Urban mobility: “Sustainable, Low-emission, Efficient

Karlsruhe's themes and strengths are in demand worldwide

As the only city representative of the initiative "Urban Agenda for the EU", Lord Mayor Dr. Frank Mentrup from Karlsruhe attended the meeting of EU Ministers for Urban Development and Territorial Cohesion this week. He presented the results of the thematic partnership "Urban Mobility", which the City of Karlsruhe, represented by the Urban Planning Office, the Karlsruhe Transport Authority and the External Relations Department, has been coordinating with the Czech Republic since 2017.

The meeting under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Homeland Affairs (BMI) is part of the official program of the German EU Council Presidency.

"Our aim was to develop concrete measures to meet the challenges of sustainable, low-emission and efficient urban mobility in the medium and long term," Dr. Mentrup reported to the participants, who included Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform, and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions. The "Urban Mobility" partnership has produced proposals to simplify the "patchwork" of access rules for motor vehicles, among other things. One example of such restrictions in cities, according to the head of the city, would be environmental badges. "As mayor of a city in the Franco-German border region, 80 km from Strasbourg, I know the practical difficulties. We are working bilaterally with our colleagues in Strasbourg to find solutions, but we believe that a European approach is needed here".

Urban Agenda for the EU

In the thematic partnership "Urban Mobility", eight European cities, two regions, five EU member states, two EU institutions and six European umbrella organizations work together – and it It could be a model for worldwide projects. It is representative of the fourteen thematic partnerships of the so-called "Urban Agenda”. The Agenda is intended to focus on all important areas of urban development and to work out solutions in a participatory process with cities, regions and states. (pia)