Increasing walking and cycling: to reap health benefits, emission reductions and integrate active mobility and micro-mobility devices, with smart technologies and infrastructure

Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:

• Cities advance in achieving their climate neutrality targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport by at least 15%, by promoting and implementing walking and cycling and by incorporating walking, cycling and micro-mobility infrastructure and services (e.g. bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters) in multimodal transport networks;
• Increased modal share of walking and cycling in follower cities, in particular increased number of daily trips on foot and by bike, by at least 30%;
• Increased integration of (e)bikes and -e-scooters (and other “intelligent” micromobility vehicles) through the digital and green road infrastructure by extending the work on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) to them in order to increase their modal share as well as their safety;
• As a feedback to EU research, health and transport policy, a comprehensive EU guidance on increasing (1) walking, (2) cycling, and (3) micro-mobility in cities is developed, including:
  • concrete measures for improving the quality, safety, quantity, continuity and attractiveness of pedestrian/walking and cycling infrastructure;
  • improved integration of walking, cycling and micro-mobility in transport models and traffic management urban systems/traffic light management at local/regional/national level;
  • concrete measures for industry and city planners to use smart technologies to bring about healthy behavioural change for getting more people into active modes of transport;
  • support and guidance for urban transport authorities to establish partnerships with the relevant local/regional/national health authorities to promote active mobility projects and solutions that demonstrate quantified health benefits for the city population. In particular through implementation research on cancer prevention by increasing physical activity and reducing obesity and how walking and cycling can improve symptoms and side effects of cancer patients.

The expected outcomes should be supported by clear indicators with baselines and quantified targets which are monitored for each city. The expected outcomes should take into account expected technological and policy developments.

Mobility and transport are key components in every citizen’s life, especially in cities, regardless of their size and population density. However, transport is still a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, air, noise, soil and water pollution. Congestion and scarcity of public space remain serious challenges to the efficiency of transport systems and reduce the liveability of affected areas at a considerable cost to society and the economy.

Active mobility modes, such as walking and cycling, represent a sustainable and healthy means of mobility, with considerable potential to support the decarbonisation of urban transport and help achieve the EU-wide target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990, and climate neutrality by 2050 in line with the European Climate Law^[1].

According to the WHO, physical inactivity, overweight and obesity are linked to many types of cancer^[2]: regular physical activity, maintaining both a healthy body weight and diet can reduce the risk. Similarly, air pollution has been linked to several malignancies^[3], especially lung cancer^[4]: an increase in the uptake of cycling and walking is a promising, low-cost, and equitable route to more physical activity, thus reducing the risk of cancer. Engaging patients in physical activity during or after cancer treatment can assist in recovery, reduce the incidence of second cancers and other chronic diseases, and improve survival^[5], thus improving their quality of life.

With the increase in numbers of active mobility users as well as the increasing use of micro-mobility devices^[6], improvements towards high-quality infrastructure, effective planning and preparation are required. This includes the preparation of cycling and walking infrastructure network plans, raising standards in design guidance documents, linking cycling and walking with other modes of transport, in particular public transport, and improvements in how the transport system and traffic flows are managed.

While cars are becoming more (inter-)connected, more work is needed to test how to bring e-bikes, e-scooters and micro-mobility devices, into the design of “smart” infrastructure through the measures of digitalization and connectivity of vehicles and infrastructure in the intelligent transport systems. Connected mobility / Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) are being developed but other road users of (e-)bicycles and e-scooters are yet to be integrated. Although some European cities have already tested use cases of bicycles in intelligent transport systems sector^[7], more efforts are needed to extend the work on C-ITS to them. Additional efforts should lead to increased safety via the digital road infrastructure and an increase in their modal share.

