The European Mobility Week is held every year from 16 to 22 September with the aim of promoting the use of more sustainable means of transport and avoiding the most polluting ones. This week culminates with the commemoration of World Car-Free Day, an event established by the European Commission in 2000.

World Car-Free Day aims to raise awareness among citizens about the opportunity of using alternative means of transport to the car to reduce air pollution and improve air quality in cities. It also seeks to highlight the benefits of the use of more environmentally friendly means for people’s health and for mobility in urban areas, by reducing levels of congestion on the roads.

This year the motto chosen by the European Commission for the European Mobility Week is “Mobility for all”. Under this idea, it invites us to reflect on how to design a society where transport services are accessible, affordable, inclusive and safe for all, regardless of income level, location, gender or abilities.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is one of the greatest environmental health risks , causing about 7 million deaths a year due to toxic levels of polluted air. It also points out that 99% of the world’s population breathes air that does not comply with WHO air quality guidelines as it contains environmental pollutants in the form of particulate matter that cause health problems (cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases).

Urban areas are also particularly sensitive to this problem, as they are currently home to more than 50% of the world’s population and this figure is expected to reach 68% by 2050, according to the World Cities Report prepared by UN-Habitat. In this sense, the trend towards global population increase would continue to produce a widespread use of polluting cars, and, consequently, high levels of environmental pollution and higher greenhouse gas emissions.

In this context, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge contributes to promoting the renaturalisation of cities, improving their habitability, as well as adapting to and mitigating climate change in urban areas, through the calls for aid that it manages within the framework of the Recovery Plan. Transformation and Resilience (RTRP), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

An outstanding example is the Ponferrada Green Belt (AVP) project, coordinated by the Ponferrada City Council, which seeks to consolidate a large green belt that surrounds the city and acts as an ecological infrastructure and space for social cohesion. The initiative contemplates the creation and restoration of natural areas, the recovery of degraded areas and the enhancement of paths and green paths that connect the city with its environment. These actions will favour alternative mobility to private vehicles, promoting pedestrian traffic through safe and accessible routes. The aim is to mitigate the effects of climate change and offer citizens new spaces for leisure and direct contact with nature.

For its part, the Roman Forest project, led by the City Council of Cartagena, focuses on the creation of a green corridor of 37 hectares in the northwest of the municipality. Through the urban reversion of developable land and the integration of Roman remains, the project seeks to renaturalise plots, improve ecological connectivity and enhance the historical and landscape value of the area. In addition to promoting urban biodiversity, its actions, such as the recovery of paths and the planting of native vegetation, will generate pedestrian and cycling corridors that facilitate car-free mobility between neighbourhoods and areas of heritage value.