Cities in motion - Volume I: 'The 15-year city'

The first edition of Cities in motion, 'The 15-year City', had its grand launch during the Annual POLIS Conference 2022 in Brussels, Belgium.

Credit: Yiwen

Envisioning the city of the future

Our cities are constantly on the move, forever innovating, growing, and evolving. Indeed, it is this perpetual motion that defines them. However, what particularly stands out today is the shift local authorities have made towards sustainability. After all, the future is on the horizon: in the battle against climate change, cities are placed front and centre, and if they are to drastically reduce carbon emissions and safeguard the urban spaces of tomorrow, immediate and meaningful action has to be undertaken before it is too late.

As a result, cities and regions have set ambitious goals for themselves to be delivered upon in the next 5 to 15 years, which include reducing air and noise pollution, limiting congestion, and achieving vision zero in road safety. If they are to achieve such goals by that timeframe, transforming the modalities in which we move becomes critical. After all, there are more people and goods moving now than ever before, making transportation the fastest growing source of emissions worldwide that accounts for 17% of global greenhouse emissions.

But what does revolutionising transport actually look like on the ground? We take a look. 

The 15-year City

Credit: Kristof Lauwers

In this opening issue of Cities in motion, we reflect on what the city of the future, namely the city in 15 years, will have to look like. By highlighting pioneering concepts like superblocks, the 15-minute City, mobility hubs, integrated ticketing and many more, we discuss how this radical and innovative thinking will pave the way for the greener, smarter and more inclusive future cities.

We also reflect on the importance of political leadership and cooperation in guiding and maintaining this transition. This year, across POLIS’ Paris Political Group meeting and Leadership Summit in Glasgow, local decision-makers demonstrated their commitment to the decisive action required – something echoed by our call to action for the global leaders at COP 27. In addition, as the EU’s Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission gets underway, we look towards 2030, hearing how many of the 28 POLIS members selected for the Mission plan to meet the climate neutrality target.

We hope this inaugural edition of Cities in motion inspires cities, regions, and other stakeholders alike to rethink classic understandings of mobility, and that empowers them to take advantage of the wide range of tools available for building more sustainable mobility systems. It is by engaging through knowledge sharing and sharing best practices that we aim to collaboratively bring forward an actionable, zero-emission future.

From ambition to action

Credit: Matej Kastelic

At POLIS, going from ambition to action has been a central part of our agenda. The first issue of Cities in Motion features the work of our members, from capital cities such as Brussels, Ljubljana, Paris and Amsterdam, to smaller municipalities and regions, such as Bologna, Rogaland, Flanders, to leading knowledge institutes such as Mpact and Sustrans,  sharing their best practices on moving passengers and goods in new and innovative ways.

We also explore some of the cutting-edge technologies and concepts shaping the face of today’s transport systems, such as UVARs, automation, urban air mobility, MaaS products, and much more!

This first issue also focuses on inclusivity in urban mobility, something that POLIS has been working hard on in recent years, particularly in 2021 when we launched the Just Transition Agenda to put affordability, safety, and inclusivity at the heart

of sustainable mobility policy. After all, climate ambitions require everyone to be on board: our articles shed light on often overlooked yet vital elements of just transportation. Thus we examine the relationship between mental health and travel, tackling the gender gap that exists within the transport sector, exploring what queer mobilities really means, and bridging the urban-rural transit divide.

Credit: Andy Holmes

'The 15-year city' also includes exclusive interviews with some of the leading mobility personalities in Europe, such as Delft-based mobility advocates Melissa and Chris Bruntlett, queer mobility experts Dr Karen Lucas, Dr Martin Zebracki, Amos Weintrob and Luke Hansell, or our Annual Conference keynote speakers, Derk Loorbach, Director of DRIFT at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Carlos Moreno of the Sorbonne University, renowned for developing the '15-minute City’ concept.

The encyclopedic coverage of urban transport across this issue reflects the extensive meld of tools available for creating more sustainable mobility systems and the wealth of topics being addressed by POLIS and its members. No single city or region is the same, each is shaped by unique geographies, economies, and governance; nonetheless, it is only through sharing and learning what works (and what does not!) that we can tackle the enormous challenges ahead.

Karen Vancluysen, POLIS Secretary General

Read Cities in motion Volume I: 'The 15-Year City', HERE.

