The SUM project hosted an event at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona on 5 November 2024, bringing together city representatives, mobility experts and stakeholders to discuss the design, evaluation and monitoring of mobility solutions in urban and peri-urban areas. The event provided a platform to share practical examples, explore stakeholder engagement strategies and highlight the integration of new mobility services.
The event began with an introduction by Dr Tamara Djukic, Arianna Americo and Iuliia Skorykova, providing an overview of the NMS cluster the SUM project and outlining the agenda. Representatives from cities such as Krakow, Amsterdam, Milan and Dresden shared their experiences in co-creating mobility solutions tailored to local needs. These discussions highlighted the importance of integrating shared mobility services and hubs with public transport, as highlighted by Diederik Basta from Amsterdam, to ensure accessibility and inclusivity across urban areas.
A recurring theme was the concept of mobility as a commons, presented by Walter Dresscher, who advocated a shift from treating people as consumers to engaging them as active citizens. Strengthening local initiatives and collaborative efforts emerged as essential to achieving sustainability and social cohesion. Charlotte Sprengel from Dresden showed how mobility solutions can be effectively embedded in broader urban frameworks, such as neighbourhood development.
The event also focused on evaluation and monitoring methods. Presenters shared tools and approaches for assessing the impact of mobility services, emphasising how such evaluations can improve planning and decision-making. Digital tools featured prominently, with presentations by Juan Angarita and Panagiotis G. Tzouras showing how simulation models and digital twin frameworks can improve transport planning.
Social impact was another focus. Discussions focused on ensuring societal acceptance of new mobility services, as presented by Cynthia Karaki and Lego Antoniou, who emphasised citizen-centred strategies to make projects more effective and inclusive. Milan’s participatory approach, presented by Valentino Sevino, further demonstrated how stakeholder involvement can support effective solutions such as low emission zones and shared mobility systems.
The event concluded with Dr Tamara Djukic presenting the Pan-European Open Platform for New Mobility Services. This initiative aims to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing across regions and provides a roadmap for cities to advance sustainable, inclusive and connected mobility ecosystem
