The winners of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards 2021, the 10th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award) and the EU Urban Road Safety Award were crowned today. The awards were presented this afternoon at a hybrid ceremony in Brussels hosted by Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility.

Kassel (Germany) walked away with the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2021 for larger municipalities. Meanwhile, Valongo (Portugal) was awarded the title for smaller municipalities. The 10th SUMP Award was given to Tampere (Finland) and Rethymno (Greece) was revealed as the winner of the EU Urban Road Safety Award.

Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, lauded the award winners' and finalists' achievements:

“I would like to extend my congratulations to the winners of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards as well as to all finalists. These cities have taken concrete actions to tackle transport emissions, noise and congestion through innovative actions. With the new EU Urban Mobility Framework, we will support better planning of sustainable urban mobility, putting public transport, walking and cycling at the core of local authorities’ efforts to improve people’s everyday lives.”

Kassel (Germany) – winner of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2021 for larger municipalities

The German city of Kassel impressed the jury with its creative set of activities that united local and regional transport partners to encourage behavioural change in both children and adults. From a treasure hunt for the campaign’s mascot across the city to the organisation of accessible walking and cycling tours, Kassel put its best foot forward for sustainable urban mobility during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2021. The city also implemented an array of permanent measures, including road safety signs near schools and the renovation of two busy streets to promote cycling.

The other finalists are Amadora (Portugal) and Lüleburgaz (Turkey).

Valongo (Portugal) – winner of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2021 for smaller municipalities

During EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2021, Valongo prepared numerous innovative sustainable mobility actions and activities that focused on involving local people and organisations, especially schools. Their outstanding participation rate reflected the success of their plans, with people taking part in surveys, fitness classes, as well as a comic mobile theatrical performance of ‘Eco Cops’ performed from a pedal-powered eco-car in the city centre. Valongo also captured the jury’s attention with its permanent infrastructure for an extensive variety of transport modes - including initiatives centred on walking, cycling, public transport, road safety, accessibility and cleaner vehicles - that were designed using a holistic, long-term approach.

The other finalists are Alimos (Greece) and Miajadas (Spain).

Tampere (Finland) – winner of the 10th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP)

Tampere’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan stood out to the jury due to its multidisciplinary approach that empowers people to make healthier mobility choices that are active, safe and environmentally responsible. The ambitious plan includes impact assessments on the effect of mobility campaigns on the local population, as well as a focus on low-carbon mobility, road safety, vulnerable groups, smart mobility solutions, physical and mental well-being, accessibility and low pollution levels. Together with its educational unit, the mobility unit of the City of Tampere is already testing various pilot actions like active school trips by bicycle, on foot or by scooter, zebra crossing campaigns, and also highlighting the fundamental role of mobility in the creation of quality urban spaces.

The other finalists are Madrid (Spain) and Mitrovica South (Kosovo*).

Rethymno (Greece) – winner of the EU Urban Road Safety Award

The jury was impressed by Rethymno’s inclusive approach to road safety, which targets three main pillars: upgrading the public transport system, increasing and encouraging behavioural change through a variety of activities, and the establishment of integrated cooperation with local stakeholders. This comprehensive approach helps Rethymno balance its role as a tourist destination with the needs of local residents. The Greek city has also sought to replicate its success by sharing its experience and lessons learned with other municipalities to enhance the multiplication and transferability of road safety measures.

The other finalists are Florence (Italy) and Warsaw (Poland).

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

It’s the start of a new year and that means that European towns and cities have another opportunity to raise awareness about sustainable mobility. National and local coordinators from across Europe, and beyond, are busy wrapping up last year’s activities and have begun planning for the months ahead. We sat down (virtually) with Kalliopi Papadaki, the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK National Coordinator for Greece, to discuss the next steps.

As the national coordinator for the campaign in Greece, what steps are you taking now to plan for the year ahead?

At this stage, I am supporting local coordinators as they begin their planning for the year. This includes sending informational material to every municipality in Greece and organising informative teleconferences to discuss challenges and strategies through local networks.

In addition, I am continuing to collect photos and descriptions of activities that were showcased during last year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK to highlight exciting activities for our annual Mobility Week issue, which is distributed to cities across Greece in the hopes of inspiring further action. Each year an award ceremony recognising the previous years’ outstanding participants is also organised.

