New
Towards sustainable mobility and improving air quality
22. 03. 2022
Mobility
Transport is one of the important factors in the development of modern society and economy. However, it also has its dark side – the increase in individual car traffic, traffic jams, air pollution, increased noise, which ultimately leads to a deterioration in the health and quality of life of residents of cities and municipalities. The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Environmental Agency, as in 2021, also in 2022 prepared a series of workshops for representatives of local governments and the professional public focused on the issue of sustainable mobility, presenting examples of good practice in favor of improving air quality.
The current mobility model cuts more public spaces in favor of motorized transport, and therefore it is necessary for this to be redistributed more fairly and efficiently. Take away space for motorized transport, add more space for active forms of transport that are friendly to the environment and to improving the quality of life of the population, such as walking or cycling.
The modification and redistribution of public spaces is also closely related to the creation and maintenance of elements of green infrastructure, which, simply put, expresses the approach of connecting individual green areas at the level of cities and municipalities. Several studies indicate that in cities where residents have a high-quality network of green public spaces, there is a greater willingness to use active forms of mobility instead of cars.
The first of the mentioned workshops took place online on March 15, 2022, during which its participants could learn:
how to find out what can motivate a passenger to choose a more environmentally friendly means of transport and how to quantify the volume of passengers willing to change;
how the local government has dealt with sustainable mobility, how it incorporates elements of green infrastructure into projects and activities implemented in favor of sustainable mobility;
how to strive for safe roads for all and cities in which it will be better to live, experiences with communication with the public, local government, with partners and what projects can be implemented in favor of sustainable mobility from the perspective of a civic initiative;
about the new grant program from the Ekopolis Foundation We are Planting the Future - what plantings and where it supports, how local governments and communities of active citizens can get involved, examples of plantings along cycle routes and their specifics;
how it is possible to change the approach to the care of green infrastructure and public spaces, the importance of vegetation in improving air quality, how to implement green planting and the importance of the correct selection of species and maintenance of greenery.
· All presentations from the workshop are available at: https://www.populair.sk/sk/event/521
