PRESS RELEASE: 2015 Polis Conference calls for fully using potential of urban mobility in making the city smarter
European Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness said at the conference’s Opening Plenary on “Smart Cities. What’s in a name?”: “Talented people want to work in smart sustainable cities. Polis is a crucial network in helping cities to share and to get access to know-how and proven practice in other countries than their own.”
At the conference today, Polis also launched its new policy paper “Sustainable Urban Mobility and the Smart City”. The paper states that the role and potential of urban mobility in making the city smarter is currently not sufficiently recognised. Karen Vancluysen, Polis Secretary General said at the plenary session: “The Smart City knows what it wants, knows how to intervene, is interested to assess results and change course if needed, and in this process is able to take everybody along. (…) The current European framework for Smart Cities, with focus on ICT, Energy and Transport is rather narrow. ICT is an enabler of many smart mobility measures, but still, not all transport solutions need ICT to make them smart.”
“Smart cities is going to be more than technology. We therefore encourage and support Polis to put the citizens at the heart of a smart cities vision”, said Jon Lamonte, CEO Transport for Greater Manchester and Chair Passenger Transport Executive Group.
The 2015 Polis Conference is taking place today and tomorrow, 19-20 November, and entitled “Innovation in Transport for Sustainable Cities and Regions”. It has also marked the launch of Polis’ new ‘Global Platform’ allowing local governments from beyond Europe to become associated Polis members, the release of the latest edition of 'Thinking Cities', a magazine jointly published by Polis and H3B media, and the launch of the CH4LLENGE project’s SUMP self-assessment tool.
The Polis Conference is an important annual highlight for urban mobility professionals. It provides an opportunity for cities and regions to showcase their transport achievements to an international audience, and for the wider transport community to engage with representatives of local and regional authorities on innovative transport solutions.
For more information, please contact Polis:
Dagmar Köhler
Polis Communication Manager
Rue du Trone 98, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
dkoehler@polisnetwork.eu