Step Up Smart Cities

STEP UP is an energy and sustainable city planning programme that assists cities in enhancing their sustainable energy action plans, and in integrating energy planning into their sustainable city planning. A partnership of twelve organisations, the programme is working together with local government, research and commercial partners in the European cities of:

• Ghent
• Glasgow
• Gothenburg
• Riga

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STEP UP brings together excellence in energy planning and low carbon energy projects from these four cities to create a coherent and easy-to-use model for energy planning.

The STEP UP cities have experience of the Covenant of Mayors' Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP) energy planning process and a number of common characteristics and socio-economic factors that enhance their ability to work together and learn from each other. The Sustainable Energy Action Plans, that each city has produced, all outline clear and ambitious energy efficiency and CO₂ reduction targets.

The project combines expertise in energy planning, economics, finance, technology, project management and delivery and has representatives from each city council, ensuring the active participation and political commitment of the cities themselves. 

The combination of a local government, commercial and research partner from each city, together with links into local partnerships and stakeholder groups, ensures STEP UP’s ability to facilitate the delivery of integrated actions and projects in participating cities by using a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach. The range of expertise and experience of the partners fosters holistic solutions that deliver real economic, environmental and technological advances in each city with regards to smart city planning. The active involvement of city councils means that the plans meet the needs of the cities’ citizens, businesses and existing infrastructure, as well as being economically feasible.

The Institute for Future Cities at University of Strathclyde is coordinating the overall project, with partner organisations taking the lead in different work packages.

The programme is part of the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and runs until July 2015.