Background Guide:

Mobility in the City

In cooperation with: Funded by: Horizon 2020 A project by:

Toulouse, France

07 - 09 July 2018

Final European Student Parliament

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Mobility in the City

Preface

Honourable delegates,

We warmly welcome you to the European Student Parliament. At this year’s conference the

topic will be the future of mobility. Mobility in a globalised world is not only important for

urban planning, but also for communication, economics, finance and many other sectors.

In the following handbook we will give you an overview of one of the five sub-topics which

will be discussed in Toulouse: Mobility in the City

Advances in technology and science are a major source of economic growth, efficiency and

innovation in our interconnected world. In large cities, millions of people and tonnes of goods

move around every day. Since 2007 more than the half of the world population lives in cities.

A city’s liveability is affected by roads, traffic, bicycle lanes and public-transport networks.

The number of urban residents worldwide is growing by nearly 60 million people a year. The

urban population is expected to double by 2050, when seven out of every 10 people will live

in cities. As the population rises, poverty, inequality, unemployment and the challenges of

energy management are also expected to increase. Innovative solutions are needed to meet

these demands and make these cities attractive places to live, today and in future.

At the European Students Parliament we want to discuss the opportunities and challenges of

cities in the context of mobility in a concrete way. Questions that could provide a starting

point for your discussions can be found in chapter number four of this handbook. Your

discussions both with your committee and during the expert hearing will be the foundation for

the resolutions that you will write to suggest European and global guidelines for mobility in

the city.

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Table of Contents

Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1 Smart Cities ............................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 The Concept of Smart Cities ............................................................................................ 3

1.2 Smart Cities in Europe ..................................................................................................... 4

2 Urban Landscapes and Transport Infrastructures .................................................................... 5

2.1 The Urban Landscape in Europe ...................................................................................... 5

2.1.1 Land Use of Cities ..................................................................................................... 6

2.2 Transport Infrastructure .................................................................................................... 6

3 Modes of Transport in the Capital Cities ................................................................................ 8

3.1 Cars ................................................................................................................................... 8

3.2 Cyclists ............................................................................................................................. 9

3.3 Public Transport ............................................................................................................. 11

3.4 Pedestrians ...................................................................................................................... 11

3.5 Specifics ......................................................................................................................... 11

3.5.1 Mobility for Commuters .......................................................................................... 11

3.5.2 Disabled and Older People ...................................................................................... 11

3.5.3 Sharing Economy .................................................................................................... 12

4 Guiding Questions ................................................................................................................. 12

5 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 13

Figure 1: Smart City, Rouse, 2017. ............................................................................................ 3

Figure 2: Twenty cities in the EU with the largest number of inhabitants (in millions),

Eurostat, 2015a. .......................................................................................................................... 5

Figure 3: Investment in transport infrastructure, European Environment Agency, 2016. ......... 7

Figure 4: Means of transport to get to work in European capital cities, Eurostat, 2015b. ......... 8

Figure 5: New passenger cars with alternative fuel engine 2013-2015, Eurostat, 2017b. ......... 9

Figure 6: Bicycle share in all journeys in some European countries and cities, Presto, 2010. 10

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1 Smart Cities

1.1 The Concept of Smart Cities

The number of high-density city populations is growing across the world, putting a strain on

energy, transportation, water, buildings and public spaces. Therefore, we require smart

solutions which are sustainable, efficient and which generate social wellbeing and economic

prosperity. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a key enabler for cities to

address these aims. According to the European Parliament “A Smart City is a city seeking to

address public issues via ICT-based solutions on the basis of a multi-stakeholder, municipally

based partnership” (European Parliament 2014: 9).

Figure 1: Smart City, Rouse, 2017.

There are many different components of the concept of a smart city. The most important ones

are: Smart Governance, Smart People, Smart Living, Smart Mobility, Smart Economy and

Smart Environment.

Smart Governance: Smart Governance should mean consistent governance within

and between cities so that services can be linked and integrated between public,

private, civil and European Community organisations allowing the city to function as

one organism. Responsibilities at city, district, national and EU level should be clear.

Smart People: People with electronic skills, who have access to digital education and

training to foster innovation.

