In order to identify key stakeholders and topics for the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) programme, the HSC, jointly with the German Institute for Sustainability and Development (IDOS), organised a round table on mobility solutions. The round table will be moderated by Franco Jauregui Fung (Researcher of IDOS’  “Transformation of Economic and Social Systems” programme).

The HSC is a joint initiative of the United Nations (UNDP), the German Federal Government (BMZ), the Michael Otto Foundation, and the City of Hamburg. The HSC aims at connecting Global Sustainability Leaders, encouraging trustful dialogues between stakeholders, and building new public-private partnerships to unlock the potential of the private sector for SDG commitment.

New and increasingly populated urban areas increase the frequency and length of citizens’ trips, with implications such as pollution, lack of space, congestion, commuting time, and safety. Commuting time is particularly excessive for citizens with low incomes, who tend to live on the outskirts of cities. At the same time, cities are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but they could also offer strategic solutions and mitigation actions. Road safety is an important element of mobility that ensures the wellbeing of citizens and creates sustainably safe and liveable cities. However, road safety often focuses on the safety of car occupants and neglects pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users. Apart from ignoring important dimensions of road safety, this approach disregards the safety of citizens who are more likely to lack access to private motor vehicles, such as women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, as well as low-income groups. Moreover, economically deprived neighbourhoods often have poorer road safety (e.g., sidewalks or bike lanes) and air pollution infrastructure (e.g., vegetation).
 

The guiding questions of the round table will be:

1. Issue: Which concrete and innovative strategies can be proposed to address road safety as an essential part of sustainable mobility?
2. Idea: How can road safety challenges be approached and solved? Which levers do you see on the way to reaching Agenda 2030?
3. Impact: Who needs to talk? Who needs to act?