Europe’s leading sustainable mobility conference, the CIVITAS Forum, kicks off this Wednesday in Graz, Austria, with new mobility technologies featuring alongside classic solutions in a ‘Back to the Future’ moment.
Five hundred conference-goers will hear first-hand how a combination of newer, low-emission transport technologies and more traditional cycling, pedestrian, and public transport infrastructure is changing the face of cities across Europe. In other words: back to the future for safer, more inclusive and more sustainable mobility.
“It is exciting to see how cities across Europe are reclaiming public space and putting people first in urban planning“, says Matthew Baldwin, EU Road Safety Coordinator and Deputy-Director General for Mobility and Transport, Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission.
"Here in Graz, it’s evident how their clear emphasis on public transport, active mobility and ensuring the right infrastructure for walking and biking provides the right basis for advanced technological solutions, like Graz’s intermodal travel hubs, like Mobility as a Service solutions. The CIVITAS Forum is really providing us with a tantalising glimpse of the future of the clean, green and healthy cities that we want to live in.”
Innovators and influencers from across the continent will join city officials and mobility experts for three days of intense discussion and exchange. They will also be joined by Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz, and Dejan Crnek, Deputy Mayor of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The Forum will host the CIVITAS Awards for Europe’s most innovative sustainable mobility policies and measures and see the launch of Europe’s key planning guidelines for sustainable urban mobility: the EU SUMP Guidelines.
The 2-4 October gathering includes a series of site visits for mobility enthusiasts. Graz’s smart city development area is featured, along with a visit to the historical centre –an area that has changed markedly since planners in the 1980s opted to priorities walking, cycling and public transport in the district’s narrow streets.
"To be able to welcome the leading lights from Europe’s mobility community is an honour”, remarks Siegfried Nagl, Mayor of Graz. “The city’s involvement in EU-funded mobility projects–and particularly those linked to CIVITAS -has been instrumental in Graz becoming a forerunner in clean, smart and user-driven mobility."
”Mayor Nagladded: “Through the conference, we want to inspire other cities and meet partners who can galvanise us with their own courageous and bold ideas.”
To see the full agenda and for more information, visit: civitas.eu/forum2019