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Smart Living: ICT-enabled life styles, behaviour and consumption. Healthy and safe

living in a culturally vibrant city with diverse cultural facilities and good quality

housing. Linked to high levels of social cohesion and social capital.

Smart Mobility: Smart Mobility means intelligent transport like autonomous

vehicles, shared mobility, many alternative transport options to choose from and non-

motorised options to reduce CO2 emissions.

Smart Economy: Smart economies utilise e-commerce and e-business, have

increased productivity, are ICT-enabled and feature advanced manufacturing and

delivery of services, ICT-enabled innovation, as well as new products, new services

and business models.

Smart Environment: This means the renewable use of energy (smart energy), ICT-

enabled energy grids, automatic meter-reading, pollution control and monitoring. It

also features green urban planning includes renovation of buildings and amenities,

green buildings which can be achieved by resource use efficiency, re-use and resource

substitution (European Parliament 2014: 28).

1.2 Smart Cities in Europe

Two-thirds of the EU28 population live in Cities; in all of these countries Smart Cities can be

found. 51% of all cities with a minimum number of 100,000 inhabitants have implemented or

proposed Smart City initiatives. However, the distribution of those cities is not even across

the EU. 90% of the cities with more than 500,000 habitants are Smart Cities. It is clearly a

large city phenomenon. The European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and

Communities (EIP-SCC) works with citizen, industry and cities to enhance urban life through

more sustainable integrated solutions (European Parliament 2014: 9).

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2 Urban Landscapes and Transport Infrastructures

2.1 The Urban Landscape in Europe

In 2015, 17.8% of the EU’s total population lived in a functional urban area belonging to one

of the 20 largest cities (Eurostat 2017a).

Figure 2: Twenty cities in the EU with the largest number of inhabitants (in millions), Eurostat, 2015a.

The urban landscape of Europe is characterised by a large diversity of small, medium-sized

and large cities which have developed over history as a result of political, demographic and

economic developments (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency 2016). Cities stand

for many things including high concentration of economic activities, employment and wealth.

However, cities contain also social inequalities, social exclusion, income inequalities and

redundancy. There is also an agglomeration of crime, traffic congestion and pollution in

cities. This effect is called the “urban paradox”. The biggest difference between European

cities is the dispersal of the proximity of cities to each other. To illustrate, many cities of

Belgium, the Netherlands, western parts of Germany, northern Italy and the southern half of

the United Kingdom are concentrated in close proximity to each other. While the Nordic

Member States of the European Union, France and the interior of Spain and Portugal are

characterised by a more sparse distribution of cities over a greater area, with a smaller number

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of larger urban centres. These differences in spatial distribution may reflect levels of

centralisation. This centralisation affects transport infrastructure, as the focus is only in one

city or region. The connections between other regions and cities are less developed. On one

hand, there are EU Member States like France which have a relatively monocentric structure,

in France this is focused on Paris. This contrasts with the polycentric structure of cities that is

observed in Germany, where there is no single dominant city (Eurostat 2017a).

2.1.1 Land Use in Cities

The attractiveness of a city depends on both the quality of life that it offers to (potential)

residents and the competitiveness of its urban economy for (potential) businesses. Cities are

therefore increasingly branding themselves as ‘green’, ‘creative’ or ‘cultural’, trying to

increase their attractiveness by promoting, for example, their environmental assets. The

character of a city is defined, to some degree, by the way that its streets and public spaces are

laid out; for example, contrast a city characterised by tree-lined boulevards and a generous

number of public parks, with one that is tightly packed with housing, busy roads and

overpasses. If the city is full of high speed roads, car parks and road bridges the environment

for pedestrians and cyclists is unattractive. Mobility creates parts of the cityscape, for

example, if we change our mobility habits we could have more urban green space, when

parking areas become parks. Green urban areas have the potential to play an important role in

cities: on the one hand, they can contribute to climate change mitigation by absorbing carbon

from the atmosphere, as well as providing an area to absorb rainwater, and offering shade; and

on the other they can improve general and mental health, by providing an opportunity for

social interaction and increasing an individual’s quality of life. In a general way, these areas

contribute to a better quality of life of the inhabitants. In addition, they are closely linked to

one of the targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: "By 2030, provide

universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for

women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities" (Poelmann 2018: 2-3).

