Towns and cities across Europe and further afield can now register their participation in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2020.

The annual campaign, which takes place from 16-22 September each year, is organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport and seeks to improve quality of life through promoting clean mobility and sustainable urban transport. This year’s campaign puts the spotlight on ‘zero emission mobility for all’. For more information about this year's theme, take a look at our Thematic Guidelines.

To respond to the uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, registration by towns and cities this year has maximum flexibility to cover events and measures as usual, or online alternatives and all innovative COVID-19 transport solutions, with no obligation to select any of the three options – holding a week of activities focused on sustainable mobility, implementing one or more permanent transport measures, or holding a ‘Car-Free-Day’

Last year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK saw a record-breaking 3,135 towns and cities from 50 countries take part in the campaign.

Businesses, NGOs, schools and other actors, including cities, who want to get involved in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign are also invited to register their MOBILITYACTION online.

A MOBILITYACTION is any action that promotes the idea of sustainable urban mobility. It can be limited to a specific day or last for several weeks/months and can take place at any moment of the year.

For more information and to register for EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2020, click here

Helsinki (Finland) and Oslo (Norway) have spent years working to become global leaders in safe and sustainble urban mobility. In 2019, they achieved a new milestone along this path, recording zero pedestrian and cyclist deaths.

Achieving this road safety milestone was the product of a number of transport interventions.

Helsinki cites speed reductions as being essential to achieving road safety. Much of the city centre is now a 30km/h zone, and speed limits have been gradually reduced across the city over the past few decades. Speed is also controlled via speed bumps, elevated pedestrian crossings, and roundabouts, among other measures.

In a press release, Deputy Mayor Anni Sinnemäki notes, “Enhanced traffic safety is the sum of several factors. Traffic safety has improved due to improvements to the street environment, increased traffic control, the development of vehicle safety measures and technology, and better rescue services.”

Meanwhile, Oslo's safety measures have helped Norway to be the country with the lowest road mortality in all of Europe. To protect vulnerable road users, Oslo has reduced car traffic, improved infrastructure, enforced lower speed limits and introduced "heart zones" (hjertesoner) near schools.

For more information, read here.

From 29 September to 1 October 2020, the European Commission is hosting its first Urban Mobility Days conference in Brussels on the theme of “zero-emission mobility for all“.

The conference combines two leading events from Europe’s transport calendar: the CIVITAS Forum Conference and the European Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).

It will bring together policymakers, local authorities, academics, NGOs, urban transport practitioners, urban planners and all those putting the SUMP concept into practice. Over 600 attendees are expected to participate in Urban Mobility Days 2020.

Over the course of the three-day conference, delegates will feast on sustainable urban mobility success stories from the CIVITAS Living Labs projects - and other examples of pioneering excellence from Europe and further afield.

These will equip attendees with inspiration, tools and know-how to further advance clean and sustainable transport in line with the European Green Deal.

With such a wealth of experts and knowledge coming together in one place, Urban Mobility Days provides the ideal opportunity to network, debate key issues, and exchange ideas on emerging transport trends and technologies and the latest developments in sustainable urban mobility planning.

The conference will also go beyond transport by connecting zero-emission mobility initiatives with broader EU efforts to tackle climate change and make Europe a carbon-neutral continent by 2050.

Registration and further details about the conference programme are coming soon. In the meantime, click here for more information.

Would you like to develop a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) but are not sure where to start? Would you like to evaluate mobility planning in your city and receive tailored feedback on how to further improve?

A new SUMP self-assessment tool has just launched to provide the support that cities and local governments need.

The tool is particularly useful for local authorities who find themselves at the beginning of their SUMP process, and for cities and regions who want to evaluate their planning status.

By answering custom-made questions, local authorities can assess how their current urban mobility plan compares with the SUMP approach.

Individual feedback is given to help identify potential areas of improvement, to determine areas that are already aligned with SUMP principles, and to provide specific measures on how to advance the process.

The updated self-assessment tool includes tailor-made questions for:

• Different SUMP starting points;
• Planners who want to assess the quality of a completed SUMP;
• Local authorities who want to assess the quality of their general mobility planning activities before starting a SUMP and at different points in the process; and
• Planners working on the regional level.

Extended feedback is given to respondents following completion of the questionnaire. This provides an individual assessment, advice, links to further reading, and relevant good practice examples.

The tool was launched during the final CIVITAS SUMPs-Up project event, which took place on 19 February in Brussels (Belgium). The project was responsible for the tool's redevelopment, based on the second edition of the EU SUMP Guidelines, which were released in autumn 2019.

Try out the new self-assessment tool here.

The finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards, the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award) and the first EU Urban Road Safety Award were revealed today.

All awards recognise remarkable activities carried out in 2019. The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards showcase local authorities making a significant effort to promote sustainable urban mobility during the focal week; the SUMP Award recognises excellence in sustainable urban mobility planning; and the Road Safety Award celebrates outstanding road safety measures. The annual theme for all awards was safe walking and cycling.

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards 2019

The finalists for the award for larger municipalities are:

• Kruševac (Serbia)
• Rethymno (Greece)
• Wrocław (Poland)

The jury was impressed by:
- Kruševac’s wide programme of activities, underpinned by strong citizen participation, which saw the redesign of public spaces, removal of parking places, and the creation of urban parks;
- Rethymno’s use of communication activities to engage local residents in discussions on air quality, renewable energy and road safety;
- Wrocław’s strong focus on the week’s theme of safe walking and cycling, which was promoted through engaging and informative events.

The finalists for the award for smaller municipalities (less than 50 000 inhabitants) are:

• Alfândega da Fé (Portugal)
• Karditsa (Greece)
• Paide (Estonia)

- Alfândega da Fé was praised for its diverse and comprehensive activities, making streets more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists;
- Karditsa impressed the jury with its use of promotional materials and partnerships to support sustainable mobility;
- Paide’s use of local communication channels and involvement of local politicians was appreciated by the jury.

8th SUMP Award

The finalists for the sustainable urban mobility planning award are:

• Brussels (Belgium)
• Kaunas (Lithuania)
• Wrocław (Poland)

The jury was impressed by:
- Brussels’ policy-driven vision, which is built upon impressive citizen participation, stakeholder outreach, and an understanding of the city as an ecosystem;
- Kaunas’ well thought out and progressive approach to sustainable mobility planning, recognising the role of enforcement in making the plan a reality;
- Wrocław’s integrated, holistic, and innovative approach to sustainable mobility planning, which is bolstered by strong neighbourhood planning and citizen engagement.

EU Urban Road Safety Award

In addition, for the first time, the Urban Road Safety Award celebrates outstanding and innovative achievements by local authorities in the area of road safety.

The finalists are:

• Jaworzno (Poland)
• Ordu (Turkey)
• Pontevedra (Spain)

The jury praised in particular:
- Jaworzno’s action to reduce speed limits, increase the number of public transport users, and involve local residents in the design of renovated streets;
- Ordu’s courageous decision to pedestrianise the busiest parts of the city, remove heavy car traffic from the city centre, and create new bicycle routes;
- Pontevedra’s effective and sustained reduction in the number of road fatalities and injuries, its clear monitoring strategy, and its focus on active mobility, such as walking and cycling.

All shortlisted cities were selected by an independent panel of mobility and transport experts. The four winners will be announced via a press release and on social media during the month of May.