Proposals are therefore expected to address all of the following:

1) improve the quality, safety, quantity, accessibility, continuity and attractiveness of walking and cycling infrastructure by:

• Providing an updated state of the art of the uptake of walking and cycling policies, programmes and projects in urban, transport, research, and health strategies and plans as well as of their socio-economic, environmental and health benefits resulting from their demonstrated potential in emission reduction.
• Preparing cycling and walking infrastructure network plans which foster multimodality by linking cycling and walking with other modes of transport, in particular public transport, and by improving network and traffic flow management.
• Develop case studies and identify best practices particularly focused on quality, safety, quantity, accessibility, continuity and attractiveness of walking/pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

2) improve integration and modal share of active mobility:

• Developing a case study to identify how walking and cycling can help to improve symptoms and quality of life of cancer patients.
• Looking at the integration of walking and cycling policies and projects in urban development, transport-research and health strategies and plans through a comparative analysis across at least 10 EU cities, selected by taking into account geographical balance, size and population as well as different levels in the uptake of active mobility.
• Demonstrating in new and/or existing living labs innovative solutions to increase the modal share of active mobility, including through testing tactical urbanism measures in real-life urban spaces.
• Test behavioural change regarding the uptake of walking and cycling among different populations through implementation research. Identify and address specific bottlenecks and barriers that prevent the uptake of behavioural change.
• Fostering the exchange of knowledge, experience and best practices about the implementation and upscale of innovative solutions for walking and cycling that could be replicated and upscaled among cities.
• Supporting the development of local, regional and national active mobility policies, and their implementation across cities participating in the action, leading at least to a 30% increase in the modal share of walking and cycling within follower cities and thus contributing to the implementation of related EU policies and in particular of the European Declaration on Cycling^[8].

3) use smart technologies and integration in traffic management systems/traffic light management at local/regional/national level, including in the new “smart” infrastructure:

• Exploring conditions and infrastructure requirements for the integration of e-bikes and micro-mobility devices in traffic management systems/traffic light management.
• Identifying and testing use cases to extend connected vehicles technology (C-ITS) to cycling, micro-mobility, bike sharing etc. to enhance the contribution of these transport modes to a sustainable urban mobility system.
• Exploring conditions for a wider uptake of smart technologies in the cycling/micromobility sector taking into account the latest legislative developments^[9] and building on results from previous European R&I projects^[10].

4) coordination/exchange/capacity building for increasing the uptake of active mobility by:

• Supporting further coordination, exchange of experience and best practices, including training and capacity building activities, as well as co-creation and citizens engagement activities, taking into account the different levels of experience and development of walking and cycling strategies across Europe.
• Involve a variety of actors, including e.g. local/regional/national transport, research and health authorities, cancer charities, academia, public transport authorities and operators, urban mobility practitioners, shared mobility service providers, citizen associations, stakeholder organisations, and industry associations and representatives.

The topic requires proposals from consortia that include at least five ‘lead cities’ and five ‘follower cities’, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, reflecting a sound geographical balance. The consortia should bring together local authorities and other relevant stakeholders to jointly test and implement packages of technological and non-technological innovations and policy-based measures.

This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

Projects selected through this topic will contribute to the implementation of EU policies and strategies fostering sustainable urban mobility such as the European Green Deal^[11], Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy^[12], New Urban Mobility Framework^[13], Recommendation on national SUMP support programme^[14] and in particular active mobility, including the EU Declaration on Cycling^[15], as well as contributing to the implementation of the Mission on Cancer^[16] and Europe's Beating Cancer Plan^[17] in particular promoting active mobility as effective mean of cancer and obesity prevention and to the implementation of the Zero Pollution Action Plan^[18], its targets for 2030 and the relevant Flagship Initiatives, in particular the reduction by more than 55% the health impacts (premature deaths) of air pollution and by 30% the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise, with numerous co-benefits in other areas.

