Rethink how you move:
Health-Focused Clean Transport
Are you planning a city break this summer?
From Amsterdam to Milan, Europe’s cities boast incredible history and culture. But how are they coping with the climate crisis?
In a series of postcards, we draw attention to climate challenges facing urban areas, and innovative solutions to reduce emissions and improve health and wellbeing. With real examples from seven cities, these postcards prompt us to consider what the future could hold if green practices are taken on board across our continent – for both planetary and human health.
Ready to dream of a green, clean Europe? Download our postcards here and spread the word this summer:
- Solution: Extensive Cycling Infrastructure and Electric Vehicle Adoption
- Impact: Renowned for its cycling culture, Amsterdam’s network of bike lanes and facilities significantly reduces car use and emissions. The city’s push for electric vehicles aims to cut CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030.
- Solution: Superblocks
- Impact: Barcelona’s superblocks transform clusters of city blocks into green, pedestrian-friendly corridors, improving air quality, reducing noise, and fostering community interaction. This initiative could potentially save €1.6 billion annually and significantly reduce health issues.
- Solution: Green Mobility Plan
- Impact: Copenhagen’s strategy integrates bike lanes, public transport, and electric vehicles, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2025. This has promoted physical activity and reduced traffic congestion, enhancing overall public health.
- Solution: Car-Free City Centre reducing noise pollution
- Impact: The pedestrianisation of the city centre creates a safer, quieter, and more pleasant environment for residents and visitors, while cutting down on vehicle emissions and noise pollution. The city boasts over 540 square metres of public green space per inhabitant.
- Solution: Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)
- Impact: ULEZ drastically reduces air pollution by restricting high-emission vehicles from entering central London, encouraging the use of cleaner transport options like electric vehicles and public transit.
- Solution: Increasing green urban spaces through Milan’s Bosco Verticale
- Impact: Milan’s Bosco Verticale tower buildings are vibrant with biodiversity including 900 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 plants. This creates a microclimate, reducing heat by 2°C as well as reducing air pollution.
- Solution: Opening the Paris Seine Riverbanks to Pedestrians
- Impact: This initiative allows pedestrians to reclaim space and decarbonise transport leading to many benefits including reduced air and noise pollution, reduced urban heat, increased physical activity and enhanced public well-being.
Join Us in Promoting a Healthier Europe
By learning from these cities, we can drive change and promote policies that prioritise sustainable and healthy urban living across Europe.
Keen to learn more? Learn how clean transport solutions can revolutionise health outcomes in Europe by watching our event recording: ‘Prioritising Health in Europe’s Mobility Planning: Transformative Pathways Beyond 2024’. In this event, we explored critical connections between mobility policies and health to achieve better health for all.
We are dedicated to promoting clean air and a healthier planet. As part of our Medics4CleanAir coalition, a network of healthcare professionals across Europe advocating for improved air quality, we have launched a series of video interviews. These interviews spotlight pioneers in healthcare decarbonisation, featuring experts who share their top priorities for a cleaner, greener Europe.