The Baltic University Urban Forum, BUUF, aims to contribute to a sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region by developing local sustainability strategies. The project is of special relevance for spatial planning, building strategies, and infrastructure development, where the role of the municipality is large. The project aims to develop integrative tools for urban management.The project addresses ten key themes in municipal development in three different areas: energy, water and waste; green structures, rebuilding and brown fields, and traffic; socio-economic development, urban-rural cooperation, and education; and finally integra tion of management. Each of these topics is discussed at a best practice conference, treated in a guidebook, and tracked by a set of indicators. The 20 municipalities are reporting on the ten topics, using indicators, and organising competence development seminars for its personnel and politicians.The project is coordinated by a steering committee at the Division of Urban Studies at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, in which BUP and UBC as well as the municipality of Nacka takes part. The committee has assigned a region-wide scientific advisory council, which reports back and benchmark the reports from the partners. UBC coordinates the work on the sustainability indicators and coordinate with European work on the topic.The project is promoting cooperation between universities and municipal administra tions to the benefit of both. The results from the project will be used in university education, as well as competence development seminars for the personnel in each of the cities. Research projects will support the development of the understanding and tools needed to achieve a true integration of ecological, economic and social aspects of urban management. Achievements: 1. Management. A BUUF steering committee consised of members from the Baltic University Programme, BUP; the Union of Baltic Cities, UBC; the Division of Urban Studies at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, and the city of Nacka.2. Conferences. 10 best practice conferences on the ten key theme areas in urban management were organised in 2003-04, and 10 conferences on integration and application of management during 2005. All participating cities thus were hosting a conference. The start-up and a final conference were organised by KTH and BUP respectively. Each conference of about 2 days included both theoretical, and applied aspects as well as site visits, and planning of guidebooks, indicators and reports. Some 40 individuals were taking part each time, and a total of some 200 individuals in at least one meeting.3. Best practice guidebooks are written for each of the ten theme areas. The reports of about 50 (A4) pages will appear on Internet as a series on strategies for sustainable development in cities and towns.4. A Scientific Advisory Council was established in each of the theme areas covered by the BUUF project as 30 experts from universities and cities all over the Baltic Sea region joined. The council members served as experts during the project conferences, authors of chapters in guidebooks, and made benchmarking the city reports.5. Sustainability indicators were established in each of the theme areas in conferences within the Scientific Advisory Council and at a research workshop in Latvia. The background material and indicators were published together with a reporting form.7. Annual status reports from cities in each of the theme areas had both a qualitative, narrative, and a quantitative part based on the BUUF indicators.8. Competence development seminars. Each city or town organized a competence development seminar. They were either used to involve decision-makers, reach the citizens, or most often develop the competence within the city administrati