Award success for urban innovators

The German city of Mönchengladbach was this week named one of the winners in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards 2020. Recognised for its creative efforts to engage with the city’s populations on how best to promote urban sustainability, Mönchengladbach also stood out for giving citizens a platform to voice their opinions and question decision making.

In turning car parking bays into recreational spaces where people could read, play mini golf, and park their bicycles, Mönchengladbach promotes change in a way citizens can be an integral part of. Which impressed the judges. Efforts that won it the title for larger municipalities, with Germany’s Lilienthal taking home the title for smaller municipalities.

The awards were announced by the European Commission, along with the 9th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award), won by Grenoble, and the EU Urban Road Safety Award, which went to Bilbao. 

European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, who hosted the online ceremony, available below, said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to all finalists and winners. Your inspiring achievements really show how cities and towns across Europe can improve people’s wellbeing by shifting towards cleaner, greener and more sustainable travel options for all. I invite others to follow this path and to join forces in building a mobility system for future generations that is smart, resilient, and does its share to achieve our ambitious emission reduction goals.”

For more, visit the mobility week website.