Ghent's approach to sustainable mobility planning: Aligning regional and city-level SUMPs

The Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) for the Ghent Transport Region (Region Mobility Plan 2030-2050) addresses the dual challenge of managing mobility across its mixed urban and rural areas. Adopted in December 2023, it aims to increase the use of sustainable transport modes by expanding multimodal hubs, electrifying public transport, and improving cycling infrastructure throughout the 23 municipalities it serves, with a target to achieve a 50% shift to sustainable transport by 2030. 

The implementation of the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region requires close collaboration between multiple stakeholders, including municipalities, transport authorities, and the regional government. As the largest and most central municipality in the transport region, the City of Ghent plays a key role in ensuring that local mobility strategies align with regional objectives. There is a possibility that the City of Ghent will revise its SUMP again soon. If updated, it will ensure that local initiatives reflect and support the broader regional vision. 

Sustainable urban mobility planning in the City of Ghent dates back to the early 1990s when the first bicycle and mobility plans were already developed by the city administration. Since then, the City of Ghent has continuously revised and updated its mobility plans. Insights into the interaction between the regional and city SUMPs were gathered through an interview with the City of Ghent.  

Context

Background to the development of the Regional Mobility Plan

The Ghent Transport Region is one of Flanders’ 15 designated transport regions, covering 23 municipalities over an area of 1200 km² and serving over 677,000 people across both urban and rural landscapes. With the city of Ghent at its core, the region faces unique mobility challenges, namely urban congestion in the historical city centre, contrasting with the car dependency of its rural areas. Congestion, contributing to air pollution and increased travel times is a key struggle within the city centre. In contrast, the surrounding rural municipalities face limited public transport options, resulting in a high dependency on private vehicles to support mobility. These mobility issues, if unaddressed, are likely to hinder the region's wider economic, social, and environmental goals.

Flanders’ 2019 Decree on Basic Accessibility (Decreet Basisbereikbaarheid) sets the legislative framework for addressing these mobility challenges. The decree emphasises basic accessibility — ensuring that all residents, regardless of location, have effective access to essential services such as work, education, and healthcare. The  SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region was developed to respond to these mandates while addressing the region’s specific needs, focusing on improving connectivity between urban and rural areas and promoting sustainable transport.

The region’s functional urban area (FUA) is an essential component of the SUMP’s focus. Ghent’s urban core generates high traffic volumes, causing congestion, pollution, and placing a strain on local infrastructure. Meanwhile, rural municipalities are highly car-dependent due to limited availability of public transport options. The plan’s central challenge lies in bridging these gaps through integrated solutions that reduce private vehicle use and promote cleaner, multimodal transport options across the region.

The Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works coordinated the project, in collaboration with members of the Roads and Traffic Agency, De Lijn, the Flemish Waterway and the Werkvennootschap. In addition to the municipalities, the transport region also has the following advisory members: Province of East Flanders, North Sea Port, Department of Environment, NMBS, Infrabel, Veneco and Mobility Company Ghent.

Adopted in December 2023 and effective since February 2024, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region (Regional Mobility Plan 2030-2050)  sets the stage for long-term mobility transformation under the Region Mobility Plan 2030-2050. The Regional Mobility Plan contains 12 policy priorities, arranged across four key themes, including nodes and networks: integrated and linked networks for better mobility; data strategy and digitalisation – welcoming data and progressive digital technology for better mobility; supply side – healthy functioning of the supply side; and demand behaviour – a sustainable, safe and efficient use of the mobility system. The guiding principles of the plan include working on the mobility offer; working on people’s behaviour; and working on space.

One of the plan’s key targets is to achieve a 50% modal shift in favour of sustainable transport modes by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040. The previous mode split for the region was 40% sustainable transport (2017). Achieving this modal shift across the Transport Region will be essential for meeting Flanders’ climate goals, as transport is one of the region’s primary contributors to CO₂ emissions. Additionally, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region aligns with Flanders’ broader environmental targets, particularly those related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Recognising that not all municipalities have the same potential for mode shift within the region due to the spatial structure, the Regional Mobility Plan therefore breaks down and highlights the mode shift targets by each municipality, to reach the mode shift objective at the transport region level. 

By targeting both urban and rural challenges within the same framework, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region represents an ambitious attempt to harmonise mobility across different landscapes, improving accessibility while fostering environmental sustainability.

Interactions between the Regional Mobility Plan and the city level SUMP

The City of Ghent was actively involved in the preparation process of the broader SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region, ensuring that its local priorities were considered in the regional framework. This direct participation helped maintain policy coherence between the two levels of planning. The principles of the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region closely align with the city’s existing mobility strategy. If the city develops a new SUMP, it intends to ensure that this plan aligns with the regional framework, pending city council approval. Should approval not be granted, minor updates to the existing city SUMP will be made instead to maintain consistency with the regional objectives.

In action

Overview of the Regional Mobility Plan

The SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region prioritises a significant shift toward sustainable modes of transport, aiming to support mobility while reducing car dependency. 

Public transport and mobility hubs

The focus on public transport includes a combination of service enhancements and fleet electrification, as well as broader coverage, ensuring accessibility in both urban and rural areas. An essential element of the plan involves establishing mobility hubs—known locally as Hoppin points—that facilitate intermodal transfers between public transport, cycling, and shared vehicles. These hubs are critical for rural areas, where car dependency has traditionally been high, as they allow residents greater access to integrated public transport services.

