Lifelong Learning on sustainable urban mobility

<< Background >>Urban mobility is one of the emerging topics of our time and one of the greatest environmental challenges we face today. According to the United Nations, by 2050, two out of every three people are likely to be living in cities or other urban centres. This trend highlights the need for more sustainable urban mobility, as in Europe alone, transport accounts for 30% of CO2 emissions. Moreover, passenger cars are a major polluter, accounting for 61% of total CO2 emissions from the EU road transport.Sustainable urban mobility requires a mind shift where travelling in private cars gives way to different modes of public transport, like bicycles and pedestrian lanes, electric vehicles, or car-sharing. Although technical and organisational enhancements in the transport sector are vital stepping stones, they are not the sole prerequisites for transformative progress. It is imperative to also foster a proactive approach among transport users, encouraging changes in travel behaviour to forge a more sustainable mobility landscape. Nonetheless, the lack of the knowledge regarding mobility choices and transport impact on life quality are more than obvious; as a result, it is vital to raise awareness and encourage people to change their habits.<< Objectives >>The main objective of the GREENMOBILITY project was to promote the lifelong learning dimension of higher education through a programme on green mobility, aiming to promote learning on environmental sustainability.Other objectives of the GREENMOBILITY project included:1. Developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes that promote ways to think, plan and act with empathy, responsibility, and care for the environment.2. Promoting responsible action and stimulating willingness to take or demand action at a local, national and global level.3. Enabling learners to overcome the cognitive dissonance that comes from knowing about an issue but lacking the agency to act. 4. Disseminating the information about the implementation of the EU Green Deal. << Implementation >>The GREENMOBILITY project aimed at raising awareness about urban mobility through a lifelong learning approach and, accordingly, at encouraging behavioural changes. It also sought to support education and training systems by providing the necessary tools and training activities to all learners, regardless of their age or education level. Through various activities, the project aimed to facilitate behavioural changes in how people commute in urban spaces. Some of these activities involved conducting research to lay the foundations for the Greenmobility Self-Assessment Toolkit and the Learner Handbook. Next, the training/learning material and platform for sharing it were produced. Later, piloting and testing activities were conducted in order to fine-tune self-assessment toolkit. Further, several training sessions, namely internal for the consortium members and external for project target groups, were organised and reports were produced. During the entire project period, dissemination materials were prepared and shared on webpage, collaborative platform, social media or other sources.<< Results >>The most influential outputs of the project were the following:1.The Learner´s Handbook, which included all the information required to understand the current situation of mobility in cities, how mobility choices generated an impact, and how incorporating a concept of sustainable urban mobility could benefit the quality of life in cities and also contribute to the fight against climate change. Moreover, the handbook covered best practices and the learning material. 2.Online Collaborative Platform, which allowed users to engage, learn, and act towards sustainable urban transport. The platform allowed users to access training materials, find information about events, engage in dialogues related to green, healthy transportation, and assess their current mobility behaviours.3.Greenmobility Self-Assessment Toolkit, which was designed to evaluate and improve the people’s mobility habits in the context of sustainability. The toolkit assesses the responses of people, and, based on them, evaluates the situation and then provides personalised recommendations on ideas to make their travel more sustainable, such as tips on using different modes of transportation.