Just Transition x SMC Platform and Active Travel & Health Webinar: Breaking Free—Reducing car reliance in Small and Medium-sized Cities
The second webinar of the new Just Transition Webinar series on transport poverty and mobility justice, titled 'Breaking Free—Reducing car reliance in Small and Medium-sized Cities', will explore how small and medium-sized cities (SMCs) can reduce forced car ownership and expand mobility choices, even in peri-urban and rural contexts where alternatives remain limited.
Organised by the Small and Medium-sized Cities Platform and the Active Travel & Health Working Group, with the support of the Just Transition Taskforce, this webinar will take place on 23 October 2025, 10:00 - 11:30 CEST.
SMCs face unique challenges compared to larger metropolitan areas: lower density, fewer resources, and infrastructure gaps often make it difficult to achieve modal shift goals. Yet these cities also hold enormous potential to lead the way in designing innovative, inclusive mobility solutions that reduce car dependency.
Through practical case studies and diverse perspectives, the webinar will showcase bold strategies from pioneering cities and organisations committed to urban transformation. From creative policies and demand management measures to low-cost interventions that empower citizens, this discussion will provide both inspiration and practical guidance on how SMCs can rethink mobility and chart a just transition away from car dependence.
Meet our speakers
- Wieger Postma (City of Leeuwarden)
- Annarita Leserri (Pinbike)
- Isabel Garnika (City of Vitoria-Gasteiz)
- George Gorgogetas (e-trikala)
Moderated by Ingeborg Bennink, EU Project Advisor at the EU Office at Cities Northern Netherlands
About the Just Transition Webinar Series
The Just Transition Webinar Series brings the Just Transition Agenda to life—advancing safer, more accessible, and more inclusive urban mobility.
Launched by POLIS in 2021, the series provides a platform for cities, regions, and stakeholders to explore how principles such as inclusion, diversity, affordability, gender, age, and cognitive accessibility can—and must—shape the mobility systems of tomorrow. Each session tackles a key dimension of mobility justice, from parking and freight to active travel and safety.
This new edition focuses on transport poverty, examining how cities and regions can confront mobility injustice through targeted, inclusive local action. Building on POLIS’ policy paper on the SCF, the series highlights strategies at the intersection of climate, equity, and mobility—showcasing concrete pathways to fair, sustainable, and structural change.
For any questions, please contact Alessia Giorgiutti, AGiorgiutti@polisnetwork.eu, Laura Babío, LBabio@polisnetwork.eu, Claudia Ribeiro, CRibeiro@polisnetwork.eu, Marina Martin Vilches, MMartin@polisnetwork.eu, and Andréia Lopes Azevedo, ALopes@polisnetwork.eu.
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