THE MOBILITY LAB FOUNDATION ATTENDS THE ANNUAL MEETING OF CITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY IN KARLSRUHE (GERMANY) ON 27-28 NOVEMBER
Vitoria-Gasteiz will take part in a meeting of Mobility Labs of the International Network of Michelin Cities together with 8 other cities attending the POLIS 2024 Annual Conference.
The capital of Alava will hold a meeting with representatives of the Japanese government and the EU who are looking for good sustainable mobility practices to inspire Japanese cities.
In addition to Vitoria-Gasteiz, Amberes and Baden-Württemberg make up the three chosen success stories
Fundación Mobility Lab Vitoria-Gasteiz will be present this year at the POLIS 2024 Annual Conference which will take place on 27-28 November in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Annual POLIS Conference is Europe’s leading event on sustainable urban mobility, and offers cities and regions the opportunity to showcase their transport achievements to a large audience of mobility experts, practitioners and decision-makers from the public and private sectors.
The International Network of Michelin Cities (INMC) will take advantage of this event in Karlsruhe on the occasion of the major European mobility conference POLIS 2024 to bring together its living labs. Vitoria-Gasteiz, through the Mobility Lab, is one of the 8 member cities from 4 countries that will be represented by its mobility experts, with the participation of around twenty people from Aranda de Duero, Bad Kreuznach, Braga, Clermont-Ferrand, Karlsruhe, Regensburg and Valladolid.
POLIS 2024 will cover a wide range of topics: shared mobility, the last mile, data for mobility, smart traffic, the development of cycling in cities, etc. These conferences will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the different initiatives implemented across the POLIS network (European cities, regions and universities) in the field of sustainable mobility, but also for Mobility Lab technicians to meet many of the leading practitioners in the field, share their experiences and be inspired by them and other cities committed to the transition towards future-ready mobility.
‘Attending POLIS 2024 and being able to follow the different conferences where each and every one of the different aspects of mobility are addressed is a luxury opportunity to learn about the latest developments and contact experts, research centres and other cities working to propose and collect viable alternatives for a city of our size’, said the director of Mobility Lab, Iñigo Bilbao, who will meet with technicians and representatives of several cities in the Global Network of Michelin Cities.
On Thursday, 28 November, he will also meet with representatives from Japan who are actively exploring innovative approaches to improve multimodal transport provision, including for older citizens and those living in rural or peripheral areas. This work is being carried out within the Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme (SIP) under the Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy. As part of this work, the Japan Institute for Behavioural Sciences (IBS) is developing a ‘Guidelines for Redesigning Regional Mobility’ document, which includes methodologies for assessing planning processes, data governance and monitoring frameworks incorporating key performance indicators (KPIs). To this end, they are carrying out several case studies of urban/regional mobility planning to contribute to the development of such an urban and regional mobility document.
Vitoria-Gasteiz, together with Amberes and Baden-Württemberg, will be one of the cities to be studied by the director of the Mobility Lab Foundation, Iñigo Bilbao and the European Projects technician, María Suberbiola, as well as Juan Carlos Escudero, from the Environmental Studies Centre of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council. “For the Mobility Lab Foundation to participate in this workshop and for our city to be one of the case studies is an opportunity to publicise the solutions we are proposing to improve mobility and also to look for other alternatives that are already working in other cities of a similar size to our”’, said Iñigo Bilbao.
The workshop will bring together some of the case study representatives and researchers to hear and discuss both policy and lessons learned. The Japanese delegation’s list of participants includes Professor Designate of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo, Fumihiko Nakamura, Vice President and Executive Director of the Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Kazuhiko Makimura, and researcher at the same institute, Akira Ebiko.
Closing
The Polis Annual Meeting will conclude with a keynote speech by Herald Ruijters, Deputy Director General of DG MOVE of the European Commission, which will set the scene for an impactful debate on how cities and regions can meet Europe’s ambitious mobility deployment targets. With climate targets on the horizon, the following keynote speech and panel will address how Europe can accelerate the transformation towards sustainable mobility, while ensuring that commitments remain resilient, even in challenging times.
One of the keynote speakers will be Lars Strömgren, Deputy Mayor for Transport and Urban Environment of the City of Stockholm, who will deliver the keynote address. Stockholm has emerged as a leader in urban sustainability, from the creation of zero emission zones to the advancement of clean vehicle technologies and micro-mobility. He will share his thoughts on Stockholm’s path to climate neutrality and how the city’s initiatives align with Europe’s green ambitions.
