Walk21 Portugal 2024

The 2024 International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities will gather experts from all over the world to discuss the current state and the prospects for pedestrian mobility in Europe and beyond.

POLIS is glad to participate in Walk21—the leading global event hosted by the Institute of Mobility and Transport on behalf of the Government of the Portuguese Republic in partnership with the City of Lisbon. This event is an unparalleled opportunity to share insights and expertise on enhancing the value of walking to deliver safer, healthier, and more inclusive communities in our cities.

Now at its 24th edition, the Walk21 conference will explore the role of pedestrian mobility in broader mobility and climate goals, the obstacles that hinder the unleashing of such potential, and how to remove them—following four main threads:

1. 'Inclusivity: Enabling everybody to walk - all genders, all ages, all abilities, all incomes, all backgrounds': Walking can be the most universally inclusive and democratic mode of transport. Policies and infrastructure are needed to ensure everyone can benefit from this essential right according to their capacities, meeting their different needs and elevating safety as a non-negotiable priority.
2. 'Positive public space: Delivering safe, accessible, comfortable and valued streets and public spaces': Improving the quality of streets and public spaces making them safe, accessible, and attractive is the kind of investment which never fails to pay off for citizens' quality of life and cities' development.
3. 'Climate imperative – Investing in walking as a fundamental part of transport decarbonisation': If valued and enhanced, walking offers a climate-neutral solution that can contribute to achieving overarching targets and visions.
4. 'Good governance - Policy at all levels that places pedestrians at the centre': All levels of government must collaborate to deliver clear visions and effective policies, overcoming the potential hurdles of interdepartmental working.

We are politically committed towards an integrated and decarbonized mobility, a green mobility, which is intended to be safe, intelligent, connected and sustainable and which leaves no one behind. And walking is an integral part of this value chain.

Cristina Pinto Dias, Secretary of State for Mobility to the Portugues Repubic. 

Where to find POLIS:

Pedestrian safety: assessment, planning and design - Training Session

On 14 October, from 14:00-15:30 CET - Room C2.05

In this 90-minute session, POLIS experts Andreia Lopes Azevedo and Shanna Lucchesi, project coordinator at iRAP, will help participants build capacity to ensure walking and pedestrian safety policies are integrated and streamlined in our cities. 

The presentation addresses professionals at the municipal and sub-municipal levels and will focus on:

• The need for systematic assessment of pedestrian safety systematically and how this can be improved;
• Key lessons learnt from hands-on experiences of safety assessment in pedestrian networks in the EU projects PHOEBE and ELABORATOR; 
• Synergies between safety and accessibility. 

The more general reflections elaborated by POLIS in our experience across Europe will be put into dialogue with the specific Portuguese context to help attendees understand how to apply tools, methods and visions to the local reality.

Shared mobility, walking and wheeling: A shared pathway towards sustainable and equitable urban travel - Weeting

On 15 October, from 12:30-12:50 CET - Walking meeting 

In this short and dynamic format which combines walking and meeting, participants will be inspired on how to rethink the shared mobility eco-system in a way that enhances accessibility for walkers and wheelers.

This session is built on the ongoing experience of the EU projects SMALL and Active Cities and will be held by: Carlotta Inserra from POLIS among the contributors, alongside Sami Angsthelm (Bax&Company) and Valentina Kroker (KU Leuven).

Head to Walk21 website for more information and to register.