Urban Mobility as an Engine for Change: European Innovation for Sustainable Cities

From northern capitals to tropical megacities, urban centers are bearing the brunt of 21^st century population growth and serving as laboratories for how people will live in the future. Will there be commuter bike routes, car-sharing services, smart roads, and self-driving buses in your future, or some other mix of technological, business, and policy innovation? Universities, companies, and cities in Europe are jointly pioneering approaches that could help shape the answer. While the dynamic life of a city intensifies environmental, economic, and social pressures, it can also catalyze smart solutions. Growth that could make a city less livable – through more air pollution and traffic jams, for example – could instead spur a transformation that improves local living conditions and benefits the global environment. Copenhagen anticipates 20 percent population growth by 2025, and plans to become carbon-neutral by that time. This session covers trends in urban mobility and shows how technological research, innovative policies, and cooperation can turn this challenge into a leverage point for constructive, locally appropriate change. In addition to highlighting the Copenhagen experience, speakers focus on trailblazing urban mobility initiatives of the EuroTech Universities Alliance, a strategic partnership of leading technical universities in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.