Compact Cities

Compactness does not stop at the city boundary. This thematic focus extends compact city thinking to the metropolitan scale, addressing governance and integrated territorial planning, compact and resilient metropolitan development — including polycentric contexts — sustainable mobility and accessibility at FUA level, urban–rural linkages and territorial cohesion, and the data, monitoring and implementation capacities to support them.

At its heart lies a broader understanding of compact development: not merely the densification of a single urban core, but — especially in Europe's polycentric metropolitan regions — a network of well-connected settlements of different sizes and functions, providing access to housing, employment, public services, sustainable mobility and green infrastructure, while limiting sprawl and excessive land consumption.

When public authorities invest in infrastructure, transport, public spaces and amenities — or simply make planning decisions — land values rise. This thematic focus examines how that publicly created value can be captured and reinvested to finance sustainable urban development, affordable and social housing, green infrastructure and quality public space.

The starting point is comparative: how land value is measured, monitored and published across Europe, from legal requirements to valuation methodologies. Building on this, the work will map the wider instruments landscape — the incentives and barriers embedded in tax systems, subsidy and compensation regimes, and developer contribution frameworks — together with the other LVC tools that currently shape where and how cities grow.

Compact development requires aligning housing with mixed-use functions, mobility infrastructure, and improved access to shared public spaces, urban greenery and social services. Sources also highlight the importance of local authorities reclaiming long-term planning capacity, and the need for inclusive, transparent processes that engage stakeholders and citizens in collaborative decision-making.

Particular focus is placed on the sustainable re-use of existing spaces and buildings, while addressing the challenge of rising property values in compact areas. These approaches are often linked to the New European Bauhaus principles, ensuring that high-density environments remain attractive, accessible and equitable.

Starting from a simple premise — the most sustainable building is often the one that already exists — this thematic focus approaches the regeneration of the built environment as a strategic response to some of the most pressing challenges facing European cities today.

Its work is organised around three sub-topics: brownfield redevelopment and industrial transition; heritage-led regeneration of historic urban centres; and circular urban reconversion and the adaptive re-use of the existing building stock.