Just a stone’s throw away from the old gasholder – a symbol of Berlin’s past reliance on fossil fuels – an event held on November 15 was dedicated to sustainable cities and future forms of mobility. A report on the “Decarbonising Transport: Smart Mobility Innovation for Sustainable Cities” conference.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport invited a range of parties to attend a conference at the EUREF-Campus in Schöneberg, Berlin. The title of the event was “Decarbonising Transport: Smart Mobility Innovation for Sustainable Cities.” The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport invited a range of parties to attend a conference at the EUREF-Campus in Schöneberg, Berlin. The title of the event was “Decarbonising Transport: Smart Mobility Innovation for Sustainable Cities.” Experts, scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and representatives from a range of companies met to discuss carbon-neutral forms of mobility and the future of sustainable cities. The main question was how the “modal shift” can take place. Mobility experts use this term to describe the transformation of transportation structures in modern cities. Until recently, personal means of transportation shaped the structure of urban spaces. In the future, however, there needs to be multimodal, collaborative, and networked forms of transport so that people can be flexible and combine several modes of transport on the same route or journey.
Transportation will change in future
In his opening speech, Dr. Philipp Bouteiller, CEO of Tegel Projekt GmbH, outlined the direction of the future. People continue to move into cities around the world, and there is no sign that this trend will change. This creates a need for new approaches and solutions with respect to energy, resources, and mobility.
#berlin ist the capital of #transformation and its future is electric and #renewable @philipptxl at #SmartMobility conference
— Berlin TXL (@B_TXL) November 15, 2016
Electricity from renewable sources provides the key foundation for a successful transformation of the mobility sector. According to Philipp Bouteiller, people have to lose their fear of electric solutions. Only in this way will the transportation of tomorrow deliver the promise of being “automated, emission-free, and collaborative.” As we head toward the modal shift, he argued, existing forms of zero-emission mobility should be promoted more effectively. Philipp Bouteiller called on cities to make bicycle traffic a priority, among other things.
.@philipptxl at #DecarbonisingTransport #SmartMobility conference: bicycles must enjoy priority in #futurecitys pic.twitter.com/Rl3js5BvHX
— Berlin TXL (@B_TXL) November 15, 2016
In addition to many good ideas, those attending the “Decarbonising Transport” conference were able to get a clear idea of the future of mobility. A minibus called Olli, produced by Local Motors, already moves around the EUREF-Campus site without a human driver, controlled by sensors and generating no emissions. Although this vehicle is still being tested in operation, mobility solutions like Olli are set to become a central element of multimodal transport.
Amazing talk from @DamienDeclercq of @localmotors on how co-creation can power #autonomous #shared #mobility #decarbonisingtransport pic.twitter.com/9RH6VJlouu
— City Car Summit (@citycarsummit) November 15, 2016
There was broad consensus in a discussion about public involvement: without fairness and opportunities for participation, cities will not have a successful future. For all its multimodal potential, a networked city also needs the understanding and acceptance of local citizens. Big data would not able to combat the resistance of the people. The smart city mantra of Antoni Vives, founder of City Transformation Agency – Barcelona, was met with strong approval.
The Mantra of @AVivesT at #DecarbonisingTransport #SmartMobility conference! pic.twitter.com/9hdyM6NYRr
— Berlin TXL (@B_TXL) November 15, 2016
The health consequences of conventional forms of mobility were also discussed. Florian Lennert, director of Intelligent City, summed up the controversy in a pithy argument, claiming that people had no right to drive their children around in an SUV and thus endanger the health of others. Given that smoking on the street is forbidden, he believes it makes even less sense that the diesel trucks delivering cigarettes are still allowed to drive through inner-city areas.
Cars should carry health warnings. We ban cigarettes in public, but deliver them in diesel trucks? #DecarbonisingTransport @disruptmobility pic.twitter.com/9kH58VsRlN
— Philipp Bouteiller (@philipptxl) November 15, 2016
The impact of car sharing on the modal shift was another question discussed among the panel. Car sharing has caused the number of private car registrations to fall, and people can now experience vehicles with an electric drive system in everyday life. However, it is still up for debate whether such developments are reducing traffic on the roads. People who previously used only public transportation or a bicycle sometimes switch to a car because of car sharing opportunities. Here, too, the focus is on networking. Wolfgang Gruel, representing Car2Go, asked that people no longer see public and private transportation as two distinct units. Instead, he argued, it is important to concentrate on collaboration in order to harness the potential of multimodal solutions.
"Public and private transport must stop working and thinking in silos to enable multimodal connections" – @twilfgang pic.twitter.com/QOV0mmDgAu
— Lukas Neckermann (@LNeckermann) November 15, 2016
At the end of the conference, Philipp Rode from the London School of Economics stressed the need to think differently and without bias. Only in this way will it be possible to create new and sustainable forms of mobility.
