The International Photo Competition on Active Mobility brought attention to the importance of sustainable mobility modes across six project partner cities. With over 155,000 people reached and more than 50 entries submitted, the competition, part of the Interreg Cooperation Day, was nicely incorporated into the European Mobility Week (EMW) events in several partner cities. The competition, not only improved public engagement but also, provided an encouraging boost to cycling trips along nature paths and commutes on cargo bikes.
The competition was wrapped up on the 21st of September, and cities awarded prizes to the winning contestants, with Panevezys and Gdynia holding an award ceremony during the EMW festivities further promoting sustainable urban mobility.
The Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicator Workshop, organised online on the 5th of September, gathered over 30 experts, including representatives from city governments, transport ministries, and members of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM), to discuss challenges in monitoring and evaluating sustainable urban mobility. Participants explored mobility indicators under seven categories and discussed their relevance and feasibility. The insights gained from this workshop will help refine the M&E framework developed by the project partners, ensuring that cities are equipped to track progress effectively.
The UBC TALKS webinar organised on the 24th of September highlighted how Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) can drive cities toward climate neutrality while promoting active, people-centred mobility and monitoring as the crucial part of it. The webinar offered practical insights into the potential of SUMPs for cities across the Baltic Sea Region.
The webinar featured a presentation on piloting as a tool for promoting active mobility and examples of how cities are using SUMPs and small-scale piloting to foster more sustainable urban environments, from improving cycling infrastructure to promoting sustainable transport in schools.
At the end of September, partners gathered in Greifswald for a consortium meeting, marking a significant milestone for the project. This meeting allowed project partners to exchange experiences, assess pilot plans, and contribute to the development of a training package and the model for experimenting with active mobility measures. The event concluded with a draft Monitoring & Evaluation framework presentation setting the stage for further development of a robust framework to track the SUMP measures.
With a productive start to the autumn season, the SUMPs for BSR project is going to deliver the draft M&E framework for sustainable urban mobility, case studies on planning the piloting of data collection and small-scale experimenting on active mobility, and the concept for the training package on SUMP, that will further aid cities in advancing their sustainable urban mobility plans. Stay tuned for the release of these valuable deliverables, which are expected to be published later this autumn!