Active travel

In Ghent city and its surrounding areas, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region builds on the region’s established cycling culture. The Regional Mobility Plan expands the existing network by introducing cycling highways, designed to connect Ghent’s urban core with surrounding towns and villages. These highways provide dedicated, safer routes for both commuter and recreational cyclists, with the goal of making cycling a more attractive choice for longer-distance trips. Additionally, the city’s cycling infrastructure is undergoing further upgrades, with a focus on creating safer cycling paths and providing ample secure bike parking facilities at transit hubs.

Walking is also promoted within the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region, particularly through measures to improve pedestrian safety and convenience in Ghent’s historical city centre. Expanded pedestrian zones, wider footpaths, and improved crossings are part of this effort to make walking more viable, especially for shorter journeys.

Urban vehicle access regulations 

Environmental improvements are tackled through an expansion of Ghent’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Originally implemented in 2017 as a circulation plan, this zone now restricts polluting vehicles from entering the city. Under the city-level SUMP, the LEZ would be extended to cover a broader area and will feature stricter emissions standards, aiming to reduce air pollution further while encouraging a transition to cleaner vehicles.

Road safety

Traffic safety and accessibility are additional core aspects of the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region, aligning with Flanders’ Vision Zero goal to eliminate road fatalities by 2050. The plan includes traffic calming measures and public awareness campaigns to encourage safe driving, cycling, and walking behaviour. Accessibility upgrades are also planned, including adjustments to public transport stations and vehicles to improve access for individuals with reduced mobility.

Addressing urban-rural connectivity

A key concept within the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region is known as “meshes” (mazen), a planning approach aiming to keep motorised traffic on regional main roads while reducing vehicle flows inside designated “meshes.” For the Ghent city mesh, a joint study will begin in 2025 to determine how this concept should be implemented, particularly in relation to the R4 ring road. The city and regional authorities hold differing views on the role of the R4, with ongoing discussions whether it should primarily serve (inter)national through traffic or local through traffic as well.

Additionally, the regional transport council is responsible for deciding on one of the public transport layers and plays a role in evaluating the new public transport network. Ensuring seamless connections between rural and urban areas is a major challenge in this process.

Results

Since its rollout in early 2024, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region has produced early positive impact, particularly in improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and initial developments around the provision of mobility hubs. These hubs have provided rural residents with better access to sustainable transport modes, reducing their dependency on private cars. The phased electrification of the public transport fleet, alongside the expanded Low Emission Zone, is actively contributing to a reduction in emissions. 

As the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region is still in its early stages, after its adoption in 2024, there has been limited direct impact observed at the city level. The new public transport network has been the primary focus so far, and major studies, such as the “mesh” study for the City of Ghent, are set to begin in 2025.

Challenges, opportunities and transferability

Key challenges

One of the main challenges related to the implementation of the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region has been the diverse needs of urban and rural areas. Ghent’s urban core struggles with congestion and pollution, while rural municipalities are highly car-dependent due to limited public transport services. Addressing these needs requires a tailored approach that balances urban congestion reduction with improved accessibility. The development of mobility hubs has proven effective in bridging this gap. However, ensuring that public transport services are frequent and reliable enough to encourage residents to switch from private cars remains an ongoing challenge.

Another challenge is the behavioural change required to reduce car dependency, particularly in rural areas where private car use is deeply entrenched. The introduction of shared mobility services and improved cycling infrastructure has helped encourage a shift, but further incentives and public awareness campaigns are necessary to achieve the desired modal shift targets.

Learnings at the city level

One key lesson is that developing or reshuffling a public transport network cannot be treated separately from a regional SUMP. Although the two were considered distinct processes from a planning perspective, residents viewed them as one—a perspective that was justified, given their interconnected nature. This created challenges during the public participation process, highlighting the need for better coordination between regional mobility planning and public transport restructuring to ensure clarity and public support.

Thus far, no major conflicts have arisen in terms of aligning the city’s policies (e.g. the circulation and parking plan) with the regional objectives. However, contrasting infrastructure priorities between regional and local mobility goals do mean extensive discussions can be required. 

Opportunities

The SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region also presents opportunities, particularly in terms of environmental impact reduction. The Regional Mobility Plan’s focus on electrifying public transport and expanding the Low Emission Zone presents a model for other regions looking to reduce CO₂ emissions and improve air quality. The SUMP’s use of intermodal mobility hubs to improve rural-urban linkages is another innovative solution that could be replicated in other regions with similar geographical challenges.

Transferability

Regarding transferability, the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region’s approach to multimodal transport solutions provides valuable insight for other European regions. The creation of mobility hubs, in particular, offers a scalable model for improving accessibility in areas where public transport services are limited, while also reducing private vehicle use in urban centres.

Conclusions

The City of Ghent’s experience with the SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region illustrates both the opportunities and complexities of integrating local and regional mobility planning. While there is strong alignment in principles and objectives, key discussions—particularly on infrastructure priorities such as the R4 ring road—continue to shape implementation. The upcoming study on Ghent’s “mesh” structure will provide further insights into how local and regional authorities can collaborate effectively on mobility planning.

The city's experience underscores the importance of considering public transport network changes alongside regional SUMP development, as residents perceive them as a unified system. This highlights the need for better communication and coordination in future regional mobility planning efforts.

In depth

• SUMP for the Ghent Transport Region: Regional report on mobility planning and integration (Link to source document)
• Flanders Department of Mobility and Public Works: Contact for more information on implementation
• Vervoerregio Gent | Vlaanderen.be
• 618d2b5889c4361b1d79f42a_CoMoUK Mobility hubs_Ghent case study_Jan 2021.pdf (website-files.com)
• Ghent: a city plan that transformed transport and livability (transportxtra.com)

Author: Jonathan De Vriendt

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

Photo credits © - Gokul, Christian Lue, Flo P (Unsplash) - no permission to re-use image(s) without separate licence.