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Our approach to sustainable development

Within a broader transition towards new sustainable living environments, a thorough understanding of context-specific challenges is key.
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Urban Frameworks connects the specific aspects and context of a project to a changing framework for urban development in general. While social, environmental, and economic sustainability are increasingly relevant for society, the approach to urban development remains often based on a perception of value creation and risk that has difficulty to accommodate change. The development process itself needs to become more inclusive to the innovation agenda that cities need. Urban Frameworks provide the strategic support to achieve this.


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Source: elabaration of Foxon, 2011

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Impact investment can be enabled by improving insights in the complexity of change.

We focus in every project on identifying the opportunities for a meaningful and lasting change of the living environment. Opportunities for change can be found in the way the hardware, software and org-ware of a project are connected in new ways; the spatial, programmatic, and organizational objectives are defined within a single development framework. Sustainable urban development moves beyond circular building methods, renewable energy, and smart mobility solutions. Sustainable change is also achieved by organizing the economic conditions that enable social issues to be addressed within the same framework. The development framework includes social, environmental an economic sustainability within a single context. 

We carefully analyse the broader context and potential of a development in order to define the 'fitness landscape' of challenges and opportunities that a specific development process will encounter. This approach allows for a better alignment between the desired impact of an investment and the risks associated with an innovation agenda. The quality of decision-making is improved by providing multiple development paths or scenario's that articulate the specific complexity of a development

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We need to urbanize technology instead of the other way around
 

If cities are to adopt a healthier approach to resource productivity, changes are needed on many levels. Individual urban developments can adopt new strategies that anticipate the emergence of a new generation of urban infrastructure.

'Smart' urban infrastructures and technologies that organise energy, mobility, waste, water and ICT, will play a role in this. A next generation of urban infrastructures is needed, both in the physical domain as well as in the way we organize the interaction between the public and the private domain in cities. A succesful connection between the physical, programmatic and organizational layers of cities will evolve ever more as a key-value driver and will change the nature of individual developments. A chain of interlinked business models is emerging.  These new business models ask for new analytical tools and new assessment methods. In a resource efficient urban development, traditional benchmarks will be replaced with more context sensitive instruments.

"Technology is the answer. But what was the question?" 
Cedric Price

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Specifically global
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We combine experience in a varied international environment  with an ability to quickly develop a decisive understanding of local conditions. We have provided strategic input for projects in Italy, China and Russia.

 Agile with strong partnerships

While having the scale of a 'boutique' consultancy, we have access to an excellent network of internationally recognized design and engineering firms,  financial engineers, and strategy advisors. We can quickly scale up and assemble a team of experts to match the specific needs of a project.