At the same time, we are promoting the campaign within the context of urban revitalisation studies that include participatory planning and public awareness as part of their core programme as well as joint promotion of the campaign with the Ministry of Education to activate schools' and students' participation, an especially important group for the European Year of Youth 2022.

Finally, I am currently helping connect a project that aims to install public bicycles throughout cities in Greece with the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign to expand impact.

For local NGOs, organisations, citizens and stakeholders who are trying to learn more about sustainable mobility in their area or who want to discover options for sustainable travel, what tips would you recommend?

I would recommend that local organisations interested in sustainable mobility cooperate with their local government to better serve people. This includes close collaboration with disability organisations and associations of seniors, parents and guardians.

The National Coordination in Greece has also sent information to many organisations and associations across the country and highly recommends that local coordinators do the same in their area as open channels of communication are essential to gathering new ideas and opinions.

An example where we would highlight the potential for sustainable travel and cooperation - that takes advantage of Greece’s beautiful natural landscape - is to promote hiking and the creation of trails outside of cities that are also connected to the cities themselves. Hiking clubs could be involved in the promotion and maintenance of these trails.

The European Commission has declared 2022 the European Year of Youth. What role do you see young people having in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign?

Young people can play a very important role in the campaign. In my experience, they are the group that most commonly uses bicycles and small mobility vehicles for transport. Young people are also more comfortable and familiar with new technology that helps with transportation issues. This is one of the many reasons why we have included youth policies in our work to promote their involvement. One idea that we are currently promoting is the organisation of ‘hackathons’ to gather new ideas from youth on how to travel sustainably.

Can you provide recent examples of sustainable mobility strategies or activities in Greece that involve young people (e.g. school children, teenagers, young adults or young professionals)? If not, what tips would you give local organisers to better involve young people?

Some recent examples of sustainable mobility activities in Greece that involve youth include a variety of both permanent measures and awareness-raising actions. For example, we have implemented permanent measures to create school routes and ‘children’s roads’; neighbourhoods with low speed limits; neighbourhoods with sloping sidewalks for children to play on; the creation of bicycle stations in schools, and smart pedestrian crossings, among others.

Examples of awareness-raising actions include the adoption of a pocket park or hiking trail by groups of young people; public transport cards for young people between the ages of 12 – 25; training programmes for hiking guides, and volunteering programmes for young people to support the elderly in their daily transportation needs.

Based on your experience organising the campaign in Greece, what age groups would you say are the most active? Do you notice any differences in mobility patterns between ages groups?

In my opinion, the most active group is between the ages of 18 – 30 years old. Some older people may find it more difficult to change their habits according to new developments. In addition, primary school children are very receptive to our campaigns and I believe this is a really important group to communicate with so that they learn healthy, sustainable mobility habits early on.

Interested in learning more about what’s happening in your area? Find your country’s national website here or check out last year’s activities here.

This afternoon, the European Commission adopted four proposals designed to modernise the EU’s transport system and address core mobility challenges – such as congestion, noise pollution and poor air quality - that cities across Europe are facing.

One of these proposals, the newly launched Urban Mobility Framework (UMF), provides guidance for European cities on how to reduce emissions and improve mobility, including via Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs). The framework emphasises the importance of public transport and forms of active mobility, namely walking and cycling. In addition to prioritising zero-emission solutions for urban fleets as part of the framework, the Commission also aims to propose a Recommendation to EU Member States to develop national plans that will offer cities assistance when drafting local mobility plans. The proposal also provides information about funding opportunities for local and regional authorities to implement these priorities.

Invest in a healthy future via sustainable mobility

With 70% of the EU population living in cities and 23% of the EU’s transport greenhouse gas emissions coming from urban areas, it is more important than ever before to create cleaner and healthier urban environments by investing in sustainable mobility. The UMF's toolbox offers local administrations instruction on how to build stronger public transport networks, improved active mobility options, better management of mobility flows, modern stations and much more.

Many local administrations across Europe are already doing this work as demonstrated by the astounding 3,184 towns and cities that registered for this year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign. Through their work over the years, participating local administrations, citizens and organisations have helped the EU further its efforts to achieve significant milestones, such as the 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030 – of which sustainable urban mobility is a key component – and the European Green Deal.

