Interview with the the City of Igoumenitsa (Greece), winner of the inaugural EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 for smaller municipalities.

Q. What activities did your city undertake to help it win the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award? Were there any activities that you are particularly proud of?

Our activities were designed to include all social groups, particularly young people willing to change their modes of movement. Information kiosks, school seminars and various competitions were organised on the topic of "Cycling and walking in the city: benefits for me and for us all!" Walking and cycling were promoted as a form of a cooperative mobility within the wider urban system.

In collaboration with the city's stakeholders, several events took place in public spaces to show how the city centre could be without cars. Citizens were invited to try out alternative modes of urban transport, free of charge. We are proud to have held activities for all social groups, particularly the elderly and disabled people.

Q. What has the reaction been among citizens and stakeholders to the city winning the award? What does winning the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award mean to the city?

The response of both citizens and stakeholders was very positive - in some cases extremely enthusiastic! Smaller municipalities, like Igoumenitsa, have acquired all the problems and habits of big cities. The award will give them the opportunity to realise the issues and start working towards sustainable mobility, helping to define and organise efficient and less polluting mobility system for both goods and passengers.

Q. What are the benefits of taking part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK for your city?

In the context of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, information was collected about residents' needs and wishes in terms of improving their modes of mobility. In collaboration with other cities and stakeholders, we promoted actions that helped us to create a vision in terms of development and sustainability that would improve the city's infrastructure, the existing urban and peri-urban green areas, and protect the environment in general. 

Q. What advice would you give to cities that are looking to take home the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award?

The key steps are to ensure the participation of diverse target groups, gain the participation of local stakeholders, take advice from other cities who have many years of experience (in our case Trikala and Xanthi), promote events through social media, and hold special events for elderly and disabled people. Practically, it is also necessary to record and submit details of all of the activities that took place during the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK.

Interview with the City of Vienna (Austria), winner of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 for larger municipalities.

Q. What activities did your city undertake to help it win the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award? Were there any activities that you are particularly proud of?

VIENNA: I suppose the jury is best placed to answer this first question! We are especially proud that we were able to motivate many partners in Vienna to join EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK. Together we provided a programme with more than 50 activities and events throughout the city.

A highlight during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK each year is the “Streetlife Festival”, Vienna’s car-free event. It combines fun and sustainable mobility-issues in a remarkable way – which is highly appreciated by the audience. More than 20,000 people visit every year.

Q. What has the reaction been among citizens and stakeholders to the city winning the award? What does winning the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award mean to the city?

VIENNA: The acknowledgment of Vienna’s work for sustainable mobility at the international level is a great honour for us. The City of Vienna has set itself the goal of increasing the share of journeys made by its residents on foot or by bike. This award encourages us to continue our efforts to achieve this goal. EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK shows, in a remarkable way, that European Cities are united to reach climate targets. We are proud to be among these cities.

Reactions among citizens and stakeholders were positive. The team working to realise EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK received many compliments.

Q. What are the benefits of taking part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK for your city?

VIENNA: The City of Vienna has set itself the goal of increasing the share of journeys made by its residents on foot or by bike. During EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK we take the chance to stress the efforts Vienna has put into place to achieve this goal: at events, through communications campaigns, and so on.

Q. What advice would you give to cities that are looking to take home the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award?

VIENNA: The path is the aim! It is important to motivate people to ride their bicycles, walk or take public transport, increase sustainable mobility and decrease pollution - winning the award is just the icing on the cake!

The European Commission today announced the winners of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 and 6th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) at a ceremony in Brussels (Belgium).

Vienna was named the winner of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 for larger municipalities, with Igoumenitsa revealed as the inaugural winner of the newly added category for smaller municipalities. The 6th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) was presented to Turda (Romania).

The awards were presented to the cities by Commissioner Violeta Bulc, responsible for Transport, and Daniel Calleja, Director-General for Environment.

Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: “My congratulations to each of the award winners. Through their actions, these cities are not only creating a more sustainable Europe, but are helping their residents to move around in a cleaner, healthier and more enjoyable way. It is my hope that by selecting these cities, their actions will inspire others to embrace the core message of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK – sustainable mobility is the right choice for everyone.”

Vienna, home to around 1.8 million people, impressed the jury with its outstanding programme of activities during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, which reflected a firm understanding of the theme of the 2017 campaign - Clean, shared, and intelligent mobility. Among other activities, residents of Vienna were able to rent cargo bikes free of charge, take guided walks through different city neighbourhoods, and join an urban picnic on a street previously reserved for vehicles.

The city of Igoumenitsa took home the honour for its exemplary work in communicating the benefits of sustainable mobility to residents, including those who live in nearby small towns. Residents could avail of free transfer by bus at selected times, take part in cycling events held along the city's coastal front, and join a cultural hike through the forest.

The Romania city of Turda was presented with the 6th SUMP Award for its clear planning vision, robust financing strategy, and measurable targets. The jury noted the replicability of the strategy and its potential to inspire other similarly-sized cities.

Vienna, Igoumenitsa and Turda were selected by an independent panel of mobility and transport experts and will each receive a promotional video highlighting their achievements.

For more information, read the press release.

The European Commission today revealed the finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award and the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award showcases local authorities that demonstrate significant efforts in promoting sustainable urban mobility, while the SUMP Award recognises outstanding sustainable urban mobility planning.

The finalists for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 are: Granada (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), and Vienna (Austria).

Granada impressed the judges with its Car-Free Day celebrations, coupled with a widespread communication campaign that incorporated advertisements on public transport. Prague excelled in creating mutually beneficial partnerships with NGOs and local businesses during the week, while Vienna carried out a diverse programme of activities that closely reflected the 2017 theme – ‘Clean, shared and intelligent mobility’.

For the first time, a category for towns and cities with under 50,000 inhabitants has been included as part of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award, recognising the sustainable mobility achievements of smaller cities in Europe. The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2017 finalists for municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants are: Igoumenitsa (Greece), Lindau (Germany), and Tivat (Montenegro).

Igoumenitsa scored well thanks to its strong efforts to communicate the benefits of sustainable mobility to residents and also those who live in nearby towns. Lindau implemented impressive permanent measures, including repurposing parking spaces, while the judges praised Tivat for its citizen engagement activities.

This edition of the SUMP award focused on shared mobility in the planning process.

The 6th SUMP Award finalists are: Greater Manchester (United Kingdom), Milan (Italy), and Turda (Romania).

Greater Manchester was lauded for its progressive vision, high ambition and exemplary cooperation with the private and non-profit sectors. Milan was praised for stakeholder involvement when designing its SUMP and for its work to introduce a Mobility as a Service platform that brings together apps across transport modes to facilitate shared mobility. Turda was commended by the jury for its clear and inspiring planning vision, including a well-structured financing strategy.

All shortlisted cities were selected by an independent panel of mobility and transport experts.The three winners will be announced at a ceremony in Brussels (Belgium) on 21 March 2018. Commissioner Violeta Bulc, responsible for Transport, and Daniel Calleja, Director-General for Environment, will present the awards to the winning towns and cities.

For more information, click here.

Registration for the European Commission’s fifth conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), taking place in Nicosia (Cyprus) from 14-15 May, is now open.

The conference is Europe's leading annual event for all those involved in putting the SUMP concept into practice. It serves as a forum for policy makers and academics across Europe to network, debate key issues, and exchange ideas on sustainable urban mobility planning.

In light of the European Commission dedicating this year to the promotion of multimodality, the theme of this year's conference is multimodality, with a focus on the integration of transport modes and combined mobility solutions for passengers and freight in cities and regions.

The opening plenary session will be delivered by European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc. Attendance is free of charge, with representatives of local and regional authorities, policy makers, urban mobility planners, academics and other urban mobility professionals especially welcome.

For more information, click here.