2.2 Transport Infrastructure

As 49% of the people in the EU use public transport for getting to work in larger cities, there

is a need for a sustainable and efficient transportation system (Eurostat 2017a).

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Figure 3: Investment in transport infrastructure, European Environment Agency, 2016.

The graphic above shows, that since 1995 spending on transport infrastructure increased

across the European Environment Agency-33 member countries, reaching a peak in 2009.

Since then it has decreased each year. While investment in road transport decreased in the

period of 1995-2014, investments in the rail infrastructure increased (European Environment

Agency 2016).

The European Commission agreed on a roadmap of 40 initiatives for the next decade to build

a capable of competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in

key areas and fuel growth and employment by 2050. The foundation of the roadmap includes:

no more conventionally-fuelled cars in cities,

40% use of sustainable low carbon fuels in aviation;

at least 40% cut in shipping emissions,

a 50% shift of medium distance intercity passenger and freight journeys from road to

rails and waterborne transport,

Together these changes will contribute to a 60% cut in transport emissions by the middle of

the century. In general, cities increasingly support preference for pedestrians by removing

cars from historical streets, enlarging walkways, tracing new bicycle lanes and extending bus

lanes, and generally reducing public space dedicated to motor vehicle traffic (European

Commission 2011: 3).

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3 Modes of Transport in the Capital Cities

Figure 4: Means of transport to get to work in European capital cities, Eurostat, 2015b.

In 2015 49 % of people in large European cities used public transport to get to work. In

Vienna, Bern, Paris and Prague more than two thirds of people used public transport as their

main mode of transportation to work. In Amsterdam and Copenhagen more than half of

people cycle to work. But in 13 of the EU 28 capital cities more than half of commuters travel

by private car (Eurostat 2015b).

3.1 Cars

In 2015, the highest number of registered passenger cars was observed in Germany with 45

million cars, followed by Italy (37 million passenger cars: 2014 data) and France (32 million

cars). In spite of an increase in recent years, passenger cars powered by eco-friendly fuels (all

alternatives to petrol and diesel) only made up a small part of the fleet of passenger cars in

the EU in 2015. Generally, the passenger car fleet in nearly all EU member states has grown

over the last five years. Whether people prefers petrol or diesel powered passenger cars varies

across the EU. Cars with petrol-powered engines make up the majority of registered

passenger cars in most countries; diesel powered passenger cars dominate in only eight

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member states. National taxation systems are a key reason for customers to buy petrol, diesel

or alternatively powered cars (Eurostat 2017b).

Figure 5: New passenger cars with alternative fuel engine 2013-2015, Eurostat, 2017b.

In some cities like Amsterdam, Cologne, Brussels and London, drivers waste more than 50

hours a year in road traffic jams. Others like Paris, Utrecht and Manchester spend more than

70 hours stuck in road traffic jams. Most car users (71%) feel that public transport is less

comfortable than the car, others say it is because the connection isn’t good (49%) or the

services are not adequate (64%). There are more than 4.5 million km of paved roads in the

EU, so investments and resources are required to maintain the performance of road transport.

The estimated investment in the infrastructure amount to 1.5 trillion euro for the duration of

20 years (2010-2030) (European Commission 2017).

3.2 Cyclists

In 2000 there were ca. 200 million bicycles in the EU 15 (compared with 160 million cars and

374 million inhabitants), but only 10% of the bikes were used on any given day. Most trips in

European cities are shorter than 6 km, (a distance that can easily be travelled by bike, often

more quickly than by car). If just 30% of car journeys below 6 km were replaced by bicycle

trips, there would be a 4% reduction in CO2 emissions from road traffic (European Economic

and Social Committee 2018).

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Figure 6: Bicycle share in all journeys in some European countries and cities, Presto, 2010.

To implement cycling as a daily urban transport mode, European Cities have to be fit for

cycling. First, an integrated cycling infrastructure policy is needed, that means street and road

design must be adapted to cyclist’s needs. Second cyclists need to be taken seriously as a

specific road user both by town planners and by other road users. The quality requirements for

cycling infrastructure are:

Safe: Safety is a basic requirement. To guarantee safety three aspects must be

achieved: 1. Reducing traffic intensities and lowering speeds below 30 km/h 2.

