Believe it or not, implementing a safe and reliable pedestrian infrastructure is not an easy task. Such projects require collaboration among many cities and countries, extensive research, a lot of time, and, let’s face it, monetary means. But still, EU funded projects are of great importance – they enable positive changes. Read about such projects in this quick and compact overview.
There have been numerous valuable projects established and initiated already in a variety of fields – and each year, many more projects are coming out. What follows is a list of some of these projects, specifically focusing on improving pedestrian infrastructure and promoting walking as a sustainable means of transport. CityChangers.org focuses on sustainable urbanisation and mobility, therefore this list doesn’t include projects about the biological and cognitive aspects of walking.
Databases used for research and information on projects were CORDIS, TRIMIS, KEEP.EU and CIVITAS.
ACCESS2MOUNTAIN
- EU funding: €1,889,049.99
- Overall budget: €2,222,411.75
- Timeframe: 2006-2013
- Countries involved: 12 (Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Slovenia, Belgium, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia)
- Aim: to achieve durable, environmentally friendly tourism and to ensure accessibility and connection to, between and in sensitive regions of the Alps and the Carpathians
- Bonus features: list of international events and project website
ACTIVE ACCESS
- Timeframe: 2009-2012
- Countries involved: 12 (Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, UK)
- Aim: to encourage walking and cycling for short trips, instead of using cars, to improve health and local economy
- Bonus feature: organization website
ACTIVE TRAVEL NETWORK
- EU funding: €477,712.00
- Overall budget: €647,660.00
- Timeframe: 2007-2013
- Countries involved: 7 (Austria, Italy, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Denmark, Romania)
- Aim: to tackle transport problems by promoting walking and cycling in small and medium-sized cities
- Bonus feature: project website
ALLEGRO
- EU funding: €2,458,700
- Overall budget: €2,458,700
- Countries involved: 1 (Netherlands)
- Aim: to establish a theory of slow mode traffic behaviour, considering the different behavioural levels relevant for understanding, reproducing, and predicting slow mode traffic flows in cities
- Bonus feature: project website
ASTUTE
- Overall budget: €1,800,000
- Timeframe: 2006-2009
- Countries involved: 6 (UK, Hungary, Ireland, Spain, Austria, Italy)
- Aim: to increase cycling and walking, to understand barriers when it comes to walking and cycling promotion, and to develop and publish a ‘toolkit’ of actions to overcome these barriers
- Bonus feature: project factsheet
cities.multimodal
- EU funding: €2,953,637.50
- Overall budget: €3,783,950.00
- Timeframe: 2014-2020
- Countries involved: 8 (Germany, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, Estonia)
- Aim: to make it easier for people in cities around the Baltic Sea to combine walking, cycling, public transport, and car-sharing as an environmentally friendly alternative to driving
- Bonus feature: project website
CIVITAS ELAN
- EU funding: €17,841,239
- Overall budget: €28,640,762
- Timeframe: 2008-2012
- Countries involved: 8 (Slovenia, Portugal, Croatia, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic)
- Aim: to solve problems of congestion, improve public transport quality, and increase the share of walking and cycling, etc.
- Bonus feature: project website
CONNECT
- Timeframe: 2007-2010
- Countries involved: 8 (Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, UK)
- Aim: to encourage children, pupils, and parents to travel to school using sustainable modes, to develop and disseminate mobility management measures for young people
- Bonus feature: organization website
CYCLEWALK
- EU funding: €1,352,627.95
- Overall budget: €1,591,327.00
- Timeframe: 2017-2021
- Countries involved: 4 (Romania, Italy, Austria, Lithuania)
- Aim: to improve the planning of cycling and walking as modes of transport in urban and functional urban areas
- Bonus features: list of project events and project website
DEPICT
- Timeframe: 2016-2019
- Countries involved: 3 (Brazil, Netherlands, UK)
- Aim: to determine the features of urban cities and how walking and cycling infrastructures can be optimised for sustainable urban mobility
- Bonus feature: organization website
DTP1-045-3.1 CityWalk
- EU funding: €1,895,151.92
- Overall budget: €2,229,590.50
- Timeframe: 2014-2020
- Countries involved: 9 (Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia)
- Aim: to improve the key conditions of walkability in the Danube Region
- Bonus feature: organization website
ECO²Mobility
- EU funding: €248,344.00
- Overall budget: €248,344.00
- Timeframe: 2007-2013
- Countries involved: 4 (France, Netherlands, Belgium, UK)
- Aim: for individuals to travel by alternative modes (e.g. walking) in an environmentally friendly, safe and healthy way
- Bonus feature: organization website
FLOW
- EU funding: €3,781,696
- Overall budget: €3,781,697.38
- Timeframe: 2015-2018
- Countries involved: 8 (Germany, Belgium, UK, Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Portugal, Bulgaria)
- Aim: to bring walking and cycling on an equal level with motorised transportation to tackle urban congestion, to develop a user-friendly methodology to track successes of walking and cycling measures
- Fun fact: The FLOW project awarded the FLOW Congestion Reduction Award to the consultancy Goudappel Coffeng for the most creative use of the FLOW tools to improve the ability to assess walking and cycling in congestion reduction.
