People settle in increasing numbers in and around the major cities. The concentration of people and companies mean greater availability and increased productivity, but also rapidly growing congestion problems. We are daily affected both on the roads and in public transport. In addition to it being a nuisance and a waste of time, it also has a significant economic impact. It costs billions DKK every year.

As a major cross-organizational research project URBAN will combine knowledge about traffic, urban economy and transport economy to develop a set of tools for transport policy decision support.
This includes a policy model of household choice of residence and car ownership versus the taxing on cars and transport demand.

"What is the effect if it becomes more expensive to drive a car? For example, if it is decided to tax CO2 emissions. How much closer will the population move together? This has an effect on the productivity in society". The questions are raised by project leader Mogens Fosgerau, Professor at DTU.

The models and the methods from URBAN will be transferred to the relevant transport policy authorities, and thereby they will directly influence the prioritization of the annual infrastructure investment of estimated five to ten billion DKK. The problems are general, and the results are therefore also expected to be used internationally.

URBAN is led by DTU Management Engineering, Centre for Transport Research Transport DTU, in close collaboration with the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen. Contributing is also the Ministry of Transport, the Danish Road Directorate, the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), Kraks Fund Institute for Urban Economic Research and Incentive Partners.

The project has been granted money by Innovation Fund Denmark and will engage in close international research collaborations.