A successful INCLUSION mid-term dissemination event in Groningen (The Netherlands)

The event, titled “Making transport more accessible and inclusive for all: new approaches and solutions”, took place on 18 June, immediately after the SUMPs closing plenary.

The purpose of the event was to present the project’s main achievements in the first year and a half to a larger public, including transport planners and representatives from local authorities, user associations, advocacy groups and more. The project coordinator Michele Masnata from SOFTECO, Italy, presented INCLUSION  by analysing its background, objectives and the activities carried out so far.

Andrea Lorenzini from the project’s partner MemEx,  presented the INCLUSION Pilot Labs where innovative measures using ICT-enabled social innovation and other innovative approaches are being tested in order to meet the needs and requirements of vulnerable users. The Pilot Labs are six and located in the Rhein-Sieg (DE) and Flanders regions (BE), in Florence (IT) and Budapest (HU) Metropolitan areas, and in Cairngorms National Park (UK) and Barcelona’s conurbation (ES).

Do SUMPs promote inclusion and transport justice?

At the core of the open event, keynote speaker Karel Martens, Israel Institute of Technology (IL) & Radboud University (NL), outlined the interconnection between INCLUSION and the role of SUMPs in contributing to the fundamental goal of delivering transport solutions to everyone. Karel Martens underlined the importance to put accessibility and inclusiveness of transport at the core of sustainable urban mobility planning by moving from accessibility as an “act of charity” to accessibility as a mean of justice.

According to Professor Karel Martens, whereas as of today topics like traffic safety, environment protection and cost efficiency are carefully addressed within Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, accessibility is still left behind to a place where ambitious statements do not necessarily become objective results and do not respect the standard that vulnerable users deserve. As long as transport planners, authorities and representatives will not be eager to measure their delivery in regard to accessibility standards, there will not be transport justice for anyone.

On this page you can download all presentations.