ICLEI members Almada (Portugal) and Riga (Spain) have made it into the top three shortlisted cities for the European Mobility Week (EMW) award, with Murcia (Spain) making up the final space. The award recognises the municipalities that contributed most to making the week, which took place in September 2010, a success. EMW aims to raise citizen awareness of sustainable methods of transport, such as cycling, walking and public transport, and to encourage cities to promote and invest in these methods. ICLEI members Budapest (Hungary) and Zagreb(Croatia) also made it into the top ten shortlisted cities.

The winner of the competition will be announced on 14 March in Brussels (Belgium). To take part in the award cities had to fulfil the EMW Charter criteria - organise a week of activities, implement at least one new permanent measure, and organise the “In Town Without My Car!” (a designated car free day) event. The jury also examined the quality, comprehensiveness and innovation behind the activities that were carried out. The ability to communicate these events and message to citizens was also hugely important.

The grand prize is the funding of a three minute promotional video to highlight the city’s achievement. Every year from 16 – 22 of September the European Mobility Week is held, with over 2220 countries taking part. The theme of the 2010 project was “Travel smarter, live better”. The campaign has also spread to countries outside of Europe, with cities in Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador joining in.

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