SMART-MR project start and KICK-OFF-MEETING, Press Release

Ljubljana, SLOVENIA – The newly launched Interreg Europe project SMART-MR (Sustainable measures for achieving resilient transportation in metropolitan regions), which is coordinated by Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, addresses the issue of transportation in urban areas, particularly metropolitan regions which generates congestion and vast greenhouse gas emissions and thus imposes enormous challenges upon authorities in providing healthy living conditions for inhabitants and a supportive environment for businesses. Thus, the overall objective of the SMART-MR is to support local and regional authorities in improving transport policies and providing sustainable measures for achieving resilient low-carbon transportation and mobility in metropolitan regions. This will be reached by four sequential sub-objectives: providing methods and tools for a participatory transport planning; translating urban mobility plans to the metropolitan region level; developing solutions for low-carbon station areas as intermodal nodes and areas of low-carbon freight and services; supporting sharing economy and innovative transport management for new sustainable modes of people’s mobility. The project is founded by European Regional Development Fund.

On May 5^th and 6^th, the lead partner will host the SMART-MR Kick-off-Meeting at hotel Slon in Ljubljana. In this regard ten project partners (Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Regional Development Agency of Ljubljana Urban Region, City of Oslo, Akershus County Council, Göteborg Region Association of Local Authorities, Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, BKK Centre for Budapest Transport, Metropolitan City of Rome, Porto Metropolitan Region, Barcelona Metropolitan Region) from eight metropolitan regions will gather in the meeting.

Project partners will share their experience in transport and mobility planning by organizing 7 topically interrelated workshops. For each workshop the partners will issue an in-depth analysis, describe good practices and organise a study visit. Practical experience will be presented and discussed, and policy recommendations developed. Through the project outputs, such as the guide on sustainable measures for achieving resilient transportation in metropolitan regions, selected good practice descriptions, and policy recommendations, and through dissemination events, such as political meetings, the final conference, and regional stakeholder meetings, SMART-MR contributes to Europe 2020 goals, Cohesion Policy, and the Interreg Europe Program by aiding managing authorities and regional and local authorities in setting new transport and mobility policies. In particular, metropolitan regions will prepare and implement action plans to improve the implementation of transport policies in their respective regions.