Mobility and transport remain a real challenge for sustainable urban development. In other areas we see increasing success in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, whereas the field of mobility and transport shows stagnation or even increasing figures in this respect. Current urban mobility patterns are also having considerable negative impacts on air quality, noise pollution, safety and the use of public space.

Making inroads on the debate

Sustainable urban mobility plans and transport strategies therefore aim to reduce mobility demand, shifting to environmentally friendly modes of transport such as walking, cycling and car sharing, increasing the share of public transport and clean vehicles, and the use of state of the art technology for the remaining individual motorised transport.

Implementing such strategies requires long-term planning, continuous implementation and consistency in policies, regulations and communication. An integrated approach is essential, bearing in mind the effect that traffic and transport infrastructure have on the natural environment, health, social equality and economic development.

ICLEI supports local governments in the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility plans and transport strategies in various ways including:

• Sustainable Urban Mobility - CIVITAS Initiative
  
  
• Alternative fuels - Biofuel Cities European Partnership
  
  
• Mobility audits - BYPAD
  
  
• Finding hidden costs - SIPTRAM
  
  
• Integrated land-use planning - Managing Urban Europe 25
  
  
• Procurement of clean vehicles and technology - SMART SPP
  
  
• Developing CO₂ reduction strategies for transport - CARE North
  
  
• Reducing the dependency on private motorised vehicles - Global Alliance for EcoMobility

• Urban freight transport - TRAILBLAZER

Expanding the network

Many of ICLEI's European members are leaders in this field and the European Secretariat works closely with them to transfer this knowledge to as many as possible.

Aalborg (Denmark), Bologna (Italy), Zagreb (Croatia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia) are all progressing within the CIVITAS Initiative, while a number of others have been partners in mobility-related projects.

End station: Sustainability

There is still a long way to go before we reach our ultimate destination of sustainable mobility in our cities and towns, but much work is being done to get us there. To see how we are progressing, subscribe to a range of eNewsletters.

• ICLEI in Europe eNewsletter - Monthly
  
  
• MOVE - The CIVITAS Initiative Quarterly newsletter
  
  
• TRAILBLAZER Newsletter - Bi-annual

More information

Go to our search or contact ailish.odonoghue@iclei.org.