by Walther Ploos van Amstel
For many years, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) focused primarily on moving people. Walking, cycling, public transport, and private cars dominated the discussion, while urban freight was often reduced to a few pages on deliveries or low-emission zones. The third edition of the Guidelines for Developing and Implementing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan marks a …
Cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, London and Paris were built on water, yet largely stopped using it as a means of transport in the twentieth century. With urban densification, climate adaptation and zero-emission targets converging, water deserves a mature place in the urban mobility mix; not as a tourist sideshow, but as a functional, affordable and …
City authorities across Europe are under growing pressure to make urban logistics more sustainable. Zero-emission zones, last-mile delivery regulations, and climate targets are multiplying. Yet despite this political momentum, most cities continue to handle logistics in a fragmented, reactive way. Why is progress so slow? A new study from the Norwegian Center for Transport Research …
The car-free pilot on Weesperstraat (‘de knip’) will become the watershed in Amsterdam’s mobility policy. Last week in the City Council debate, it became clear again how the pilot with the knip continues to divide Amsterdammers and that a genuine vision is lacking. Everything was dragged into the debate by the alderman and council members. …
Local authorities have five roles in city logistics: regulate and enforce, facilitate, stimulate, coordinate, and experiment. What eight elements should be in every city logistics plan? Those plans should provide clear guidance for companies in, for example, construction, facilities, parcel, service logistics, and circular flows; what is in store for them? What problems do you …
To support the transition to cleaner, greener, and smarter mobility, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted four proposals that will modernize the EU’s transport system. By increasing connectivity and shifting more passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways, by supporting the roll-out of charging points, alternative refueling …
Since the first edition of the SUMP Guidelines was published in late 2013, it has acted as the main European reference document for urban transport and mobility practitioners involved in the development and implementation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).
Sustainable and energy efficient transport of passengers and goods has become a major concern of policymakers worldwide. A new paper by researchers from the University of Maribor and the Institute for Transport and Logistics ITL in Bologna examines the current policies and measures for sustainable urban freight transport in 129 European cities.
In order to enable mobility planning authorities across Europe to embrace the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) as the European-wide strategic planning approach, both the Civitas Prosperity and SUMPs-Up projects consider the role of the national and regional levels as essential for supporting SUMP take-up. This support encompasses governance, financing and capacity building.
A new paper looks on common practices in current urban logistics planning in Scandinavia and the UK, and the degree to which SUTP (Sustainable Urban Transport Plan), SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans) and SULP (Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans). It is found that urban freight plans are used more frequently in the UK than in the Scandinavian …