How do cities know if their mobility plans really work? On 7 October, the UBC Sustainable Cities Commission and the Interreg Baltic Sea Region SUMPs for BSR project brought this question to centre stage in a UBC TALKS webinar. The discussion focused on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) as a hands-on tool—helping cities measure progress, engage people, and move faster toward sustainable mobility.
The webinar opened with an overview of UBC’s cooperation with member cities and the role of SUMPs in the region’s climate and mobility agendas. Morgane Juliat, from Rupprecht Consult, outlined how walking and cycling should be integrated across the entire SUMP cycle—from diagnosis and vision to implementation and feedback—highlighting safety, inclusion, and strong links to public transport and mobility hubs.
Robust evaluation really builds legitimacy and public trust.
— Morgane Juliat, Rupprecht Consult
A strategic approach to M&E was presented by Marcin Wołek, Associate Professor at the University of Gdańsk, who introduced the framework for Monitoring and evaluation for sustainable urban mobility and practical tools developed within SUMPs for BSR: an Indicator Selector Tool and a Local M&E Plan Template.
City perspectives showed how monitoring translates into choices on the ground. Cēsis demonstrated how simple actions supported Summer Street closures in the historic centre; the format was then fine-tuned for market hours as businesses came on board. Turku shared how a SUMP Panel—pairing residents with experts for hands-on site walks—aids planning the updates, while the mobility hub delivers real-world usage data to guide decisions.
Let’s be honest, strategies are just words unless we can measure what is really changing.
— Madara Jenerte, City of Cesis.
The session concluded with a capacity-building offer for municipalities: a five-module online training programme on SUMP fundamentals, indicators and M&E, data for active modes, piloting active mobility measures, and stakeholder engagement; plus a SUMP Clinic for ten selected cities providing tailored guidance by experts. All training materials and recordings will be available through the Baltic Sea Region SUMP Competence Centre.
Watch the recording and explore materials