The importance of European Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP).
By Filipa Corais
This article focuses on the importance of mobility planning as a tool for active and conscious citizenship in terms of mobility governance. It highlights the structuring criteria that determine the promotion of Sustainable Urban Mobility (SUM), which induces social equity and democracy in cities.
The current challenges of SUM focus on the underlying problem of the excessive use of private cars in cities and the need to change mobility behavior, given the impact of the transport sector on the environment (it contributes more than 30% to total GHG) and on the quality of urban life.
In general, the current design of cities reflects a heavy legacy of car-oriented planning, implemented from the mid-20th century onwards, with public space mostly allocated to this mode of transport. In fact, in the 1960s, the trivialization of individual motorized transport and the possibility of accessing ever more distant areas in ever shorter times determined the urban form of today’s cities, stimulating their exponential growth in a diffuse manner across the territories. This situation has created an unsustainable territorial situation that has accentuated dependence on private cars and social inequalities.
Today, however, cities are calling for the humanization of public space, and are therefore demanding improvements in environmental quality, road safety, public health, social equity, social cohesion, urban living, and, in short, the quality of urban life.
Banister (2008, 2011) sets out the main contrasts between past approaches to traffic engineering and the new approaches advocating Sustainable Urban Mobility. In promoting SUM, the social dimension is coupled with the spatial dimension, since the focus is on people and, consequently, the pedestrian mode is now at the top of the hierarchy.
In order to bring about a paradigm shift in SUM and stimulate public acceptance of SUM measures, Banister (2008) presents 7 key elements for action:
– Promote public information and involvement;
– Define a coherent package of measures:
– Push (measures deterring the use of motorized individual transport (IT))
– Pull (measures to promote active modes)
– Hard (physical and structural measures in the public space)
– Soft (measures to change behaviors, attitudes, and mindsets in favor of SUM, such as communication campaigns, focus groups).
– Value the benefits of SUM over the detriments to IT;
– Phase out the most controversial measures;
– Ensure policy coherence;
– Monitoring actions and reactions.
Based on this commitment to change, the Paris Agreement was signed by 55 countries in 2016. This agreement stipulated, for example, a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions recorded in 1990 as a goal for 2030. However, almost 10 years on, profound changes are needed to accelerate change towards the carbon neutrality targets set for 2050.
The SUMPs are the strategic instruments that (in conjunction with the Municipal Master Plans) should frame mobility planning and serve as an “umbrella” for all the actions to be implemented in cities. This instrument must be developed to meet the needs of people and businesses and improve the quality of life in cities.
Organizations and public interest bodies in this field, such as the European Commission and IMT (in the case of Portugal), have a key role to play in persuading and implementing standards and guides to drive the development of efficient and effective SUMPs with a view to reversing the mobility pyramid in favour of soft and active modes and promoting quality of life in cities for all.
In July 2023, with the revision and entry into force of the TEN-T regulation, the role and responsibility of the 431 cities operating on European territory as nodes of the trans-European transport network were reinforced. In this sense, it has become necessary for these cities to adapt their SUMPs by the end of 2027, which is an opportunity for an ambitious review of the strategies, as well as the standardization of the documents and monitoring indicators (which will have to be reported to the European Commission), which in turn will allow for a comparative assessment of the impact of these plans on the future of the cities. In this context, the urban mobility indicators (still being defined) focus on: road accidents and injuries; modal split; noise and air pollution; congestion; GHG emissions; and access to mobility services.
Other requirements arising from the TEN-T regulation are the definition of intermodal platforms (rail, road, and active modes) for passengers (by 2030) and intermodal terminals for goods (by 2040). These aims contribute to the orderly planning of cities and will have a positive impact on social equity in access to transport and mobility for all.
Another fundamental role of this type of organization is to raise awareness, train, and coordinate networks of cities in order to share good practices and experiences. Cities are currently facing similar problems, so the possibility of promoting joint reflection on global solutions, even if they need to be adjusted to local contexts, is fundamental. Europe has been sensitive to these challenges and, over the last few decades, has promoted various cooperative networking programs that have made a significant contribution to changing and improving WUI conditions in cities.
The guides developed by the European Commission for SUMPs (e.g., the 2013 Urban Mobility Package developed by the European Commission, updated in 2023 with new strategies and priorities, but without substantially changing the original guidelines) highlight the importance of incorporating participatory mechanisms throughout the process. In this way, partnerships with residents and stakeholders and a diverse presence of social, age, and ethnic groups are encouraged, encompassing people with different skills and knowledge useful for ensuring democratic reflection and debate.
These spaces for debate and sharing ideas on SUM issues are also moments for mutual learning and for empowering society to develop teamwork, intending to bring about a change in the organization of structures, practices, and culture towards a new, more sustainable and democratic system.
In light of the above, it is considered that SUMPs offer a unique opportunity to promote conscious citizenship on the part of administrations and governance in terms of mobility, inducing an equitable and democratic appreciation of access to the various modes of transport and access to the spaces that make up the city.
The emerging paradigm shift in global decarbonization policies, such as the Paris Agreement, needs to be implemented through structural measures in cities, guaranteeing equal opportunities for the various modes of transport in the territories. However, these measures need to be accompanied by a cultural change in society (from a car-oriented society to a human-centric society) (Gehl, 2010, 2011; Gehl & Svarre, 2013), transforming shared values and beliefs. The definition of uniform standards for the development of SUMPs on a more global scale (e.g., European) is an opportunity to leverage universal change and promote equity and social justice.
Best wishes for (+) Conscious Citizenship!
References:
Banister, D. (2008). The sustainable mobility paradigm. Transport Policy, 15(2), 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2007.10.005
Banister, D. (2011). Cities, mobility and climate change. Journal of Transport Geography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.03.009
Gehl, J. (2010). Cidade para pessoas. Perspectiva.
Gehl, J. (2011). Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. In Landscape Journal. IslandPress. https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.8.1.54
Gehl, J., & Svarre, B. (2013). How to study Public Life. In How to Study Public Life. Island Press. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-525-0
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Filipa Corais is a PhD candidate at the School of Architecture of the University of Minho, with a research grant from MIT-Portugal/FCT. She holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Coimbra and a master’s in Urban Environment Planning and Design from the University of Porto. Since 2016, she has served as Head of the Mobility Division at the Municipality of Braga. With teaching experience in various international institutions, she has been recognized for her work in sustainable mobility and conscious citizenship, including the Abayomi Academy International Award 2024.
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