of tomorrow

What is urban planning?