New webinar series exploring the Just Transition for urban mobility

Are we all on board? As our cities and regions strive to achieve decarbonised, decongested, safer and smarter transport services, the term: ‘Just Transition’ is on everybody’s lips. 

What does this really mean, and how do we achieve it?

Urban mobility has to change substantively, to become cleaner and more resilient- this is no secret. However, affordability, safety, and inclusivity must be at the heart of this transition.

Cities, national decision-makers and international institutions must double down on their commitment to ensuring Europe’s sustainable mobility transition works for all — regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, physical abilities or socio-economic status.

Across the last year, we have seen inspiring progress. From London’s OUTbound, a staff network group for the LGBTQIA+ community, to Amsterdam’s accessibility mapping, to Madrid’s efforts to boost women’s employment in the sector cities have been placing inclusion, diversity and accessibility front and centre.

However, there is a long road (train track and bike lane) yet to travel.

It is in this context, that POLIS have launched a Just Transition webinar series. Across several online events in February and March 2023, the series will traverse the multifaceted ways affordability, gender-related mobility patterns, age, cognitive capacities (and more), can guide the future of our cities and regions.

A truly Just Transition is one which addresses imbalance and unfairness across the entire mobility spectrum.

Thus, each webinar will launch an examination into mobility justice from a specific perspective, in accordance with POLIS’ different working groups.

From freight to parking, traffic efficiency to active travel, electromobility to safety — and everything in between — we begin to discuss how each sector has its part to play, the challenges ahead, and how cities and regions are treading new ground.

Webinars include:

• Why do people need cars? Car dependency and city’s policy response (07 February)
• Fostering active travel for people with disabilities (14 February)
• Addressing urban-rural transport divisions (21 February)
• Gender mainstreaming: lessons from smaller cities (28 February)
• Reallocation of Space, Time, and Danger (9 March)
• Challenges for the urban freight labour market (14 March)
• Making EV charging a reality for people with disabilities (21 March)
• Towards digitalisation in transport, no one left behind (28 March)

Find out more here: Registrations now open for the Just Transition Webinar series! - POLIS Network