Transit Oriented Development (TOD) for Inclusive and Sustainable Rural-Urban Regions

TOD-IS-RUR focuses on Transit Oriented Development (TOD), conceiving public transport as a backbone for socially Inclusive and environmentally Sustainable urbanisation in European Rural-Urban Regions (RURs).

The overall objective is to go beyond the urban focus and undifferentiated, model-based approach of current TOD research and practice, and extend TOD to RURs with a context-based approach.

If Europe is to make a transition to inclusive and sustainable urbanisation, this extension of TOD is essential, as most Europeans live in RURs, not just in urban cores.

Yet, current TOD approaches are at odds with mobility-urbanisation relations in RURs, generating socio-environmental side-effects and risks.

TOD-IS-RUR sets up an interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral network to analyse, develop and test-case innovative context-based approaches by bringing in expertise from urban studies (i.e. mobility studies; landscape research and design; transport justice, planning and geography; social and historical geography; social innovation; Science & Technology Studies (STS); environmental history).

Drawing on a wide-range of European RURs, the ETN thus transcends disciplinary and national fragmentation.

The 9 Beneficiaries and 12 Partner Organisations create a unique platform for 10 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), providing interdisciplinary and intersectoral expert-level training in analysing and improving TOD for RURs.

The research and training will prepare a new generation of highly-skilled professionals able to meet the scientific and societal challenge of countering urban sprawl in the spatial contexts where most Europeans live, and implement inclusive and sustainable planning schemes for RURs.

In so doing, TOD-IS-RUR will create innovative, much-needed approaches, to advance agendas in line with Smart, Green& Integrated transport (SC4); Inclusive, Innovative&Reflective Societies (SC6); and UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.