Bremen (Germany) and Östersund (Sweden) won the two European awards for sustainable urban mobility. Bremen won the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) Award while Östersund received the European Mobility Week Award.
Bremen wins the EUR 10 000 prize because of its imaginative and systematic approach to monitoring and evaluation. An interactive web platform was used to obtain feedback from residents. Using this and other data a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis was conducted. Five different scenarios were then examined showing the effect of different measures e.g. major investment in public transport, or only smaller measures promoting walking and cycling.
Östersund has participated in European Mobility Week for 12 years in a row and this year’s achievement – winning a promotional three-minute video – follows on from its selection as a finalist in 2012. As a city with well over 7 000 students, Östersund works closely with Mid Sweden University to encourage students to travel in a sustainable way. Last year, the city focused on cooperation and inclusion, for example by organising a three-day course teaching young migrants how to cycle. Östersund is also a lead partner in the Green Highway project, which aims to establish a 440 kilometre fossil fuel-free route across Sweden and Norway.
“These cities found creative and innovative ways of improving the urban environment using cleaner transport solutions. (…) Bremen stands out as an excellent example of using feedback from residents to develop the city’s urban mobility plans by learning from past experiences and coordinating with peer cities and partnerships. Östersund is being recognised for its ambitious campaign programme featuring a broad variety of sustainable travel options during European Mobility Week 2014,” European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said during the ceremony.
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