European Commission “SOLUTIONS” project issues a call for cities
Indian cities like Chennai (pictured), along with others located in Asia, Latin America, and the Mediterranean, have the opportunity to apply for the European Commission's "SOLUTIONS" project. Photo by Matthieu Aubry/Flickr.
The SOLUTIONS project on innovative and green urban transport solutions has issued a call for cities from Asia, Latin America, and the Mediterranean to get involved in innovation activities as a leading, take-up, or training city. The deadline to submit applications to join the project is September 30, 2013.
Interested cities should submit the appropriate application for a leading, take-up, or training city to Karen Vancluysen at kvancluysen@polisnetwork.eu by September 30, 2013.
Eligibility criteria for leading, take-up, and training cities
The SOLUTIONS project is looking for three groups of cities.
Leading cities: Leading cities can be selected from Europe, Asia and Latin America to share their expertise in the development and implementation of sustainable urban mobility solutions.
Take-up cities: Two cities from Asia (one from China and one from India) and two from Latin America (one from Mexico and one from Brazil) will be selected. These cities have the opportunity to show a dedicated commitment to assessing innovative solutions to urban transport. Cities located in the Mediterranean can also apply to become a take-up city.
Training cities: Cities from Asia, Latin America, or the Mediterranean are eligible to apply to participate in knowledge-sharing and capacity-building workshops, as well as training courses focused on successful examples of innovative sustainable mobility solutions from Europe, China, Singapore, and Latin America.
More information on SOLUTIONS
The European SOLUTIONS project is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission, for which the EMBARQ network is a project partner as part of a broad consortium. The focus of the SOLUTIONS project is on the exchange of knowledge and innovative sustainable urban mobility solutions between cities from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. The project has five major goals:
- Facilitating dialogue and creating networking opportunities
- Promoting European transport policy and urban transport solutions
- Providing guidance and tailored advice
- Fostering future cooperation on research and development
- Promoting innovative platforms for knowledge exchange between European cities and cities across the world
Through bringing together leading experts and city networks from all over the world, the project will address solutions in the following areas: public transport, transport infrastructure, city logistics, integrated planning/sustainable urban mobility plans, network and mobility management, and clean vehicles. For cities that are selected to participate in the project, all the SOLUTIONS activities will take place between October 2013 and October 2015.
EMBARQ’s role as a project partner
The EMBARQ centers in the Andes, Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey are all active members of the consortium organizing the SOLUTIONS project. Through this partnership, the EMBARQ network continues to help catalyze and implement environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable urban mobility and urban planning solutions for cities in the developing world. EMBARQ is committed to improving the quality of life for urban residents by making sustainable transport a reality. The SOLUTIONS project is an excellent opportunity for cities in Asia, Latin America, and the Mediterranean to exchange knowledge and learn from their counterparts in Europe.
Interested cities may contact Salvador Herrera, the Deputy Director of EMBARQ Mexico and the EMBARQ network’s lead point of contact for the SOLUTIONS project, at sherrera@embarqmexico.org for additional information.
The EMBARQ Network will actively participate in the nineteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Warsaw, Poland between November 11 to November 22. November 17 has been designated as Transport Day at COP 19. Photo by Szymon Kochański/Flickr.