One of the challenges of the urban development context is a more efficient management of the tension existing between urban reconstruction and urban extension, in particular by providing new alternatives to diffuse peri-urban development, in the shape of projects which link urban development processes more closely to travel conditions and mobility. Sustainable urban development projects, while envisaged from a dual point of view – that of development of buildings and mobility must be able to play a part in the development of the city. The contribution of these development projects to the emergence of sustainable cities will only be possible under certain conditions, which this research project wants to identify and operationalise. These urban development projects constitute the stage for experimenting new operational urban development practices and know-how which attempt to reconcile environmental, social, economic and urban objectives. The issue with which these urban projects are concerned is to distribute, within the chain of players involved in operational urban development (municipal authorities, developers, promoters...) action reference systems, design tools, assessment methods and decision-making aids which take into account the place and impact of the project in the dynamic process of transformation of the city. How can we objectivise dialogue between urban authorities and urbanist/engineer to design, programme and implement urban projects which take due account of the expectations of the citizen versus affordable residential premises, access to mobility, services and local stores, with a quality environment adjacent to the urban centres? How can we design these projects taking account of their impact on the rest of the city, and their contribution to a sustainable urban development path? On a development project scale, how can alternatives be offered in terms of density, social intermingling and urban mobility, and accessibility functions which can respond to the sustainable development strategies of municipal authorities? What design and simulation tools will make it possible to assess gains anticipated by development proposals linking the availability of housing and mobility, and serve as a decision-making aid in the choice of options to be adopted? What are the obstacles to be overcome in terms of land acquisition, funding and legal framework, to undertake the choice of such development options? The proposed project aims at responding to these questions by means of a pragmatic and systemic approach taking due account of interlocking territorial and decision-making scales. The task is to construct methods of assessment and project management, as also decision-making aid tools in particular, for the purpose of: ?integrating the development project in its territorial context, and establishing a link between the project and the sustainable development strategy for the city, as set out in the political and planning documents for the city: Territorial Coherence Scheme (SCOT), Local Urban Development Plan (PLU), Urban Transport Master Plan (PDU) and Local Habitat Programme (PLH); ?designing and assessing proposed actions on a dynamic basis, including at the scale of buildings with their adaptation flexibility with time; ?objectising dialogue between urban authorities and urbanist/engineer, establishing rules enabling the parties to perceive the global impact of the choices they may make as much in terms of urban development as the organisation of travel and transport; ?making decisions based on simulations and comparisons, ensuring that more coherent urban strategies are implemented. Tests will be conducted on urban development projects at various levels of maturity. A recommendation book will be developed for operational actors of the whole chain. The consortium itself assembles actors of this whole chain: city authorities, urbanist/engineers, developer-promoter-operator, research and teaching organisations.

Structures covering roadway and railway infrastructures in urban environments (that we will name “covers”) respond to multiple objectives and stakes: environmental and social (reducing noise and environmental pollution, restoring urban flow, offering an opportunity for urban renovation), legal and contractual (superimposition of property rights and different statuses, territorial borders issues), financial (high costs, creation of property rights and value), public safety and comfort. As such, these structures play a crucial role in urban planning processes and are conceived to last (“long living town”). Further, they are also essential contributors to the sustainability of cities (“sustainable town”) and this, in its three different meanings: energetic, economic and societal. Our intention in the following report is to offer a methodology, along with tools for planning and putting into practicea concept which, despite its complexity, is still yet neither the subject of a “doctrine” nor of specific rules. This lack of a global vision, a systemic approach, and planning and design tools restrains without any doubt an optimal use of this concept for urban renewal. Our project is positioned within a broad and diverse group of discussions and research in this area, carried out by consortium partners and other entities: we can here mention studies led by the City of Paris in the framework of its GPRU (Great Urban Renewal Project) and for the design and construction of Boulevard Périphérique (Ring Road) covers, as well as APUR’s research, the PREDIT program, the ANR projects GERMA and RESILIS, and the TRACI project. We have gathered around this project academics (Paris Est University, EIVP and Tecomah) as well as the City of Paris, IREX which represents contractors, and consulting engineers: Arcadis and Egis. These partners cooperate regularly, within the framework of research programs or projects. These are strongly involved within the “Advancity pole” and the “IEED Ville Durable” proposal. Our program’s primary goal is a multidisciplinary characterization of covers, through the setting up of an urban, legal, organizational and technical analytic grid, and its use through existing projects. The results of this first phase will serve as the starting point for establishing methodology and evaluation tools, for the use of owners and consulting engineers, who currently do not hold such tools. This second goal shall apply to the projects themselves and their role played in the nearby urban environment, as well as to the expressed interests of political and economical actors, and by the public itself. At this stage, we will also aim to identify and analyze the relevant legal issues, and the tools that may be used by the owner to plan, design and operate such equipments. The third scientific goal, proposed within a multidisciplinary and systemic approach, is the creation of a decision tool under the form of a “meta-referential”. This will aim at a complexthe optimization in terms of the advantages ofsustainable development. The transfer towards design and construction engineering is CANOPEE’s fourth scientific and technical goal. In line with the first three axes of research, it aims at putting forward , innovative methods of design and construction of covers, in view of their exploitation. The proceedings of this research will provide the actors of these projects with evaluation and decision-making tools, as well as recommendations to optimize their planning, design, construction and operation processes. The number and size of the concerned projects and the high stakes they represent for cities’ sustainability, are the founding bases of this research project.