London Legacy Development Corporation is leading the UK’s participation in a new European initiative aimed at helping cities manage urban space more efficiently as they move towards climate neutrality.
The programme, known as CORESpaces, is a €16.4m project funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework. It brings together 45 organisations across Europe to develop and test digital, data-driven approaches to planning and managing urban infrastructure.
The London team includes Transport for London, London Borough of Lambeth, University College London, and AppyWayand Grid Smarter Cities.
Across Europe, cities are under increasing pressure to reduce emissions while balancing competing demands for transport, energy and public space.
CORESpaces aims to address these challenges by deploying AI-enabled planning systems, digital twins, and integrated data platforms that allow urban authorities to test and implement new approaches to mobility and space allocation.
Within the project, a suite of technologies referred to as COREInnovations will be deployed. These include AI-based decision support tools, federated digital twin platforms, smart kerbside management systems, bidirectional EV charging infrastructure and data environments designed to analyse and visualise urban activity in real time.
Ten cities will host real-world trials of these technologies. London will act as one of the project’s Leading Living Labs alongside Thessaloniki, Tartu and the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Helmond, focusing on large-scale testing and integration in operational urban environments.
In London, the programme will centre on a Living Lab spanning Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and sites across the borough of Lambeth and central London. The initiative will combine mobility, transport, and digital infrastructure partners to explore how urban space can be allocated more dynamically in response to changing demand.
As part of the project, the London team will deploy AI-driven tools to support citizen engagement and apply data-led planning to roadside infrastructure, with the aim of improving air quality, optimising space use and increasing safety in public environments.
“Joining the EU’s CORESpaces programme alongside our UK partners allows us to contribute to the transition to climate neutral cities across Europe.
“Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – as one of the capital’s innovation districts – provides a unique platform to test and scale new ideas and we look forward to working with our partners at the Park, and at other sites across London, to create greener, healthier and more accessible streets that make it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport.
“Through strong cross sector collaboration, we are proud to contribute to Europe’s wider effort to build more sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.”
Shazia Hussain, CEO, London Legacy Development Corporation
Within the London programme, UCL will act as scientific and technical manager, coordinating development of AI-enabled decision frameworks for urban space governance.
“CORESpaces is uniquely positioned to tackle emerging challenges in urban space utilization through cutting-edge science and technological innovation. It offers cities across Europe a concrete opportunity to rethink how urban space is conceived, designed and governed, through a holistic framework that integrates imagination-driven co-creation processes, urban design and planning, and dynamic, data-enabled management.
“Placing citizens at its core, CORESpaces will generate actionable scientific and technical outcomes that mobilize cities towards climate neutrality, fairer urban environments and enhanced quality of life.”
Dr Emmanouil (Manos) Chaniotakis, Associate Professor in Transport Modelling and Machine Learning, UCL Energy Institute
For the PropTech and urban technology sector, initiatives such as CORESpaces highlight the increasing role of digital infrastructure in city governance.
As urban environments become more complex and contested, AI-driven analytics, real-time data platforms and digital twin models are emerging as core tools for managing mobility, energy systems and the built environment at scale.
