What Vienna and Igoumenitsa tell us about using streets differently

Last week, the European Commission announced the winners of the European Mobility Week Award 2017 and 6th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). Vienna and Igoumenitsa convinced the jury.

The EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK takes place each year in September. Since 2002, it provides cities and towns with an opportunity to present and test sustainable mobility alternatives with their residents and to discuss with a wider group of stakeholders the challenges they are facing during the elaboration of sustainable transport solutions.

The Austrian capital Vienna won the 2017 Award for larger municipalities, while Igoumenitsa (Greece) was the winner of the newly added category for smaller municipalities. The 6th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) was presented to Turda in Romania.

Vienna convinced with a very rich programme of activities. Viennese residents had the chance to rent cargo bikes free of charge, take guided walks through different city neighbourhoods, and join an urban picnic on a street previously reserved for vehicles. Crowds were welcoming cyclists at busy intersections, giving them a round of applause for choosing a sustainable transport method. 

The city also involved kindergartens to spark children’s interest in walking and biking. Within the framework of the project Smarter Together (Energy Cities is one of the partners), Vienna’s Simmering district participated with “Beat the Street“, a free walking, running and cycling game for district’s residents of all ages.

Energy Cities member Igoumenitsa in Greece was rewarded for its exemplary work in communicating the benefits of sustainable mobility to its residents.During the week, they could benefit from free bus rides on specific occasions, take part in cycling events and join cultural hikes through the forest. The city organised seminars on sustainable mobility for primary school students, exhibitions targeting local schools on the benefits of clean alternatives to the car. Igoumenitsa also ran a photo competition on social media: the photographer of the best sustainable mobility picture won a bicycle.

The jury awarded the city of Turda with the Sustainable Mobility Planning awardbecause of the clarity of its vision, the robustness of the financing strategy, and its measurable targets. According to the jury, such strategy would allow replicability and could inspire other similar-sized cities (50,000 inhabitants).

See more city initiatives on mobility in our database!