Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (NEW UPDATE)

In this White Paper cities (above a certain size)are encouraged to develop Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. There exist several approaches throughout Europe for realising sustainable urban mobility in cities and regions. Two reports describes the interpretation of the sustainable urban mobility plans from different European cities and regions; ‘ The State-of-the-Art- of Urban Mobility Plans’ and ‘Sustainable Urban Transport Plans’.

The State-of-the-Art- of Urban Mobility Plans

The first report is supported by the Commission and is prepared by teh Eltis+ consortium members. Eltis+ is a three year project established by the European Commission and managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation. The report is intended to serve as a reference and giudance document for urban mobility professionals. An important outcome of this knowledge consolidation was the observation of the lack of a common definition of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. The report proposes a common Europe/wide definition: ‘A Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan is a strategic plen designed to satisfy the mobility needs of people and businesses in cities an their surroundings for a better quality of life. It builds on existing planning practices and takes due consideration of integration, participation and evaluation principles‘. Besides a common definition the report also provides the essential requirements for the preparation of a good Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. + 

Sustainable Urban Transport Plans

The second report is supported by the European Parliament. The report provides an overview of the concept of Sustainable Urban Transport Plans by tying its analysis to the relationship between sustainability and urban mobility. This overview contains key transport plans experiences in European cities and discuss the role of the European Union in this field. This report is also intended to serve as a reference and guidance document for urban mobility professionals.

The report states that the objective of transport plans are to ensure that transport systems meet societies economic and environmental needs whilst minimising undesirable impacts on the economy, society and the environment. Answers to urban mobility problems have a mainly local dimension but not all EU cities are equally concerned with the question of sustainable urban transport. The European Union can and should play an important role in ensuring that urban transport and urban mobility are high on the political agenda of the Member States.