- Bonus feature: project website
IAAPE
- Overall budget: €44,575
- Timeframe: 2013-2015
- Countries involved: 1 (Portugal)
- Aim: to find suitable pedestrian accessibility and attractiveness indicators for walkability assessment and management
- Bonus feature: project website
ICMA
- EU funding: €3,566,241.20
- Overall budget: €7,324,325.40
- Countries involved: 7 (UK, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany)
- Aim: to affect modal choice at the beginning and end of a journey in order to reduce the environmental footprint of transport, with the consideration of all travel options (including walking and cycling)
- Bonus feature: project website
MOBLE
- Timeframe: 2018-2020
- Countries involved: 1 (Austria)
- Aim: to develop a design for local and target groups based adequate ‘smart seating’ suitable for short breaks to improve the attractiveness of walking
- Bonus feature: organization website
Neuer Steg Rheinfelden
- EU funding: €276,765.07
- Overall budget: €461,275.13
- Timeframe: 2014-2019
- Countries involved: 1 (Germany)
- Aim: to build a new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the Rhine, to create a connection between Germany and Switzerland across the natural border for cyclists and pedestrians
- Bonus feature: organization website
NEWCOMPACTISM
- Funding: €185,363
- Timeframe: 2012-2014
- Countries involved: 1 (Netherlands)
- Aim: to investigate the relationships between urban micro- and macro-scale effects on travel behaviour (e.g. car usage, walking, cycling)
- Bonus feature: organization website
PARENZANA II
- EU funding: €520,612.05
- Overall budget: €612,484.76
- Timeframe: 2007-2013
- Countries involved: 2 (Croatia, Slovenia)
- Aim: to preserve the old railway track in Slovenia and Croatia and the simultaneous construction of infrastructure for the cycling path intended for recreation and sport, to reduce the burden on the road transport and introduce ecologically more favourable forms of transport, such as walking and cycling
- Bonus feature: more about Parenzana (history, museums, attractions, events, etc.) and the project
PASTA
- EU funding: €742,000
- Overall budget: €1,456,533
- Timeframe: 2000-2003
- Countries involved: 6 (Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium)
- Aim: to promote walking in cities through developing new innovative tools and generic solutions for problem identification, design, planning and implementation of considered measures, to find solutions for urban problems in cities across Europe
- Bonus features: more about the project at From Pasta to Mimosa: Summary of Major EU Transport Projects and project website
PK309
- EU funding: €2,968,000
- Overall budget: €5,936,000
- Timeframe: 2016-2019
- Countries involved: 2 (France, Germany)
- Aim: to construct a safe crossing over the Rhine between Gambsheim and Rheinau for pedestrians and cyclists
- Bonus feature: PASSAGE309 tourism region introduction
PROMPT
- EU funding: €742,000
- Overall budget: €1,456,533
- Timeframe: 2000-2003
- Countries involved: 6 (Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium)
- Aim: to promote walking in cities through developing new innovative tools and generic solutions for problem identification, design, planning and implementation of considered measures, to find solutions for urban problems in cities across Europe
- Bonus feature: organization website
SAFER BRAIN
- Timeframe: 2009-2012
- Countries involved: 7 (Italy, India, Brazil, Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Germany)
- Aim: to increase the level of safety of the whole road transport system and its components, focusing the attention on vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists)
- Bonus feature: organization website
SicherMobil
- Timeframe: 2018-2019
- Countries involved: 2 (Austria, Germany)
- Aim: to investigate ways to increase attractiveness of sustainable forms of mobility by improving safety (e.g. walking in the night)
- Bonus feature: project website
Sislum
- EU funding: €50,000
- Overall budget: €71,429
- Timeframe: 2019
- Countries involved: 1 (Spain)
- Aim: improve visibility of traffic lights in high-traffic areas and reduce road casualties, especially among pedestrians
- Fun fact: Sislum proposes the very first Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to increase road safety, crosswalk visibility and reducing road accidents by up to 70%
- Bonus feature: project website
Smart Circular Bridge (SCB)
- EU funding: €3,933,495.75
- Overall budget: €6,856,015.20
- Timeframe: 2019-ongoing (2023)
- Countries involved: 4 (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France)
- Aim: to build Smart Circular Bridges for pedestrians and cyclists in a circular built environment
- Bonus feature: organization website
Smart Pedestrian Net
- Overall budget: €984,928
- Timeframe: 2017-2020
- Countries involved: 4 (Portugal, Italy, Austria, Cyprus)
- Aim: to improve walkability in cities and to provide a model to help European cities to improve walkability as one of the important dimensions of smart, sustainable, and inclusive development
- Bonus feature: project website
SoMoMut
- Timeframe: 2012-2015
- Countries involved: 1 (Portugal)
- Aim: to define and create a new tool for estimating pedestrian and cyclists’ indicators in urban areas, considering time and distance and including local pollutant inhalation and energy consumption
- Bonus feature: project website
SPATIAL METRO
- EU funding: €5,402,636.00
- Overall budget: €11,950,824.00
- Timeframe: 2000-2006
- Countries involved: 4 (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany)
- Aim: to provide a way of making cities and their component elements legible and navigable for visitors and local people through ‘metro’ style maps.
