The goal of our presentation it to contribute to gain a better understanding of the strengths and limitations of emerging “innovative” approaches to urban planning aiming at integrating the three relevant EES aspects of sustainable development. Analysis is based on an ongoing comparative and transdisciplinary research project, conducted in the frame of the National Centre of Competence in Research North-South, Switzerland, focused on the study of local urban projects in different regions of the world: a)The San Francisco Block Recovery Project in the frame of The Program of Residential Consolidation (PRC) of the Management plan for the historic center of Buenos Aires (MPHCBA), Argentina; b)The Plaza Vieja Project in the frame of the The Master Plan for the Rehabilitation of the Historic Centre of Havana, Cuba; and c)The Revitalization of Tha Tian Historic Community (RTTHC) in the frame of the Conservation Master Plan for Bangkok (CMPB), Thailand.