Cyclurban+: Mobility Change, not Climate Change

Daša Barteková

Goal

Promoting cycling as an important means of urban transportation on the local and national levels in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Project

To foster cycling in urban transport, Cycleurban+ targets municipal staff and decision-makers as well as institutions at the national level to overcome the traditionally car-oriented perspective on urban development.

Cyclurban project group with bicycles in Bratislava; photo: Daša Barteková

Over 14 months, the project initiates several measures to promote the transition of the transport sector in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, focusing on Bratislava and Brno as examples of implementation. First, it holds workshops and seminars for planners and decision-makers. Second, it provides an online platform for funding cycling projects and infrastructure to municipalities in both countries. Third, policy briefs with suggestions for effective cycling enhancing measures are provided. For Slovakia, they work with a database that monitors cycling accidents and helps to identify and eliminate dangerous spots. In Brno, a Bicycle Policy Audit will be carried out to evaluate the cities cycling policies and develop proposals on how to overcome weaknesses. Additionally, NGOs and other cycling advocacy groups in both countries will be supported by the exchange of knowledge and dissemination of successful approaches.

Cyclists in the city centre; photo: Jolanda Lipu, BEF Estonia

Background

The project builds on the learnings and results of the predecessor project Cyclurban. Still, the transport sector, being accountable for around 20 per cent of the GHG emission in the EU, did not make much progress in reducing its emissions in the last years. The number of cars is still rising, and transportation alternatives are not yet attractive enough.

In the targeted countries, cycling is currently not integrated into urban transport systems and is perceived as an alternative instead of a fully-fledged mode of transport. Besides, owning a car is closely connected to the status of a person, making it a source of self-esteem. As a result, the number of cars in cities has doubled over the past 20 years, and access to cycling is ad hoc or isolated.

There is a lack of a system-oriented and integrated approach to ensure that people are willing to switch from cars to bicycles. The project wants to overcome this and change the mind-set of transport-related decision-makers based on their increased capacities and foster a change in transport planning.

Project information

Updated: March 2020

Countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia

Project duration: 10/19 - 12/21

Funding: 246,890 €

Target groups: Cities, towns and municipalities, Civil Society, Companies, Experts, Investors, Private sector

Implementing organisation:
Baltic Environmental Forum Germany e.V.

Partners: Cyclokoalicia, Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation, ideas into energy gemeinnützige GmbH (IIE)

Project Webseite: cyclurban.eu/

Contact Person

Mr. Matthias Grätz

Organisation:

Baltic Environmental Forum Deutschland e.V.

Address:

Osterstr. 58

20259 Hamburg

Germany

Email: matthias.graetz∂bef-de.org

EUKI

The European Climate Initiative (EUKI):

Potsdamer Platz 10,
10117 Berlin – Deutschland
Tel.: +49 (0)30 338424 570
info∂euki.de

The European Climate Initiative (EUKI):

This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). EUKI is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The EUKI competition for project ideas is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on the EUKI: www.euki.de

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