"Calm city, urban uses" - return on the online conference of February 3 February 3, 2022

OPENING of the day and interview with Vincent Kaufmann

After an introduction by the representatives of the three three partner organizations, the conference started with an interview with an interview of Vincent Kaufmann (professor at at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Director of the Urban Sociology Laboratory), entitled "A car-free city is possible".

Session 1 Traffic Reduction: A Citywide Strategy

The desire to reduce access for traffic can take many forms. In some northern European cities, it is a comprehensive strategy that discourages all transit in the extended centre with a reversal of the hierarchy of travel modes, a traffic plan creating of travel modes, a traffic plan that creates watertight sectors, and a policy of lowering speeds and promotingand cycling.

• In Ghent (Belgium), to go from one neighbourhood to another from one neighbourhood to another by car, you have to take a main road that bypassing the city center: this method has This method has reduced air pollution in the center This method has reduced air pollution in the center, encouraged modal shift, and freed up space for other functions.

• With the range and scope of its measures, Oslo offers a unique and interesting example of an integrated approach to urban development. Oslo's "car-freelivability" program is a crucial factor in the strategy to create a greener, more vibrant and inclusive city.

Note: for these two examples, Ghent and Oslo, the political teams that led these initiatives were re-elected.

SESSION 2 - Low-traffic neighbourhoods: a fundamental trend

The overall policy of reclaiming public space means that motorists must adapt to the new urban morphology and not the other way around. This priority given to public space can be found in the action taken in many European cities.

• Barcelona has chosen, with the super-islands, to privilege the proximity of the living environment. Within these public space it is redesigned for the enjoyment of residents. Motorized vehicles excluded, with the exception of residents and deliveries.

• In the Netherlands to discourage undesirable through traffic residential areas or on small local roads in the countryside, screening devices are the country, filtering devices are deployed on a large scale: bollards (retractable or not), alternating directions, "modal" locks (which traffic but remain open to cyclists and pedestrians), camera systems also.

• The Brussels region is adopting a mobility plan "Good Move": with a principle of calm neighbourhoods to offer quality public spaces, allow residents to reclaim the city and reduce nuisances in the neighbourhoods. These districts will be oxygen bubbles with vegetation, terraces, meeting places, playgrounds...

At the end of this session, you will also find on the following REPLAY video, the lessons of the morning summarized by Catherine Pilon, General Secretary of the club of cycleable and walkable cities and territories.

SESSION 3 - Streets for all: citizen dynamics

The reappropriation of public space, whether it be of "free districts or streets", of "children's streets", of "school streets", "children's streets", "school streets", has been developed for several years in different countries. countries. In the same way, various developments and the simple enjoyment of a public space or the simple enjoyment of a public space of proximity, are made possible by decisions regarding parking or parking or improvement of the living environment. À through an inventory of the notion of "street for all" in Europe, Rue de l'avenir shows the diversity of models and the multiple movements, or associations, which are committed in different citiesto fight against pollution, improve the safety of walking and cycling in theneighborhood, and to allow a daily reappropriation of public space by inhabitants on a daily basis. This is followed by several testimonies.

• That of the association Eixample Respira Barcelona, a citizen movement that fights against the pollution caused by car traffic in the vicinity of schools schools;

• that of a collective of parents of students in Orléans which militates for the development of of school streets;

• the advisory commission on bicycle mobility and mobility and traffic calming in Turin and traffic calming in Turin, which is an interesting interesting example of shared work between elected officials and residents.

SESSION 4 - Micro-amenities: a reappropriation of spaces

Temporary occupation of parking spaces during the Park'ing Day event or during summer terraces, playful paintings on the ground in Turin, transitory development of the Dergano square in Milan, participatory installation of modular furniture in Stockholm, gardening at the foot of facades, etc. through a European panorama, Cerema and Rue de l'Avenir show the diversity of the diversity of projects covered by the term "micro-development".These light and rapid interventions contribute to the reappropriation of public space, but they also raise questions: what is the durability, what is the acceptability, how to avoid degradation, or how to maintain a good level of accessibility?

Two testimonies complete this panorama and point out the interest but also the questions raised by these "micro-developments :

• The association Envie de Quartier in Strasbourg, shows the capacity of citizens to to garden, to maintain vegetated spaces. And this, while ensuring a perennial involvement and an improvement of the quality of life in the neighbourhood.

• The design agency Really illustrates the issues related to the appropriation of users, the aesthetics of experimental devices, or evaluation, with numerous transitional projects carried out in Belgium and in France.

ROUND TABLE - "How to meet the challenges of the City": the vision of 3 elected officials

Closing the online conference, a round table discussion brings together :

• Elke Van den Brandt, Minister of Brussels Capital Region in charge of mobility, works and road safety,

• Frédérique Perler, Mayor of Geneva in charge of development, buildings and mobility,

• Valentin Lugenstrass, Deputy Mayor of Lyon in charge of mobility, urban logistics and public spaces.

30 km/h speed limit, elimination of through traffic in of transit traffic in the neighbourhoods, development of public transport, bicycle facilities, etc. These three large European cities are different in size, history, car ownership motorization rate and the mentality of their inhabitants, their modes of governance. But all three are committed to policies to reduce accidents, pollution, traffic congestion pollution and noise and to improve quality of life of their inhabitants. Courageous political decisions have to be explained: motorists, who often come from the suburbs or other regions, must be convinced. For them to succeed, solutions must also be devised that involve the inhabitants in the elaboration of public policies of mobility.

The three elected officials participating in the round table share their experiences.