Plenary 4: Redefining public space

One of the first words uttered at Plenary Four this morning undoubtedly pricked the ears of whatever sleepy heads were left in the crowd: “revolution”. The strongest way to instigate change, and usually with the longest-lasting consequences (well… at least for those that work out). So convincing were the words of Jan Kamensky, the artist behind the much-popularised Visual Utopias animations, we already knew we were in for a true classic of a plenary.

With a panel of speakers dedicated to urban transformation, the importance of envisioning change could not be understated. The inputs of Philippe Crist, Rodney Ellis, Commissioner in Harris County, Texas, Elke Van den Brandt, Minister for Mobility for Brussels and Line Barfod, Mayor of Technical and Environmental Affairs for the City of Copenhagen all emphasised the need for us as people to look beyond the blinding walls of metal and cars, and recognise that our cities will exist only as we will them to be. As jarring as it may sound, instigating true change requires so much more than just metal and concrete.

But how do we influence the will of a population? Panellists Adam Tranter, the Walking and Cycling Commissioner for West Midlands Combined Authority in Birmingham, Piotr Kryszewski, Deputy Mayor, Gdansk and Emmanuel John, President of the Africa Urban Cycling Organisation reiterated the points of their fellow speakers – we cannot instigate change without enabling people to fully experience the true benefits of transformation, and conveying that experience is key to moving forward.

Wednesday's session highlights

Countering or including the loud minority?

Often a shift to a more bike friendly or sustainable world will provoke a fierce backlash from a loud minority, or alternatively, sometimes cyclists can be the loud minority delivering criticism too. Velo-citizens packed into a busy room to take part in this workshop session – and everyone certainly had something to say. FromLjubljana closing its streets during Green Week to demonstrate a better form of urbanism, to rebranding of the Dutch Cycle highways to make the network less intimidating to the population to rethinking on street car parking in Zurich, learning from one another was the key theme of this session.

Plenary 5: Creating mobility systems of the future now

With the arrival of plenary Five, it became time to consider the future of transport. This was no stage for crystal balls – or indeed navel gazing – the speakers at this plenary remained grounded in the real world of making cities beautiful, practical places for people to live in. Rather the focus was firmly on making use of new technologies and innovations that support the development of the transport systems of tomorrow! “Creating mobility systems of the future now” began with a captivating presentation from Timothy Papandreou, Founder of Emerging Transport Advisors who served up a reminder to not allow technological utopias takeover our planning and to keep our transport systems human focused.

He was joined on stage by moderator Karen Vancluysen from the POLIS Network; Angelo Meuleman   Director, Mpact; Rebecca Karbaumer, Sustainable mobility project coordinator, Ministry for Climate Protection, the Environment, Mobility, Urban and Housing Development, Bremen; Mareike Rauchhaus   Head of communication, Nextbike (who happen to be providing lovely bikes for Velo-citizens this year); and Ulf Middelberg CEO of Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe. All in all, this panel of experts cutting across sectors reinforced the need to place humans – not technology – at the centre of transportation!

Winners of the ECF Awards 2023

Following Plenary Four, the European Cyclists’ Federation proudly announced the winners of the second edition of the ECF Awards, recognising some of Europe’s highest achievers in ensuring more cycling. Presented by ECF President Henk Swarttouw, ECF CEO Jill Warren and the award sponsors the winners of the awards were the following:

• The City of Helsingborg for the Cycling Infrastructure Award

• The City of Oslo for the Road Safety Award, sponsored by Geveko Markings

• The City of Essen for the Cycle-Friendly Employer Award, sponsored by JobRad

• The City of Heidelberg for the Cycling Improvement Award, sponsored by Eco-Counter

Throughout the ceremony, Swarttouw acknowledged the excellent work and progress made by all the winners and extend his thanks to all the sponsors who helped make this year’s awards possible.

The best of the rest

Mayors from across the globe came together today to sign the declaration: ‘Make cycling a fully-fledged mode of transport for all’. Velo-city has been inspiring generations of political leaders to invest in cycling, and we continue this rich tradition with this concrete commitment – onwards and upwards for more political support for cycling!

Here at ECF we have been fighting hard to make the EU’s TEN-T transport network work better for cycling. The TEN-T session during #VC23 deep dived onto the importance of integrating cycling into large infrastructure projects, and bringing EuroVelo into the Ten-T network.

Fun zone

COMING UP THE FINAL DAY...

The final day of #VC23 is upon us! For those who have the strength after Thursday night’s socialising, make sure you make the most of the final sessions and plenary on Friday morning.

A real highlight will be the final of the Smart Pedal Pitch during Plenary 6. Who will win this coveted prize designed to catapult innovation in the cycling sector?

We will go into the Closing Ceremony of Velo-city 2023 at 1 pm… Don’t be sad it’s over, because remember, as one Velo-city ends, the clock starts counting down for the next… So join us tomorrow to find out more!

FURTHER READING

• Velo-city 2023 Leipzig: Tuesday Daily Report – Willkommen in Leipzig

• Velo-city 2023 Leipzig: Wednesday Daily Report – Leading the Transition

• Official Velo-city 2023 website: discover the full conference programme including social events happening around the city!