The 2017 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign has set a new record for participation, with 2,478 cities from 50 countries officially taking part. Throughout the week, which takes place from 16 - 22 September each year, towns and cities are encouraged to present sustainable mobility alternatives to local residents, allowing them to experience the benefits of car-free travel.

The European Commission launched the 16th EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK at a ceremony in Brussels (Belgium). Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: "Shared mobility is a smart and innovative emerging model of transportation, with the potential to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads: for example, for each shared car, 15 private cars are off the road. But it's not only about cars; we are witnessing a real spurt of shared bike systems in cities and towns across the EU. We need to ensure that the future of urban mobility is both shared and sustainable."

The theme of the 2017 campaign was "˜Clean, shared and intelligent mobility', with the call-to-action "˜Sharing gets you further'.

This year's EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK encouraged people to use shared forms of transportation such as bicycle and car sharing. Europe is the leader in shared mobility solutions and the value of transactions in shared mobility in Europe was estimated at €5.1 billion in 2015. It is expected to exceed €100 billion in 2025. Sharing transportation not only helps people save money, but also support the EU's goals of achieving a low-emission economy.

Every year, local authorities that have made significant efforts to promote sustainable urban mobility during the campaign, can apply for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award until 23 October 2017.

In 2017, for the first time, small municipalities will have their own category within the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award. This means that two awards will be presented: one for municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and one for municipalities with 50,000 inhabitants or more.

Local authorities can also apply for the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award) until 3 November 2017. The SUMP Award rewards the development of a mobility plan addressing the diverse transport needs of people and businesses.

For more information, visit the WEEK website.Image copyright: sourced from European Mobility Week more   19 September 2017 Brussels conference to explore setting standards for the smart cityMany cities are unfamiliar with the benefits of adopting voluntary standards and are unsure of how to get involved in the standardisation system. This conference, on 19 October in Brussels (Belgium), will bring cities and standardisers together to discuss the value of standardisation and to debate priorities and needs for cities in their journey to become smarter and more sustainable.

The intensive one-day event will see representatives of local communities, city authorities, and city professionals; representatives of smart city projects; policy makers; and other relevant stakeholders explore solutions for smart cities in their roll out of suitable infrastructures, services, systems, devices, equipment and more.

The results of the debates will feed into the CEN-CENELEC-ETSI Sector Forum on 'Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities', which acts as the advisory and coordinating body for European standardisation activities in this field.

For more information and to register, visit the conference website.Image copyright: sourced from Pixabay more

» Publication Date: 20/09/2017

» Source: Iclei Europe

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