Proposals should plan for an active collaboration amongst the projects selected under this topic - for dissemination, evaluation and coordination - facilitated by and within the CIVITAS^[19] initiative through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding. Proposals should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing this collaboration are included in the work-plan. Detailed description of the specific activities and common actions that will be undertaken is not required at proposal stage and can be further defined during the grant agreement phase. Collaboration with the Mission Platform (HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03) is essential and should take place through the CIVITAS initiative. The latter should establish, through a collaboration agreement, clear links with the Mission portfolio for synergies and complementarities. The Commission will facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions, notably fostering exchanges with other proposals. Hence, successful applicants will be asked to join the ‘Prevention’ cluster for the Mission on Cancer, established in 2022^[20]. In this regard, the Commission will take on the role of facilitator, including with relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate. Collaboration with the Driving Urban Transitions (DUT) partnership is recommended.

Proposals should take stock of existing work developed in relevant EU and/or national projects, build on the results of existing studies^[21]. In order to ensure complementarity in particular on road safety related aspects, projects awarded under this topic will be invited to liaise and collaborate with the projects that will be selected under topic Horizon-2025-D6-12 “Safety of Cyclists, Pedestrians and Users of other Micro-mobility Devices”.

[1] REGULATION (EU) 2021/1119 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’)

[2] E.g. oesophagus, colorectal, breast, endometrial and kidney cancer. Excess body mass was responsible for 3.4% of cancers in 2012, including 110,000 cases of breast cancer per year.

[3] Including lung cancer, urinary bladder cancer and acute leukaemia: the evidence is most abundant for lung cancer, for which several causal factors are well established (Samet JM, Cohen AJ (2006). Air pollution In Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF Jr, eds Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, 3rd ed New York: Oxford University Press, pp 355-381)

[4] Recent studies published in the AACR journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention have demonstrated that fine particulate matter in the air may increase cancer-specific mortality in adult patients with early breast cancer and in paediatric and young adult patients with various cancers. Globally about 300,000 lung cancer deaths in 2019 were attributed to exposure to fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5 contained in air pollution.

[5] McTiernan A, Friedenreich CM, Katzmarzyk PT, Powell KE, Macko R, Buchner D, Pescatello LS, Bloodgood B, Tennant B, Vaux-Bjerke A (2019) Physical activity in cancer prevention and survival: a systematic review. Med Sci Sports Exerc 51:1252–1261

[6] Micro-mobility refers in this context to a growing range of small, lightweight vehicles options operating at speeds typically below 25km/h and mostly used for trips up to 10km. Micro-mobility vehicles can be personally owned or shared; electric or manual

[7] MegaBITS MegaBITS | Interreg North Sea; Final Remarks on the BITS Project, Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme

[8] EUROPEAN DECLARATION ON CYCLING (C/2024/2377)

[9] E.g. revised Delegated Regulation on EU-wide multimodal travel information service (MMTIS: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_23_6112); ongoing work on building the European Mobility Data Space (Passenger Mobility Package - European Commission (europa.eu)) and the revised ITS Directive (Directive - EU - 2023/2661 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu))

[10] E.g. BITS – Bicycle and ITS: BITS, Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme

[11] The European Green Deal, COM(2019) 640 final

[12] Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the Future, COM(2020) 789 final

[13] The New EU Urban Mobility Framework, COM(2021) 811 final

[14] COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION (EU) 2023/550 of 8 March 2023 on National Support Programmes for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (notified under document C(2023) 1524)

[15] EUROPEAN DECLARATION ON CYCLING (C/2024/2377)

[16] 470f388c-1b44-43a1-87f5-cf9119ee0251_en (europa.eu)

[17] Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, COM(2021) 44 final

[18] Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All, EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil', COM(2021) 400 final

[19] https://civitas.eu/

[20] In order to address the objectives of the Mission on Cancer, participants will collaborate in project clusters to leverage EU-funding, increase networking across sectors and disciplines, and establish a portfolio of Cancer Mission R&I and policy actions.

[21] E.g. results from projects funded under the calls: MG-4.1-2017; LC-MG-1-3-2018; MG-7-2-2017; MG-5.3-2014 as well results from the study supported through the call for tender “THE DEVELOPMENT OF CROSS-BORDER CYCLING LANE INFRASTRUCTURE - EC-MOVE/2024/OP/0029”