More than 70 percent of Europeans live in cities, and this share is expected to grow in the years to come. What’s more, urban areas account for some 23 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas and transport emissions. Decisive action in urban transport and mobility is thus needed for our cities to become climate neutral by 2030.
ICLEI Europe has for many years advocated for sustainable urban mobility at a number of political levels, while working with local governments to roll-out concrete measures that make their cities move more sustainably, and building-up local capacity.
To this end, ICLEI will join political and transport leaders from across Europe on 20-22 September at the Urban Mobility Days 2022 (UMD) to push forth sustainable mobility action, and help pave the way towards implementing the 2021 EU Urban Mobility Framework at a local level.
The event brings together political ambition and practical experiences from EU-funded projects, guiding participants to traverse the length and breadth of sustainable urban mobility, examining the latest challenges and best mobility solutions.
ICLEI Europe will be on the ground at UMD largely as a partner in the CIVITAS ELEVATE project, which is responsible for the secretariat of the European Commission’s flagship CIVITAS Initiative. In addition, ICLEI Europe experts will share insights garnered through years of supporting cities to develop, implement, monitor and update Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).
SUMPs are central to EU urban mobility policy. CIVITAS and ICLEI Europe provide invaluable resources to support cities and regions in the roll-out of effective SUMPs, which span guidelines for developing and implementing a SUMP; and SUMP Topic Guides, including one on gender equity and inclusivity in SUMPs authored by Ana Drăguțescu, Sustainable Mobility and Transport Coordinator at ICLEI Europe.
Ana Oregi, Deputy Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz (in the Basque Country) is uniquely placed to speak to the great potential of the upcoming UMD conference. Deputy Mayor Oregi sits on the CIVITAS Policy Advisory Committee and the ICLEI Regional Executive Committee; in addition, Vitoria-Gasteiz has participated in four CIVITAS projects, and been recognised for its excellence in sustainable mobility in CIVITAS publications, and at the CIVITAS Awards.
Deputy Mayor Oregi explains: “Vitoria-Gasteiz provides a great example of how coming together with leaders across Europe can help all cities to move people and goods more sustainably. In recent years, we have leveraged the knowledge and resources gained from being active members of the European mobility community and projects to increase use of sustainable transport modes, redesign our public transportation network, and refine our SUMP. Plus, we have been able to share our expertise with proven solutions like ‘superblocks’ with our community of peers to help everyone reach sustainable urban mobility.”
Following the UMD, in November 2022, ICLEI will zoom-in more targettedly on the local level with an Informed Cities Forum all about SUMPs. This flagship “un-conference” series uses non-traditional methods to bridge the gap between research, policy-making and action in cities. More details on the upcoming 10th Informed Cities Forum will be shared shortly, so stay tuned: https://informedcities.eu/.
Join ICLEI, CIVITAS, the European Commission, and a diversity of leading mobility minds at Urban Mobility Days 2022.