Brussels won the 5th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning!

What is this Award?

EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK is an initiative of the European Commission that supports local authorities’ projects in the area of sustainable urban mobility. 2 427 cities were involved in the 15th edition, in 2016. Preparations are now underway for this year’s EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK on 16-22 September 2017.

Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning is one of the two Awards within EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK. It rewards local authorities for improving citizens’ quality of life and developing an innovative mobility strategy. This 5th Award was focused on urban freight and on the movement of goods and services.

What is the URBACT Network Freight TAILS?

Freight TAILS (Tailored Approaches for Innovative Logistics Solutions) is an URBACT Action Planning Network dedicated to sustainable urban logistics. It focuses on imagining innovative freight solutions around geographic, socio-economic and policy challenges. Brussels city-region is part of Freight TAILS, along with 9 other local and regional authorities.

Why was Brussels rewarded?

The work done within Freight TAILS was recognised last week when Brussels won the 5th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning. The city-region succeeded in developing a plan for freight transport, which is successfully integrated with passenger mobility. In particular, Brussels was congratulated on its:

• capacity in identifying problems and selecting the best measures
• support for private sector initiatives
• efficiency in reducing the number of freight kilometres in the city
• efforts to reduce the adverse impact of freight
• involvement in national and European projects

The EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK Award was presented to Malmö (Sweden) for its long-term strategy on developing cycling and walking.

Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella said: "Our quality of life in cities means getting from A-to-B quickly, but also breathing clean air and enjoying quiet and uncongested streets. Brussels and Malmö have both shown in their own innovative ways that it is possible to make progress."

With transport responsible for a quarter of EU's greenhouse gas emissions, these award-winning initiatives will be promoted as a source of inspiration for cities across the EU.