What is needed for successful planning of sustainable urban mobility? – conclusions from the conference in Zagreb

27.09.2023 | Featured, Featured, ODRAZ news, ODRAZ news

The conference “Supporting Cities in Planning Sustainable Urban Mobility” was held in Zagreb on September 21, 2023. About 50 participants, representatives of cities, faculties, civil society organizations and other stakeholders gathered. The event marked the European Mobility Week and the European Sustainable Development Week. The workshop was organized by ODRAZ (Secretariat of CIVINET Slovenia-Croatia-SEE network) as part of the CLIMASUM project.

During the conference, the results of the CLIMASUM project were presented. The emphasis was on four thematic manuals that contain recommendations for effective planning of sustainable urban mobility in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic. The final part of the program was marked by a workshop on the topic of contributing to the development of sustainable urban mobility in Croatia.

The CLIMASUM project sought to convey good practices in the planning and implementation of sustainable mobility and to improve the capacities of the relevant stakeholders involved in that process. Magdalena Makar presented the results achieved by implementing the activities of this project over the last two years. The project aimed to develop the capacities of the target groups through study visits and exchange of good practices, 15 workshops and trainings, three summer schools, five online workshops for young experts and 6 conferences attended by over 1000 participants, as well as the same number in awareness raising campaigns held during the European Mobility Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the continuation of the conference, the thematic manuals created during the project were presented in more detail, and their purpose is to provide recommendations for effective planning policies for sustainable urban mobility in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic.

The manual National Support for the Creation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans provides an overview of the national support framework for the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility plans in the Republic of Slovenia, guidelines for the establishment of a national framework in the Republic of Croatia, an overview of the legislative framework and financing options. It also contains examples of good practice in the implementation of SUMPs and recommendations for the effective implementation of monitoring and evaluation of sustainable urban mobility planning and plans in both countries. It was presented by Aljaž Plevnik from the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia and Marko Slavulj from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences of the University of Zagreb.

Alena Klímová from the Transport Research Centre in Brno the following two manuals created in the context of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The making of SUMPs requires the involvement of a large number of stakeholders from different sectors and industries, and they need to be adequately coordinated, therefore the first manual refers to institutional cooperation in the process of planning sustainable urban mobility, while the second provides an overview of the technical specifications of quality SUMPs. The manuals were prepared by experts from the Transport Research Centre in Brno.

Finally, an indispensable aspect of the entire process of creating and implementing SUMPs is the involvement of citizens. From the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Uletilović from the Center for Environment presented a manual on the topic of Urban Mobility and Participation in Decision-Making: When and How Can Citizens Participate? The goal of this manual is to encourage citizens to reflect and actively contribute to the processes related to the development of SUMPs.

After a brief discussion and questions from the audience, it could be concluded that continuity, communication, and participation are key to success during the creation and implementation of SUMPs.

The workshop entitled Contribution to the Development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Croatia was the final part of the conference. The aim of the workshop was to identify steps and responsibilities for improving the framework for more effective and sustainable transport planning. The following are some conclusions based on certain observed aspects:

  1. Managing SUMPs at a national level
    • The first step is the existence of an initiative for improving the current situation. The professionals should direct it towards the competent Ministry (which will then act in synergy with other relevant ministries). A “top-down” initiative already exists (proposal for a revised TEN-T Regulation).
    • Adopt a law that will define obligations, responsibilities, guidelines, and steps as well as enable planning of funds in the budget.
    • Establish a national working group that will provide support in the development of guidelines and methodology.
  2. Nacional methodology
    • Adopt a law that should be encouraging, not restrictive.
    • The national group provides support for defining guidelines for the creation of SUMPs, taking into account the Croatian context, examples of European good practice and past practice of sustainable mobility planning in Croatia along with the support in forecasting the financing of education and pilot projects.
  3. Improving capacity, knowledge and skills for sustainable urban mobility
    • Emphasis must be placed on the importance of an interdisciplinary approach and interdepartmental cooperation, as well as the continuity and consistency of the entire process.
    • Provide education for the various stakeholders involved.
    • Developing capacity, raising awareness, and networking through the already existing network for sustainable mobility and events such as, for example, the National Conference on SUMPs.

Talking about supporting cities in planning sustainable urban mobility is important because it concerns their sustainable development and the quality of life of their inhabitants, especially in the context of climate change, new policies, and recommendations of the European Commission as well as efforts to make urban mobility such that it enables a quality life for future generations.

#CLIMASUM #ClimateMitigation #UrbanMobility

This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

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