The Urban Mobility Framework also provides a useful structure for cities to connect various mobility initiatives with European wide climate and health related goals, and will be a critical tool for ambitious EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK towns and cities who have or are currently implementing permanent measures, organising awareness-raising activities, drafting SUMPs and more.

Alongside the new Urban Mobility Framework, which shifts away from an approach based on traffic flow to an approach based on moving people and goods more sustainably, the Commission aims to modernise Europe’s transport system by facilitating increased connectivity and by moving more passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways. As a whole, the proposals will put the EU’s transport sector on a path to cutting its emissions by 90%.

For more information about the new Urban Mobility Framework, click here. Explore the various proposals, here. Finally, find frequently asked questions about the framework, here.

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK enjoyed enormous success in 2021, with 3,184 towns and cities registering their participation for the main event from 16 to 22 September! In addition, 645 MOBILITYACTIONS were registered by schools, NGOs, businesses, cities and other organisations throughout the year. Four of these have been selected as finalists for the title of Best MOBILITYACTION 2021, and now we need your help to decide the winner.

On 6 December, a social media competition was launched on our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts. The finalist with the most likes and shares by midnight (Brussels Time) on 20 December will be crowned the Best MOBILITYACTION of 2021. The winner will be announced the following day, on 21 December 2021.

The four nominees have submitted exceptional MOBILITYACTIONS, which are ideas, projects and campaigns that promote sustainable urban mobility and behavioural change in favour of active mobility.

Learn more about our four fabulous finalists below and make sure to vote by liking and sharing their social media posts.

Candidate 1

Designing the new MobilityHub
WeCity is partnering with the City of Utrecht, the Netherlands, to design a MobilityHub that fits the needs of a modern city and its environmentally conscious residents. A continuing loss of space requires cities to change how they view mobility: WeCity envisions a hub where citizens can rent an electric bicycle, share cars, charge electric vehicles, pick up packages, grab lunch and so much more! This one-stop-hub could just be the future of sustainable transport, which is why WeCity has carefully crafted an architectural design, from a technical perspective, for service providers to realise a new type of MobilityHub.

Twitter post | Instagram post | Facebook post
Organiser: WeCity

Candidate 2

Prototype rearrangement of traffic at Miarki Street in Bytom
Miarki street is a notably busy roadway located in the centre of Bytom, Poland, where cars regularly exceed the 40kmh speed limit with some even reaching up to 120 km per hour. As a result of this, city life cannot flourish. That’s why Metropolia GZM developed, and launched, a prototype for the rearrangement of traffic on Miarki street. The prototype was designed using in-depth research, interviews with residents and consultations; testing will last one and half months. After the testing period, successful corrections will be implemented and a permanent rearrangement will enter into force.

Twitter post | Instagram post | Facebook post
Organiser: Metropolia GZM

Candidate 3
Earn points on your eco-friendly travels in Östersund, Sweden
The City of Östersund, Sweden, teamed up with Kobla AS to create and promote an eco-friendly app, Resvis, that awards points based on users’ mobility choices and factors like weather conditions. The app makes it possible to win small prizes like gift cards and users competed against each other to reign supreme in an eco-league, in addition to following a dedicated news channel, during Östersund’s 2021 Mobility Week. Who said active mobility and sustainable transport couldn’t be any fun?

Twitter post | Instagram post | Facebook post
Organiser: Kobla AS

Candidate 4

Bologna 30 - Make Bologna a 30kmh city right now!
Inspired by peers in Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Helsinki and beyond, 30logna, or Bologna30, is a citizen-driven initiative that collects scientific evidence, data, statistics and best practices from across Europe to create awareness surrounding the dangers of inner-city traffic and to support a petition to the new mayor of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy to make the university city adopt a 30kmh limit. The initiative is in the midst of garnering at least 10.000 signatures and has produced engaging material to teach residents about the challenges Bologna faces due to traffic – including 2.600 serious injuries related to traffic per year and noise pollution. The project also offers a look at what could happen if the city were to adopt this measure, namely less noise, pollution and a lower injury and mortality rate.

Twitter post | Instagram post | Facebook post
Organiser: 30logna

Organising a successful EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign is no easy task; each country has its own unique approach and best practices. We sat down (virtually) with the Spanish National Coordination to discover how they have been able to build, maintain and grow successful participation throughout the years.

