About the call

Within the context of this ERA-NET, sustainable urban accessibility and connectivity are defined as the ease with which activities and opportunities may be reached in an urban transport system, with lower negative environmental impacts. Network connectivity reflects the directness of routes, using different modes to travel between points. It applies to both passenger and freight transport.

The dramatic consequences of the climate crisis are already starting to become visible, making it apparent that swift and effective actions to reduce GHG emissions are unavoidable. Urban transport is a major contributor to GHG emissions and thus calls for a significant reduction, especially in a highly urbanised continent like Europe. Innovative solutions are required for cities of all types and sizes, with new options for managing access as means for accelerating their transitions towards attractive and climate-neutral places for living. Doing so will be key for necessary traffic avoidance and create the freedom to redistribute the precious (while always limited) space of urban streets to sustainable transport modes and high-quality public space.

This call opened at the beginning of 2022 and closed in September 2022. The projects started in January 2023, and are expected to end by the third quarter of 2025.

Call topics

Topic 1: Utilising untapped potentials and mainstreaming of measures for managing urban accessibility
The access to urban areas is key for vital city quarters as it allows the exchange of goods and services as well as the free choice of working places. Due to limited public space, a free access for all types of mobility leads to congestion, bad air quality and the loss of liveability. Consequentially, cities started to manage the access for motorised traffic with a concept known as Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVAR). In doing so, they experienced that certain forms of regulations have to go hand in hand with complementary measures, such as strengthening public transport, active mobility or alternative forms of mobility. The type of measures and their possible effects widely depend on the granularity of the regulations, be it the macroscopic (citywide) or the microscopic (quarters or blocks) level. In this context, the impact of certain measures and their interrelation among each other is under-researched.

Topic 2: Making measures for managing urban accessibility accepted and participatory

When changing to sustainable urban mobility in general and introducing access management measures in particular, cities experienced the necessity of involving the public as key for the measure’s success. While there is a good understanding on the communication requirements for citywide-level measures, the stakeholder involvement for small-scale schemes on the quarter and block level follows different rules that are not widely known. The effects of digitalising participation processes, social scientific monitoring and new governance principles are just some aspects that mark this terrain.

Topic 3: Making measures for managing urban accessibility more agile

There is a fair understanding of monitoring the effects of sustainable urban mobility measures in the course of SUMP cycles, though these cycles allow re-adjustments afters years of operation. Innovative urban accessibility measures promise a more reactive behaviour, giving new tools and instruments in urban decision taker’s hands. In order to transfer agile urban accessibility measures into urban routine, experience needs to be gained regarding feasibility, acceptance, impact, or practicability.

Topic 4: Making measures for managing urban accessibility effective, robust and impactful

Maximising the effects of sustainable urban mobility measures encompasses an iterative monitoring and control based on the effects achieved. While the SUMP cycle foresees no related methodology, more recent indicator-based approaches such as SUMI  imply new instruments and tools for city administrations that need to be included into urban routine. Particularly in the context of urban accessibility and its different scales, this matter is under-researched.

Timeline

Call opening 7 April 2022
Full proposal deadline 15 September 2022
Eligibility check September 2022
Meeting of Expert Panel to assess proposals November 2022
Funding recommendation November 2022
Earliest start of projects January 2023

Funded projects

ACCTRA – Evidence and acceptance – from experiments to transformation

StreetForum – Transforming streets into accessible urban oases through consensus building with digital and analogue tools

TAAM – Toolbox for Agile urban Accessibility Management

TollsThatWork – City tolls that work

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Documents

> Call text
> List of national contact points
> Flyer
> Call presentation
> Project catalogue

Events in this call

See previous events here.

Information webinar

Information webinar on April 27th 2021.

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Call secretariat

If you have questions please contact the Call Secretariat:

Johannes Bockstefl
johannes.bockstefl@ffg.at
+43 5 77 55 5042

Björn Svensby Kurling
bjorn.svensbykurling@vinnova.se
+46 8 4733148

Funding Agencies and national contact points

List of national contact points