- Bonus feature: organization website
SWITCH
- Timeframe: 2014-2016
- Countries involved: 8 (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, UK, Romania, Poland, Slovenia)
- Aim: encouraging a switch from car-based to active mobility using personalised information and communication technology approaches
- Bonus feature: organization website
TRACE
- EU funding: €3,781,696
- Overall budget: €3,781,697.38
- Timeframe: 2015-2018
- Countries involved: 8 (Germany, Belgium, UK, Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Portugal, Bulgaria)
- Aim: to increase and improve ICT tracking services for better promotion of cycling and walking in cities
- Bonus features: TRACE video animation, project website and guidebook for mobility planning
TRENDSETTER
- EU funding: €10,451,498
- Overall budget: €35,686,495
- Timeframe: 2006
- Countries involved: 5 (Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary)
- Aim: to promote the use of public transport and other alternatives to private cars but also show new ways to improve goods logistics and efficiency
- Bonus features: specific project under TRENDSETTER, called ‘Introducing strolling zones’, with designing of new strolling zones for pedestrians while also offering access to cyclists and not totally excluding car use, and project website
TSG NETWORK
- Traffic Snake Game Network
- Timeframe: 2014-2017
- Countries involved: 18 (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, UK)
- Aim: encourage walking and cycling to school, with primary school children, parents and teachers being the main target group, by using Traffic Snake Game as a tool for changing the travel behaviour of primary school children (age 6-12)
- Fun fact: TSG NETWORK won the Sustainable Energy Europe Award in 2009
- Bonus feature: project website
UG315
- Timeframe: 2000-2004
- Countries involved: 1 (UK)
- Aim: to make selected country lanes more attractive for walking, cycling, horse riding, in the interests of a more tranquil and attractive rural environment Norfolk and Kent
UrbanDynamics
- EU funding: €50,000
- Overall budget: €71,429
- Timeframe: 2019
- Countries involved: 1 (Netherlands)
- Aim: to develop a real-time traffic monitoring and managing system to recognise, track, and analyse the behaviour of all urban traffic participants, including bicycles and pedestrians
- Bonus feature: organisation website
VISIONS 2030
- Timeframe: 2008-2012
- Countries involved: 1 (UK)
- Aim: to examine ways in which more people might be encouraged to walk and cycle in the future, what is needed to support this and how to improve the experience for those who already use these modes
- Bonus features: animated visions of future streets and project website
Walk Your City
- Timeframe: 2018-2020
- Countries involved: 1 (Austria)
- Aim: to improve the quality of life in cities by encouraging walking as an active and health-enhancing movement
- Bonus feature: organization website
Walk&Feel
- Timeframe: 2018-2020
- Countries involved: 1 (Austria)
- Aim: to improve the conditions for pedestrians in order to increase the quality of life in urban areas through recording and evaluating walkability
- Bonus feature: organization website
We are all pedestrians
- Timeframe: 2016-2017
- Countries involved: 1 (Poland)
- Aim: to point out problems that pedestrians face in Bydgoszcz, to create a Map of Barriers and turn Bydgoszcz into a friendly city for its residents
- Bonus feature: organization website
EU funded programmes offer a great opportunity for various projects to get the funds needed to successfully pull them off on a larger scale. This is not a complete list, and we’re sure these are not the last impactful projects to come!
Click here to find out what EU Cycling projects are out there, and here for the top 5 Car-free EU projects.