The Partnership on Urban Mobility is picking up pace: Not only has the finalised Orientation Paper been validated by the Partnership. Also, only one month after the second meeting held in May 2017 in Brussels, the partners convened again on 14 June 2017 in Hamburg. 

The Hamburg meeting, taking place in connection with the 11th German Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy, served a clear purpose. It sought to establish a more concrete thematic focus for the Partnership work, discussing and defining its priorities as well as reflecting on possible actions.

Partners, through a series of workshops sessions, worked together to reach a consensus on  the eventual scope of the Action Plan. At the meeting, Dr Nuno Pinto, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Urban Design at the University of Manchester, provided external support by commenting on the partners’ preparation work on potential sub-topics to focus on. Based on Nuno’s input and the subsequent thematic exchange in alternating plenary and workshop sessions, the Partnership agreed to focus the work towards the Action Plan on the following eight sub-topics. Hereby, members addressed the ambitious task to sharpen the topical scope within the resources available to the Partnership.

Working group on active modes of transport and the use of public space:

1) Improving public space for active mobility;

2) Promoting and embedding behavioural change; 

Working group on innovative solutions and smart mobility:

3) Data and services;

4) Innovative, clean and shared mobility;

Working group on public transport for the city/region and multi-modality:

5) Integrated multi-modal transport systems;

6) Urban road safety;

Working group on governance:

7) Improving multi-level governance;

8) Improving the uptake of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).

This thematic focus will inform the Partnership’s efforts towards drafting the Action Plan, which will be finalised throughout the year 2017 and then publicly discussed in early 2018.