Most European local authorities are confronted with increasing problems of congestion and pollution due to the steady growth of urban motorised traffic. People moving out of the cities due to bad environmental conditions, increasing car ownership, and faster travel have given rise to dispersed urban structures, leading in turn to greater volumes of motorised traffic. But transport is also a challenge in terms of climate protection: By 2010, transport will be the largest single contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. To turn around these trends, reduce these problems efficiently and thus raise standards of living in our cities, it is necessary to: carry out a true modal transfer from private motorised traffic towards more sustainable modes of transport,

• implement urban planning strategies with planning principles like urban density, improve the mixed use of space, and limit new urban developments to areas served by public transport,
• develop the concept of responsible car use and introduce less polluting and quieter vehicles.
  

Priority must be given to more sustainable modes of transport, which must become more efficient and attractive. At the same time, specific organisation methods and innovative technologies in terms of energy saving and the environment protection must be introduced. It is moreover crucial to raise awareness among citizens about the effect of their choice of transport mode on the quality of urban environment. But it is also the duty of local authorities to provide real alternatives for people to walk, cycle and use public transport instead of driving alone and to promote intermodality.

"The big problem that urban authorities will have to resolve, sooner than might be thought, is that of traffic management, and in particular the role of the private car in large urban centres... The lack of an integrated policy approach to town planning and transport is allowing the private car an almost total monopoly". White Paper on European Transport Policy: "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide", COM(2001) 370

SMILE: the Gateway to Sustainable Mobility!

Sustainable Mobility aims to reconcile citizens' mobility needs with quality of life and environment.
SMILE aims to help local authorities cope with this challenge by presenting good practices and introducing innovative approaches on a permanent basis.

Sustainable Mobility patterns require the distinct political will of local decision makers to bring about a change. Targets to reduce private motorised traffic, concerted strategies for the implementation of measures and specific examples for other stakeholders pave the way for sustainable mobility policies.
SMILE supports local authorities by presenting 170 successful and replicable practices for sustainable urban mobility in its local experiences database.
SMILE analyses local policies and jointly with experienced European cities and towns, drafts recommendations for local authorities (EN, ES) to facilitate the replication of these practices (see further considerations below).

Sustainable Mobility includes the concept of cooperative planning as measures are most effective if targeted towards specific groups of citizens and their corresponding requirements.
SMILE compiles the results and experience of European cities and towns in designing projects and measures according to the needs of specific target groups (EN, ES) and presents successful models on how to involve citizens (see recommendations on target groups and SMILE CD-ROM).

Sustainable Mobility is about creating incentives for citizens to choose more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling and public transport.
SMILE gathers experience on how to best include public transport (EN, ES) in sustainable mobility initiatives and draws up recommendations for both local authorities and public transport operators (see recommendations on public transport and SMILE CD-ROM).

Sustainable Mobility intends to lower harmful noise levels, particularly from road traffic, thus increasing health and the quality of life in European cities and towns.
SMILE identifies innovative activities in reducing noise from urban traffic and elaborates practical guidelines aiming to point out existing potential for noise-abatement measures (EN, ES) in a field for which local authorities are responsible and can therefore take action more easily.

Sustainable Mobility calls for innovative and permanent solutions to face increasing traffic pollution and congestion and contributes to a new mobility culture.
SMILE enables local authorities to benefit from the experiences of 14 of the most advanced European cities and towns in this field through the SMILE Study Tour Catalogue and Site Visits (EN, ES), showing some of today's most innovative and replicable sustainable transport measures.

SMILE partners

	ADEME (SMILE project coordinator) French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management Centre de Sophia Antipolis 500 route des lucioles FR-06560 Valbonne Mr Laurent Lanquar Tel: +33 4 93 95 79 97 Fax: +33 4 93 65 31 96
	ENERGIE-CITES The association of European local authorities promoting a local sustainable energy policy 2, Chemin de Palente FR-25000 Besançon Mr Jean-Pierre Vallar Tel: +33 3 81 65 36 85 Fax: +33 3 81 50 73 51
	CLIMATE ALLIANCE Climate Alliance of European Cities European Secretariat: Galvanistr. 28 DE-60486 Frankfurt am Main Ms Ulrike Janssen Tel: +49 69 717 139 21 Fax: +49 69 717 139 93
	ACCESS Eurocities for a New Mobility Culture 18, square de Meeûs BE-1050 Brussels Mr Ivo Cré Tel: +32 2 552 08 75 Fax: +32 2 552 08 89
	EA.UE European Academy of the Urban Environment Bismarckallee 46/ 48 DE-14193 Berlin Mr Christoph Rau Tel: +49 30 89 59 99 17 Fax: +49 30 89 59 99 19
	EVA Energieverwertungsagentur, the Austrian Energy Agency Otto Bauer Gasse 6 AT-1060 Wien Mr Willy Raimund Tel: +43 1 586 15 24 37 Fax: +43 1 586 15 24 40
	ENEA Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente Sede di Venezia Calle delle Ostreghe 2434 S. Marco IT-30124 Venezia Mr Mauro Marani Tel: +39 041 52 26 674 Fax: +39 041 52 09 100
	IDAE Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Management Calle de la Madera, 8 ES-28046 Madrid Ms Cécile Goube Tel: +34 91 456 49 90 Fax: +34 91 555 13 89

European Commission Directorate General Environment Directorate D - Implementation and Enforcement ENV.D1 - LIFE Rue de la Loi, 200 BE-1049 Brussels Mr Pekka Järvilehto Tel: +32 2 299 21 15 Fax: +32 2 296 95 56 Oréade - Brèche (Monitoring Team for French LIFE-Environment projects) 4, rue de la Gendarmerie FR-17220 La Jarrie Ms Marion Pinatel or Ms Mickaëlle Rousseleau Tel: +33 5 46 35 91 86 Fax: +33 5 +46 35 87 94