Reflecting on EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2024 and ‘Shared Public Space’

EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK  took place last week, with towns and cities across the European Union and beyond celebrating sustainable mobility, shared public spaces, and active mobility in both urban and rural areas. The 23rd edition of this annual event took place from 16-22 September in thousands of towns and cities, concluding with a car-free day.

‘Shared Public Space’ is the theme of 2024 

The campaign’s general emphasis remained on sustainable, urban, and active mobility. However this years' focus 'Shared Public Space’ highlighted the importance of allocating space for all transport modes, respecting other users, and promoting initiatives that encourage a shift towards sustainable mobility in towns and cities. A noticeable European and global trend is urbanisation, which leads to denser city centres, urban sprawl, and higher traffic volumes. Therefore, the collective decision on fair space allocation becomes essential. 

Several examples give an insight into European best practise in promoting sustainable mobility and ensuring safe spaces for all transport modes and generations. By enhancing shared public spaces, cities and regions can turn urban areas into welcoming places for everyone. The following four topics were identified as containing key aspects that can inspire stakeholders and campaigners to create inclusive and cooperative, people-centred public spaces.

Experience public space in a different way 

The phrase ‘build it, and they will come’ is often heard in urban development. One key initiative in this regard is the establishment of ‘mobility hubs’—designated locations where people can rent various types of vehicles, supporting the shift to shared and electric mobility services. These hubs, prominently placed in urban areas, offer alternatives to private car use by allowing access to a range of sustainable electric transport options.

For example, the Belgian city of Leuven set up several mobility hubs in its city centre and suburbs, promoting shared mobility. Existing kerbside parking spaces were repurposed, transforming streets and encouraging the use of electric cars and cargo bikes.

Redeveloping urban spaces together

For urban transformations to be successful, residents and road users must find the changes useful. This requires a participatory approach, engaging people from diverse ages and backgrounds in redesigning urban spaces. The ‘co-creation’ method, often using a four-step approach, allows public participation in these processes.

EU-funded projects like SUNRISE and ELABORATOR, have successfully tested this method to allocate urban space in a fairer way or to include vulnerable road users—pedestrians, cyclists, and people with disabilities— in decision-making. Their guides, such as the ELABORATOR inclusion plan and lessons learned from the SUNRISE project, can help local administrations to start an inclusive procedure. 

School streets: creating safe spaces for active travel

When children feel comfortable walking and cycling early in life, they are more likely to continue using active mobility as they grow older. Creating safe, shared spaces around schools helps establish lifelong positive habits and can encourage parents to also adopt active transport modes.

One example of creating child-friendly transport environments for schools is the 'Octopus plan' in the Flanders region of Belgium, which guides schools and municipalities in various processes, including mobility action points, infrastructure, and traffic education. The plan involves children in designing their school environment, setting up car-free streets, and assessing their routes to school.

By integrating the voices of children and their parents, problematic areas and traffic situations can be identified and potentially solved. Seeing the school and related transport environment through the eyes of a child can help to identify what could be done differently.

Planning and designing safer streets 

Safety is a crucial concern, not only for children and vulnerable road users but for everyone. Mobility management plans that encourage sustainable mobility at workplaces, educational facilities, or cultural venues can help shift more people towards public transport and active mobility. Many best practice examples of mobility management are available in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK database, featuring cutting-edge measures from organisations across Europe.

Additional examples of excellent planning to design safer streets are available in the Interreg Europe Policy Brief for active modes of transport, which highlights best practices, such as those from the city of Pesaro, Italy. Pesaro addressed the issue of segmented bicycle paths, where cyclists had to join vehicle traffic when a path abruptly ended. The city has since connected the interrupted paths, forming a comprehensive network with 87 km of cycle lanes between the historical centre and suburban areas. This has significantly increased the city's cycling rate to 28 %, the highest in Italy.

Stay in touch and engage with the campaign

To learn more about EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK and the 2024 theme ‘Shared Public Space’ you can read the Thematic Fact Sheet and follow the campaign on Facebook, X or LinkedIn. 

Follow this link to read our article highlighting some examples of initiatives and activities from across Europe that captured the spirit of this year's theme.

Author: Jonathan De Vriendt

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.