Integrated urban planning for sustainable mobility, housing and urban form in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda) Integrerad stadsplanering för hållbar mobilitet, bostadsplanering och urban form i Östra Afrika (Kenya, Rwanda och Tanzania) The overall goal of this research project is to promote applied research and knowledge in sustainable urban mobility, housing development, and urban form, with a focus on practical and socio-spatial problems in everyday life. The purpose is to contribute to research and development in East Africa based on the use of tested and proven research methods developed at the collaborating universities. It is a joint application developed by researchers at the Department of Spatial Planning, BTH; School of the Built Environment, University of Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Transportation, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Center of Excellence in Transportation Planning, Technology and Logistics, University of Rwanda, Rwanda.These universities want to build a common research and innovation environment for collaboration and exchange in both academic and applied research areas and which will include senior researchers and doctoral students. Initially, the research group will organize joint research seminars, workshops and pilot projects to test ideas, concepts and programs that result from workshops, field studies and seminar activities. The collaboration aims to develop research in the field of integrated urban planning for sustainable communities and with a focus on mobility, housing development and urban form.Thematic seminars and workshops will form the basis for the planned pilot projects to test concepts that show alternative paths to sustainable mobility and accessibility, enhanced civic participation in community planning, democratic and equal housing, slum upgrades, poverty reduction and social inclusion. Workshops will be organized in the major cities of the participating countries and involve researchers from participating universities, representatives of local public and private stakeholders.The purpose of the pilot projects, which will be carried out in the cities of Nairobi / Kisumu, Dar es Salaam and Kigali, is to test ideas and models for mobility in these cities, for decontamination and development of slums, for promotion and walking and cyclists, and to test programs and models for the development of local plans and regulations for the protection and improvement of natural environments and green areas, as well as water spaces and parks. The participating universities have good conditions and long experience of collaboration with local planning and development authorities and organizations, especially in targeted efforts to apply new innovations to promote public transport, non-motorized transport such as pedestrians, cycle paths and mobility using electricity and renewable energy . . In low-income areas, supply and accessibility to public services are limited by inconsistent, inefficient, fragmented and segregated urban form. A joint research and development platform will be used to develop and test improved spatial structure and organization that enables and promotes access to basic functions and services such as water supply, stormwater drainage, sewerage, lighting and street life. In addition to the workshops organized in the cooperating countries, two seminars are planned in Karlskrona, one in the middle and one at the end of the project period. The seminars will partly aim to inform about the experiences of Swedish urban planning with a focus on housing and traffic planning, and partly offer a broad forum for evaluation of the research group´s activities in East Africa and, prepare the area and focus for the joint research application submitted to Sida at the end of the project period.The results of the activities carried out in East Africa during the project period, including workshops, pilot projects and interactions with the participating organizations, will be compiled into a project report to present and discuss with invited key researchers and stakeholders at the second seminar in Karlskrona . This proposal focuses on ´integrated urban planning for sustainable communities´ in East Africa targeting urban contexts in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It seeks mutually beneficial North-South-South research collaboration in the thematic areas of sustainable urban mobility, housing, and urban form. The contextualized issues are inequality in transport and housing mechanisms, high levels of pollution due to fossil fuel dependence, and poverty due to poor economic integration of communities in the urban fabric.The research questions include: 1) How can integrated urban planning in East Africa contribute to sustainable communities through equitable transport, housing, and urban form mechanisms?, 2) What strategies can be explored to decrease pollution and fossil fuel dependence in transport and housing? , 3) How can integrated planning contribute to better livelihoods through local economic activities, linked to housing and mobility? The collaboration will develop a joint research project to study the problem areas described above. Operational aspects of the collaboration will consist of creating synergies in research and teaching, joint thematic workshops engaging relevant stakeholders, pilot activities in selected urban areas to test ideas, and dissemination of knowledge gained.The expected impact is strengthened research collaboration, innovation through pilot testing, and knowledge dissemination through joint publications.