Keys to sustainable mobility

The mobility and transport of cities play a fundamental role in the fight against climate change and the improvement of the quality of life of its inhabitants.

 

19 May 2020

During the weeks of confinement, it has been evident how the air quality of our cities has improved due to the limitation of traffic. Pollution levels have been halved in the 80 most populous cities in Spain, which has both an environmental and a public health impact, since respiratory diseases (COPD) are intimately linked to the levels of polluting particles in the air . Even a recent study from Harvard University links air pollution with higher mortality from Covid-19.

Comparativa contaminacion ciudades durante el COVID

 

Reforming a sustainable mobility system adapted to each territory and to population needs, taking into account health and the environment, is a crucial challenge facing new cities. A 3.0 mobility, where the citizen is the center. Here we explain some keys:

Participatory planning and design

Participatory governance is key to creating long-term sustainable urban mobility plans (PMUs). It is essential that all the actors in the city are involved in the creation and design of these plans. Not only so that all points of view are incorporated, but also to co-responsibility the population in the development and success of the initiatives. We all want to live in sustainable and smart cities, so it is our duty as citizens, companies or rulers to create, care for and improve them.

Chronourism

Can you imagine that everything you need to live is less than 15 minutes from your home? Reinventing urban planning by creating compact cities and neighborhoods where proximity prevails is a great challenge. It is about rediscovering urban life leaving the mobility suffered (schedules, traffic jams, noise, pollution) by the chosen mobility (on foot or by bicycle, saving time, increasing social ties, less noise and air pollution) that will have a great impact on the quality of life of citizens, both in terms of health, conciliation and social cohesion.

Enhancement of sustainable modes of transport

The public space must return to the pedestrian. And not only that, universal accessibility must be taken into account. At some point, all of us have been or will be people with reduced mobility, and streets and transport systems must be designed taking into account each and every citizen.

The implementation of public bicycle systems has had a great impact in recent years across the planet. Encouraging its use is a catalyst for the incorporation of private bicycles into our daily journeys, which must entail associated changes such as the improvement of parking lots, road infrastructure, showers at work, favorable ordinances, and a long etcetera of incentives for mobility on two wheels.

In addition to the bicycle, scooters, segways or hoverboars are new means of transportation that are increasingly seen in our cities. Without a doubt they will have to be taken into account when planning urban mobility.

Sistemas de movilidad sostenible: ervicio público de bicicletas

Improvement of public transport

Promoting public transport to meet the main mobility demands is a basic point in all cities. Some actions to take into account are the renewal of the vehicle fleet with less polluting alternatives, the redesign of more efficient routes and frequencies, the exclusive platforms that avoid traffic jams and, above all, the digitization of systems to be able to offer users information and intermodal coordination between the different services.

Efficient use of motorized vehicles

In an ideal world, the use of motorized vehicles would be minimal, but until that future arrives, work must be done to minimize the use and maximize the efficiency of this modality. How?

  • Carpooling and carpooling is the best way to optimize car use, in line with the boom in the collaborative economy.
  • Managing the parking at origin and destination. If you can’t park, there is no point in using the car.
  • Reduce the rate of congestion through tolls or pseudo tolls as cities such as London, Stockholm or Madrid have done.
  • Incorporation of electric vehicles, such as Scoobic, and therefore expand the network of charging points in the city.

Use of new technologies and Big Data

The application of cutting-edge technologies in the mobility sector is essential in Smart Cities. We bring you some initiatives launched by our associates:

  • Report and monitoring the points of the automobile traffic as well as rail and updated information to the citizen through applications or mobile devices. Some examples are Cityneco in Granada or Sayme Traker in the Rio de Janeiro metro.
  • Sommetrant, a software for the management of Big Data of public transport in Malaga.
  • Intelligent parking systems such as those of Easypark implemented in Madrid, Elche and Antequera.
  • Apps for recharging transport credit by facial recognition, footprint, such as Paythunder solutions in Córdoba. Or the smart citizen cards implemented in Guadalajara or Zaragoza by Web Dreams.
  • Smart charging stations for electric vehicles such as those implemented by Actisa or Endesa.

The cities’ commitment to the implementation and development of Urban Mobility Plans will come linked to the training of the business and professional fabric to implement these and other measures that allow creating sustainable cities, connected and focused on the quality of life of their citizens.

Smart City Cluster, from its Smartec training program, offers training in different key areas such as Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Responsible Waste Management, Smart Building or Smart Tourism.

Smartec is a project that is part of the Employaverde Program. The Green Employment Program of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is an initiative of the Biodiversity Foundation to promote and improve employment, entrepreneurship and the environment, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) within the framework of the Operational Program for Employment, Training and Education 2014-2020.

Know the advantages of being associated

Smart City Cluster enhances collaboration among its partners, favoring research, development and innovation in the different solutions and technologies aimed at the development of smart cities.

Smart City Cluster is an alliance of private companies and institutions that work for the development of smart cities.

Share This