Representatives from cities across the globe gathered virtually to celebrate the annual event – which was marked yesterday – and discussed the way forward for sustainable mobility and progress towards traffic free city centres.

“This is a huge moment of change,” Sustrans director of urbanism Daisy Narayanan told the summit, emphasising how Covid-19 has seen communities come together to demand changes to streets and shone a light on “the inequalities that are inbuilt in our transport and planning system”.

“There is no way we can go back to the old normal that needed so much change,” she said. “I think maintaining focus on that is going to help shape a whole new healthier, more resilient, sustainable future.”

Daisy also discussed changes to streets made in Edinburgh since Covid-19 lockdown which have included 30km of new protected cycle lanes and bringing forward car free streets, traffic calming measures and vehicle restrictions around schools.

The city of Milan, Italy’s head of urban planning and public space design Demetrio Scopelliti agreed that there is optimism for the coming decade. In the last few months, he said, “this agenda started from being a niche and we became mainstream”.
“Be optimistic and ask for more, it is the right time to do that,” he urged.

Open Streets Cape Town’s managing director Kirsten Wilkins said: “I think that people in Cape Town have been roused in a way that cannot be switched off,” adding that political leadership is also now aligning more with sustainable travel.
“There is now much more of a pulling together in the same direction, which is great.”

The session’s chair, London Car Free Day co-founder Hamish Stewart, commented: “I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that Covid and the recovery has felt like an existential moment for cities. If changes to land use and public transport and shared mobility systems can help reduce inequality and make cities able to recover through the decade ahead, that would be wonderful. We have to work together.”

Also addressing the summit was London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman, who explained that the pandemic has made people nervous about using public transport. “But if they all end up in cars, we will end up with gridlock, an air quality crisis and a physical inactivity crisis,” he emphasised.

“We can’t afford the recovery from this pandemic to be a car based recovery.” Temporary measures implemented in the capital to encourage active travel during the current crisis have included 50km of new cycle routes and dozens of low traffic neighbourhoods.

Will Norman urged: “We all need to be writing to councillors, decision makers and continue to push people like me and the Mayor to support things happening in communities. We will then be able to make cites greener cleaner and healthier for everybody.”

* Two in five commuters could feasibly walk or cycle to work while 92% have one or more colleagues living within a mile of them who they could share a lift with, according to new research by consultant Mobilityways.

The research, published to coincide with World Car Free Day, shows that 10 billion kilogrammes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions could be saved if people commuted by more sustainable means rather than single occupancy private cars.

“Zero carbon pledges cannot be met without reducing emissions from transport – which means decarbonising the daily commute is critical,” said Mobilityways chief executive Ali Clabburn.

“Our commuting habits have barely changed in thirty years, we know that there is vast latent potential for people to travel more sustainably when they need to get to their workplace. But working from home also has a big part to play,” she added.

(Photograph: City of Edinburgh Council)