Channelling Change

Gearing up for the upcoming Annual POLIS Conference 2022, POLIS' Secretary General Karen Vancluysen sat down for a conversation with the Keynote Speaker of our Opening Plenary, Professor of Socio-econ...Read more

Read more 09/01/2023

15-year city

While preparing for the Annual POLIS Conference 2022, Karen Vancluysen POLIS' Secretary General, had a conversation with our Closing Plenary's Keynote, Prof. Carlos Moreno, to discuss his acclaimed 15...Read more

Read more 09/01/2023

Queer mobilities

The transport-related social exclusion of LGBTQ+ people (here also referred to as queer) remains largely underexplored. To shed some light on this topic, we talked with the authors of the must-read ar...Read more

Read more 09/01/2023

A parking transition

Cities must navigate the complexity of parking policy, as it is an often-heated debate between opposing positions.   On one side, many motorists have the inherent feeling that ‘left-wing l...Read more

Read more 10/01/2023

Rural to urban

Mpact stresses the interconnection between rural and urban areas and the importance of a local and demand-based approach for mobility needs. Imagine a city with the perfect mobility approach: you wil...Read more

Read more 10/01/2023

UVARs: present and future

As we wrap up some of our amazing projects on UVAR - Urban Vehicle Access Regulations this year, we reflect on what has been achieved and what lies in store for the future, with some words from projec...Read more

Read more 10/01/2023

Reaching for the sky

Urban Air Mobility (UAM): could it support sustainable transport in cities, connect rural areas, save investment costs, and why not…save lives? One way or another, it is time for local authorities t...Read more

Read more 13/01/2023

Gipuzkoa, for the people

Determined to pave the way towards a more connected and equal society through smart public transport solutions, the Spanish province of Gipuzkoa is keeping apace with new transport technologies. &nb...Read more

Read more 16/01/2023

A Mediterranean perspective

With an eye on the examples of leading cities in the area and the work of the Urban Transports Community, it is time to explore mobility in the Euro-Mediterranean. Cobblestone street in Rome, Italy....Read more

Read more 16/01/2023

Active changes

How can active mobility lead to more human-scale cities? Are the efforts initiated during the pandemic here to stay? One way or another, the world is changing, and us with it. In this interview, we ta...Read more

Read more 16/01/2023

Bicipolitana Bolognese

Since 2020, the Metropolitan City of Bologna publicises every activity related to cycling under the umbrella of 'Bicipolitana Bolognese'. Bicipolitana represents the formal and communicative applicati...Read more

Read more 16/01/2023

Minds matter!

Mental health conditions that affect cognitive and communication skills can prevent travel — and an inability to use transport, or an absence of transport, can have a profound effect on how connecte...Read more

Read more 17/01/2023

Ljubljana’s leap

As Ljubljana rapidly expands its sustainable mobility mix, Matic Sopotnik discusses how it is making radical changes to its transport offerings to meet the challenges it faces. The city of Ljubljana...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

Rogaland rides out

Take a shared bike, make it electric and add it to the public transport ticket, what happens next? Rogaland shares their foray into the world of integrated ticketing. POLIS member Rogaland is a regio...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

The cargo bike potential

A cheaper, cleaner and faster alternative to cars, cargo bikes are taking the centre stage in European urban mobility. We spoke with Leku Laura Ekong, PhD Researcher in the Brussels CAIRgo bike projec...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

COP27: if not now, when?

As the disappointing results of the 27th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) dominate the headlines, POLIS warns that systematically including the voices of cities and regions is a prereq...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

Cities on a mission

The EU Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission cities have been announced, pledges have been made, and plans published. With 2030 just around the corner, the time for action is now! POLIS’ Climate...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

Learning from disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic had immediate and lasting impacts on mobility. This is no secret; however, for tourist hotspots, understanding and learning from this are critical for advancing sustainable trans...Read more

Read more 19/01/2023

Women on the move

The transport sector urgently needs to address its gender (in)balance. But what does parity look like on the ground, and how do we get there? Women account for just 22% of Europe’s transport workfo...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023

Road safety future

By retrofitting public fleets, introducing new mobility solutions, and using modern technologies, cities can build transport networks that account for human mistakes and limitations without waiting fo...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023

The human touch

The automation and digitalisation of public transport services seek to increase their efficiency in terms of environmental impact, cost and service quality. But can machines truly fulfil the needs of...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023

Traffic management 101

Traffic management could play a key role to reach climate, social, economic, equity, and safety goals. But it does not really do so – yet. Firstly, this is because attention in traffic management...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023

A new MaaS strategy

New and innovative approaches are needed to meet the mobility challenges of tomorrow. Île-de-France Mobilités, the Paris Region Mobility Authority, reveals how it is preparing to meet them through i...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023

Just make data sharing… fair

Mobility data sharing can enable broader use of available data, increase value and raise new businesses. Cities can benefit from this ecosystem by making more efficient usage of their hosted data, int...Read more

Read more 23/01/2023