Who coordinates EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Spain? What role does the Spanish National Coordination play in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign?

Since the origin of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge has been the National Coordinator of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Spain. The Directorate is responsible for the promotion and coordination of this initiative and represents Spain in the European Coordination of the project.

The coordination of Mobility Week in Spain involves supporting local administrations to develop and implement the campaign in their towns and cities. Daily work includes developing communication techniques, disseminating information and news related to sustainable mobility, adapting and translating campaign materials, preparing detailed reports with participation data, managing the registrations of the campaign for Spain, providing companies and municipalities with assistance, organising events like photography contests and the National Awards, and much more.

The Spanish Coordination also maintains close cooperation with different actors related to mobility, such as the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the General Directorate of Traffic, etc. A clear example of this coordination is the organisation of the National Mobility Week Awards in Spain, which was hosted jointly with the Ministry of Transport for the first time this year.

This year, the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK theme is ‘Safe and Healthy with Sustainable Mobility.’ How do you approach coordinating Mobility Week in Spain? In your experience, what theme has resonated the most?

We believe that the theme chosen for this year's campaign was a great success! The campaign’s focus on health brought attention to the adversities suffered by Europe - and the rest of the world - during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to providing an opportunity to reflect and change. Thus, this year, EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK has celebrated the resilience of towns and cities, and their achievements.

As part of the Spanish National Coordination we organised, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Transport, a webinar focused on mobility and health. The webinar, which hosted almost 250 attendees, enlisted the participation of 16 professionals and focused on sectoral policies related to sustainable mobility, the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, mobility and childhood, and best practices.

We believe that themes focused on walking and cycling continue to have a great impact in Spain. In 2019, the campaign theme focused on walking and cycling, and Spain experienced record participation (561 towns and cities). We believe that these two examples of active mobility will help us achieve a sustainable mobility culture. For this reason, the Spanish local authorities continue to implement permanent measures year after year that favour and promote active mobility.

In 2021, EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK experienced a recording breaking number of registrations with 3,184 towns and cities registering their participation. Spain noted a remarkable 463 registrations, the most of any European Union member. What did you do to mobilise cities, towns and participants for this year’s campaign? Did you experience significant challenges related to the pandemic?

Since the campaign was first launched in Spain, we have sought to integrate different actors and stakeholders (cities, towns, companies, civil society, etc.) into the process. Therefore, the successes observed this year are partly the result of many years of work.

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Spain is organised like a pyramid, and includes autonomous communities and local entities as well as other national institutions such as the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the General Directorate of Traffic, etc.

From the beginning, the Spanish Coordination has wanted to give added value to the implementation of permanent measures, even making them a mandatory participation criterion for some years. This explains the large amount of permanent measures implemented by Spanish municipalities over the years. We believe that Permanent Measures are the criterion that gives true credibility to this initiative, since its durability over time implies an evident transformation of our towns and cities into more liveable, safe and sustainable spaces for citizens.

Additionally, we created a charter to encourage the participation of companies, institutions, civil society organisations, etc., similar to the one for municipalities, allowing these entities to show their commitment to sustainable mobility.

In addition to having exceptional participation numbers, Spain’s media coverage of the campaign also stood out. What were the main discussion threads in local and national media?

Every year, the media tends to strongly represent EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Spain, due to high participation numbers in our country. Although numerous national media outlets have highlighted the campaign as a whole, local media continues to stand out, describing the activities carried out and the permanent measures implemented in specific cities and towns such as provisional roadblocks, free public transport and fairs, and exhibitions.

What are your hopes for next year’s campaign?

In 2022, we expect an increase in active participation from municipalities, companies, institutions, social organisations and other entities, thus recovering the upward trend in Spanish participation before the pandemic.

We also hope to get more municipalities to implement permanent measures, integrating them into their Urban Mobility Plans. The implementation of these measures may play a key role in the decarbonisation of urban transport and in meeting the new WHO air quality standards. These permanent measures must aim to achieve a modal distribution that prioritises active mobility, in addition to reducing private motorised traffic and achieving increasingly cleaner public transport.

Finally, we hope to continue expanding our network of regional coordinators and to ensure that the social aspect of sustainable mobility becomes more important.