Mots clé inter-institutional cooperation; public transport; private cars; walking and cycling; traffic safety; integrated planning

As a large amount of transport activities are carried out in urban areas, the exposure of the population to environmental and health risks is very significant. Current land-use and transport policies are contributing to air and water pollution, climate change, and habitat loss. About 65% of traffic accidents are reported in built-up areas, and unsafe conditions for walking and cycling contribute to substantially reducing physical activity of the population, which in turn increases the risk of serious disease. Annoyance from noise is also reported mostly in the urban context.

The continuous expansion of motorized transport in urban areas raises crucial questions about the environmental and social implications of land-use and transport policies, and highlights the need to act in urban areas. Urban planning strategies and land-use policies should be developed with the goal of recognizing the health-related and environmental implications of motorized transport in urban planning. It is also in the urban context that the highest potential for modal shift from private motorized transport towards public transport and walking and cycling exists.

Activities in the field of “urban transport” constitute one of the priority areas of THE PEP. In particular, the following priority actions have been identified:

• Establishment of a framework for the elaboration and implementation of urban plans for transport sustainable for health and the environment;
• Further development of a common set of indicators for urban transport;
• Development of measures for promoting high quality and integrated public transport and reducing the need for, and volume of, car traffic;
• Development of measures for promoting and improving safe conditions for cycling and walking;
• Special care for groups at high risk, in particular children.