ICLEI Member city Bologna (Italy) was crowned the winner of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award in Brussels this week, at the award ceremony, hosted by the European Commission.

Director General for Transport Magda Kopczyńskaou alongside Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the recently-appointed commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, handed the award over to representatives of the municipality.

Bologna was recognised for its success at making sustainable mobility concepts and activities more accessible to the public. As part of European Mobility Week, the city hosted a variety of information stands and educational activities related to this, particularly through its ‘Mobility Square’ in the heart of the city, which attracted over 2,000 visitors. It also pushed towards more shared public space, including a car-free day in the historical city centre. Additionally, the Bologna 30 Initiative has resulted in 70% of roads in the municipality becoming 30 km/h zones. As such, Bologna is now the largest city in Italy to embrace a city-wide 30 km/h limit.
Collecting the award, Deputy Mayor for Bologna Anna Lisa Boni, said: “It’s hard work to transform your city into a more sustainable city and to shape one where public space is really shared. We are extremely proud and grateful to have received this award, because it tells us that we are going in the right direction.”

Fellow ICLEI member city Braga (Portugal) also made it to the final, alongside Leipzig (Germany) ahead of the over 110 applicants for the awards.

The other big prize of the night, the MOBILITYACTION Award, went to Pěšky městem (Czech Republic). This organisation’s campaign highlights the benefits of walking to school, both for children’s health and for the environment.
Lastly, the town of Solčava (Slovenia) received a special mention for showing that rural communities can also play a vital role in encouraging sustainable urban mobility. Here, public transport accessibility was greatly improved and active forms of mobility promoted.

The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign takes place every year between 16-22 September. It promotes behavioural change in favour of active mobility, public transport and other clean transport solutions.

For more information about the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards, click here.