Squirrels, hedgehogs, and other animals find suitable habitats in cities, but suffer from the fragmentation of their habitats by roads, fences, and other barriers. This contributes to hedgehogs being much rarer than they were a few years ago. Valentin Klaus and Simon Mösch have now successfully secured funding for a project in which they are working with numerous partner institutions in northwestern Europe, from Ireland to Switzerland, to connect urban habitats for mammals. Research institutions are cooperating with cities and municipalities, supporting them and recording the effectiveness of various measures, such as spanning roads with ropes – a measure to improve the mobility of squirrels. We will also assess and evaluate the population's attitude towards such measures, because who can guarantee that the hedgehog passage in the fence will not also allow rather unpopular rodents to pass through? Acceptance of the measures is an important aspect of the success of the proposed improvements. The project “URBAN – Understanding the Recovery of Biodiversity and Animal Networks” began in January 2026 and will last 40 months. The project is coordinated by the Dutch municipality of Hilversum. Further information and a project website will follow shortly.