As cities increasingly work to reduce the number of cars in their centres, they also reshape their street networks into more sustainable (and just) configurations. Over the past three years, the ReVeAL project showed us how Urban Vehicle Access Regulations are key to this.
Following up on our previous publication introducing to the wider public our project, Partner representatives Koos Fransen (UGent) and Lucy Sadler (Sadler Consultants Europe GmbH) wrote a bold article for POLIS’ Thinking Cities magazine – an article, that dives deep into the world of UVARs from a mobility justice perspective.
Doing just UVARs right
Titled “Brave new cities”, the piece is about UVARs creating a more sustainable, liveable and just urban mobility planning. It then highlights the fact that, as we have been telling since the very start of our project, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for cities when implementing UVARs, resulting in a wide range of possible implementations adapted to the specific needs of the cities and its inhabitants.
Issues of equity can manifest themselves when cities implement UVARs; finding the balance between environmental sustainability and social equity is not an easy task. For this reason, there are a number of mobility justice concerns that cities should consider when implementing UVARs.
Indeed, a well-designed UVAR must ensure that groups are not disproportionately affected.
