HARMONY model suite: an integrated spatial and multimodal transport planning tool to lead a sustainable transition to a new mobility era

The importance of integrated spatial and transport planning in regional and urban policy making stems from the fundamentally interdependent relationship of land-use, transport demand and transport supply. The adoption of integrated approaches would offer local authorities the possibility to steer urban development towards simultaneously pursuing economic competitiveness, social cohesion, mobility and environmental sustainability. This is even more important in the current situation where the latest developments in innovative mobility services and technology would significantly influence the passenger and freight transport systems. Against this background, the HARMONY research project envisages developing a new generation of harmonised spatial and multimodal transport planning tools which comprehensively model the dynamics of spatial organisation and changing transport sector, taking into consideration the dynamics that new services and technologies introduce. The ambition is to represent new forms of mobility for freight and people in order to enable metropolitan area authorities to lead the transition to a low carbon new mobility era in a sustainable manner. This paper is intended to provide a general overview of the HARMONY project and a description of the conceptual architecture designed for the development of the integrated modelling system and the interaction among the components.HARMONY has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement Nº815269. The content of this paper reflects only the author's view. Neither the European Commission nor the INEA is responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains