Active Cities

👋 Welcome to the pop-up shop in pedestrian-friendly Paddepoel! 🚶♂️🌿 Within the Active Cities project, Gemeente Groningen is supporting walking in a green, healthy, and safe environment to and from the Paddepoel shopping centre by transforming traffic space into living space. 🏬 To continue the promotion of active mobility amongst local citizens and stakeholders, the team recently organised a drop-in meeting in the shopping centre as part of their project pilot activities. 🚶♀️ During the meeting, visitors shared their opinions and experiences with walking around the area while reflecting on the preliminary future plans of the city. 💡 The meeting was well attended and provided inspiration for taking the next steps! Thanks to all involved, including Frank Aikema, Femke Niekerk, Evite van Winkoop for the organisation and Chico Bolt for the pictures. Stay tuned for more news from #Groningen and the rest of our Active Cities! Interreg North Sea Programme #ActiveCities #ActiveMobility

🚶♂️Active Cities at Walk21 Conference in Portugal! 🇵🇹 Several Active Cities partners attended the Walk21 conference this week to share some of our work: 🔹 Wieger Postma from Gemeente Leeuwarden, Helena Runesson from Lunds kommun, Nora Ragnhildstveit Erland from Bergen kommune, and Juliette Ténart from Bax shared lessons on transitioning from cycling leaders to walking ambassadors. 🔹 Valentina Kroker from KU Leuven and Carlos Cañas Sanz from Walk21 Foundation presented the Walkability app and how Active Cities partners are using it for community, research, and policy. 🔹 Valentina Kroker also joined colleagues from the Shared Mobility for All project for a walking meeting focused on identifying barriers to walking and wheeling. 🔹 The conference marked the launch of the new Walkability app, presented by Jim Walker and Carlos Cañas Sanz. A huge thank you to Portugal for having us and to the Walk21 conference for the inspiration! 🌍👏 #Walk21 #ActiveCities #Walkability #InterregNorthSea

🚀 SMALL 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 stops! Next week, we are going to #Lisbon, Portugal, for the Walk21 Foundation Conference 🚶🏾♀👩🏾🦽👩🏾🦯 We are thrilled to be sharing the spotlight with fellow Interreg North Sea Programme project Active Cities for an exciting, hands-on session on #InclusiveMobility 🤝 Here are the details: 📌 WT1.2. Shared Mobility, Walking and Wheeling 📆 Tuesday, 15 October - 12:30 PM Join us to gain new perspectives on making #SharedMobility and #ActiveMobility more accessible to all users! Hope to see you there 👋 #SharedMobilityForAll #ActiveCities #Walk21Portugal #EverybodyWalks

🇩🇰 This week, the Active Cities consortium is visiting Aarhus for the 5th project partner meeting! 🏙 The meeting, hosted by City of Aarhus began on Tuesday with a series of updates from city partners on the various pilot activities organised through the project. 🤝 Then, partners assembled for a joint event with another Interreg North Sea Programme project SHARE-North Squared Squared, focusing on opportunities for active shared mobility within housing developments. 🚲 Continuing with the busy agenda, the consortium enjoyed a site visit to Tangkrogen, the Active Cities pilot site for the municipality of Aarhus. Here, the team is exploring how to create free parking facilities outside the city centre to encourage citizens and visitors to enter the city using active modes of transport. Project partners were guided through a scenario workshop to plan the future of these mobility meeting points, in line with Aarhus’ new green mobility plan. 😄 So far, it has been an active, engaging and fruitful visit to Aarhus as we continue our collaboration to champion #activemobility across the North Sea Region! #activecities #InterregNorthSea #Walking #Cyling

This week, cities across Europe are celebrating EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK, the European Commission’s flagship awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility. It promotes behavioural change in favour of clean, intelligent transport solutions such as #activemobility. The Active Cities are getting involved with a variety of activities, promotions and initiatives designed to encourage citizens to learn more about the benefits of adopting active mobility solutions into their daily routine! 🇩🇪 In HAMBURG, Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg are running an action day on Friday 20th September, including a "Walking to School" campaign for local children. Local residents and students are also invited to take part in a variety of exercises and activities... expect cargo bike tests, scooter courses, craft activities, coffee & cake, and much more! 🔗 More info: https://lnkd.in/eqxvTHnR 🇫🇷 In LILLE, having already renewed a special edition of the local second-hand bike sale, Ville de Lille are running several exciting events to celebrate the week. 🎓 In partnership with the University of Lille, the team will be helping new students to adopt sustainable mobility modes to move around the city during their studies. 🎉 On Friday 20th September, The Sustainable Mobility House in Lille will celebrate its first birthday by hosting local schoolchildren for a workshop on road safety and cycling equipment, and inviting six sustainable travellers to share their experience and answer questions from attendees. 🇧🇪 In MECHELEN, Stad Mechelen are running several promotions to encourage residents to try out sustainable mobility modes, including shared bikes and electric cars. 🚶♂️ The team are also hosting a city-wide culture splash, where local people can enjoy walking tours and boat trips as well as various displays and shows. 🚲 On 20th September, the city is encouraging all students to get to school on foot or by bike in order to promote and contribute to a more pleasant and safe school environment while beginning the day with some fresh air and exercise. 🏃♀️ Furthermore, Sunday will be a car-free day in the city. During this time, residents can walk, jog or play in a car-free area of the city. 🔗 More information: https://lnkd.in/dn_EXeKE 🇳🇴 In BERGEN, Bergen kommune has already encouraged residents to get involved with #EMW24 by running activities including the screening of a cycling film, and a workshop designed to teach children how to care for their bikes. 🚲 The activities will continue with the opening of the FELLES SykkelLab DIY bicycle workshop for four days this week. Offering tools, help and a place to repair and maintain your bicycle, doors are open to all young and old cyclists. Saturday will mark car-free day in Bergen with a range of activities for everyone to enjoy. 🔗 More information: https://lnkd.in/duzQFUhM

🤔 Looking for a new podcast to listen to during the summer holidays? 🎧 Why not check out the back catalogue of the Active Cities Podcast! 🏖 ⛰ 🏡 Whether you're spending time at the beach, in the mountains, or simply relaxing at home, we have a collection of insightful interviews from a diverse range of active mobility experts for you to enjoy. 🎙 To explore all episodes of the Interreg North Sea Programme Active Cities Podcast with Jamie Coles, visit: https://lnkd.in/dsxJNWfJ #ActiveMobility #Podcast #Interreg #Cycling #Walkability #ActiveCities

The Active Cities project brings together 8 European cities to assess how they can increase the number of active mobility users and improve the quality of walking and cycling in urban areas. The project is transforming urban areas by placing citizens at the heart of pilot activities and discussions. Part 2 of this series showcasing stakeholder involvement highlights innovative strategies and success stories from cities pioneering citizen-focused interventions. In this insight, we hear how: 🚶♀️ Gemeente Leeuwarden is involving local residents, business owners and commuters to improve walkability in the city. 🏙 Gemeente Groningen is encouraging residents to get involved when making future decisions towards the redesign of their streets. 🏰 Lunds kommun is ensuring local voices are heard when implementing pedestrianised zones in areas including the historic city centre. 🚲 Stad Mechelen is consulting local stakeholders to better understand the requirements for innovative cycling infrastructure throughout the city. 🏠 Ville de Lille is inviting local people to their new Sustainable Mobility House, with the objective of transforming the city’s transport habits and increase awareness of sustainable transport options. Discover how our active cities are creating inclusive, dynamic environments by encouraging citizen participation and promoting active living. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dJ6f3Nue

🚶♂️🚴♀️ In our latest episode, we explore Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg's efforts to transform its streets into safer, more livable spaces through active mobility. Join us as we chat with experts Silke Edelhoff and Maren Derneden about the challenges and successes of the Eimsbüttel district pilot project. Listen now! 👉 https://lnkd.in/d_SFkq4C Find out more about the #ActiveCities Eimsbüttel pilot 👉 https://lnkd.in/dp6c7TVk Active Cities is an Interreg North Sea Programme project, co-funded by the European Union #PoweredbyInterreg #ActiveMobility

Next week, Active Cities partner Bergen kommune will attend the 2024 Velo-city conference in Ghent. Bergen will present during an insightful session titled "Bridging the gap: exploring cycling in cities divided by water", showcasing an example of the impressive Fyllingsdalen Tunnel, the longest cycling tunnel in the world. The Fyllingsdalen Tunnel project aligns with Bergen's vision of creating a low-car city center by encouraging more people to choose cycling and walking over driving. The session will take place on Friday 21st June from 10:00 - 10:45 in MASTEL (Yellow Room). 👋 Attending the conference? We strongly recommend stopping by for the presentation and saying hello to Geir Ekeland Bartz-Johannessen! 🔗 More information about the session: https://lnkd.in/dWF8RTfq 🔗 Learn more about the Fyllingsdalen Tunnel: https://lnkd.in/dZKh8Cye #VC24 #ActiveMobility #ActiveCities

Yesterday was United Nations #WorldBicycleDay 🚲 World Bicycle Day draws attention to the benefits of using the bicycle - a simple, affordable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation. Cycling also contributes to cleaner air and less congestion, while providing a range of personal health benefits. 🤝 Within the Active Cities project, we bring together 8 Municipalities, 3 Knowledge Partners and citizens to prioritise active mobility, such as cycling, in the North Sea Region. 💡 Our most recent insight shone a light on how 3 of our Active Cities are encouraging younger generations to give cycling a try by designing and providing access to safe spaces to build confidence on bikes. 🚴♀️ Through the introduction of different bicycle playgrounds, Lunds kommun, City of Aarhus and Ville de Lille are aiming to teach their local children about the benefits of cycling, while delivering important safety lessons to remember when cycling through their cities. 🔗 Read more at https://lnkd.in/dbPhj7Rq and let us know how you promote #cycling in your local area!