Separating cyclists in space and in time from fast and heavy motorized traffic 3.

Intersections and crossings should be presented as clearly as possible.

Direct: Directness means that the cyclist can use as direct a route as possible to their

destination. Detours must be kept small and overall travel time for cyclists needs to be

minimized.

Cohesive: Cohesion is about the extent to which cyclists can go from any origin to

any destination without interruption. This basically means that cyclists benefit from an

area-wide or city-wide network of bike tracks and bike lanes.

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Attractive: Attractiveness means that bicycle infrastructure is well integrated into

agreeable surroundings. This is a matter of perception and image, which can strongly

encourage or discourage cyclists.

Comfortable: Comfort is about creating an enjoyable, smooth and relaxed cycling

experience. Physical and mental effort should be minimized as much as possible.

Only when these requirements are fulfilled can cycling compete against the car in cities.

(Presto 2010: 3-9).

3.3 Public Transport

Public Transport is a good way to reduce congestion and environment and health-harming

emissions in urban areas, especially when they run on alternative, cleaner fuels. Trains,

metros, trams and trolley buses are electrified and do not produce emissions at the point of

use. Buses can be run on natural gas and electric buses are being tested in some cities. The

European Commission strongly encourages the use of public transport as part of the mix of

modes which each person living or working in a city can use. For example, those travelling

from outside the city may need a car to reach a railway or bus station. Providing them with

parking at public transport hubs reduces the number of cars travelling into the city centre and

thus reduces congestion and air pollution (Dijkstra/Poelman 2015: 2).

3.4 Pedestrians

According to theory, pedestrians feel comfortable in response to a positive emotional reaction

to external surroundings (the walking environment) in different situations.The factors

procuding this effect include physiological, physical, social and psychological reactions.

Absence of discomfort means that nothing is unpleasant for the pedestrian. Comfort is also a

cognitive comparison between actual objects and some point of reference, meaning that

expectation and earlier experience affects their evaluation of comfort. Safety and security,

attractiveness, traffic conditions, social meeting places and pleasantness, ability to move

efficiently, ways of dressing, space and light and comfort are key indicators for pedestrians in

cities (Olaussen/Ovstedal 2002:2-3).

3.5 Specifics

3.5.1 Mobility for Commuters

More than 90 % of the EU workforce lives in the same region as they work in. However about

7 % travel to a different region for work while just under 1 % commute across borders.

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Commuting between regions is most common in Belgium where one in five people do this.

Belgium is also home to many cross-border commuters as is the Eastern border of France.

Men commute further than women and younger people further than older people (Eurostat

2016). What are the implications of these facts for mobility and urban planning? Should more

parking areas be created in transport hubs outside the city? Or does it simply mean, that the

city itself is unattractive as a place to live?

3.5.2 Disabled and Older People

Older people with health problems, including physical problems and dementia, have specific

transport needs. On foot they require slightly longer to cross the road, which has implications

for how traffic lights are programmed. Users of walking frames and wheelchairs require

ramps and lifts to replace steps and suitable surfaces for wheels. People with limited vision

need larger signs with greater contrast (Bausch 2016).

3.5.3 Car sharing

At the beginning of 2009, there were approximately 380,000 car-sharing participants in

Europe, to whom approximately 11,900 car-sharing vehicles were available. Car sharing can

contribute significantly to sustainable mobility patterns by establishing a mobility culture

which is based on using various transport options instead of car ownership. Car sharing has a

great, but mostly unexploited, potential on the European scale. Being a kind of decentralised

car rental service, car sharing supplements the sustainable transport modes of walking,

cycling and public transport – thus providing an alternative to car ownership that still provides

the individual mobility of a car with the option to carry large items from door-to-door at any

time (Intelligent Energy – Europe 2010 :1-3).

4 Guiding Questions

Does tracking the mobility habits of residents with smart city infrastructure interfere with

privacy?

Which modes of transport should have priority in urban planning?

How can transport infrastructure encourage environmentally sustainable transport choices?

How does transport infrastructure use space in a city?

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How can urban planning contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting

tounavoidable climate change?

How does transport infrastructure affect pedestrians, cyclists or people dining outdoors?

Is the concept of a personal car out of date?

5 Bibliography

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