Partnership for Urban Mobility is a national, voluntary, non-political and non-governmental organization founded as an NGO association. Association members are towns and cities as well as NGOs, clubs, associations, unions, and initiatives. Association is a partner for government and parliamentary political representation in the Czech Republic. It participates in the preparation and drafting of legislative and non-legislative measures relating to the area of urban mobility, especially cycling. The Association's activities are aimed to help establish a local community of people and institutions that together want to improve urban areas, especially in the field of transport and mobility.
The Partnership for Urban Mobility will strive to participate as an active partner in the development of the new national Urban and Active Mobility Concept, in close cooperation with many others, such as ministries involved, the Faculty of Transportation Sciences of the Czech Technical University Prague, the University of Economics Prague, the Faculty of Transport Engineering of the University of Pardubice, the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies of Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti nad Labem, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Smart City Cluster, Union of Towns and Municipalities of the CR, Association of Regions of the Czech Republic etc.
Why the Partnership for Urban Mobility?
The Association of Cities for Cyclists which was established in 2013, has recently been transformed into the Partnership for Urban Mobility. This change expresses a shift in our mission - from cycling towards urban mobility. The transformation was confirmed by the General Meeting held in Prague on March 29, 2019. Activities, as well as the overall identity of the association, will remain.
The Association was established to support not only cycling as both transport and leisure activity, but sustainable urban mobility in general. Although the concept of SUMP originally seemed to be a great promise, soon turned out to a great misunderstanding because the Czech planners and local authorities put strong emphasis on an analytical phase, on preparation steps and defining of goals, while the question of fact, the substantive part of the plans, remains suppressed. If our aim is to approximate the way of approaching urban mobility plans in the Czech Republic to developed European countries, we need more than to provide information, we need to change public ‘s view of transportation.
Quite naturally, the Czech Association focuses on the topic of active modes of transport and public space, as defined by the European Urban Agenda. We know well that without changing the approach to urban mobility planning there will be no changes in urban cycling.
We bring up-to-date knowledge and innovations from European and non-European countries. Our experience builds mainly on four EU projects: Partnership for Urban Mobility, PROSPERITY, SUMPs-Up, THE PEP. Our association helps to implement these projects in the Czech context. The Czech Road Company has chosen the Partnership to be a representative in the World Road Association Technical Committee. We will take part in working meetings for the World Road Congress XXVII, coming back to the Czech Republic after 52 years.
To share experience at an international level, the Partnership has established an English version of its web site: https://en.dobramesta.cz/.
The association brings state-of-the-art knowledge and innovation related to SUMPs, gained from many European and non-European countries, and is involved in several international projects focused on sharing mobility knowledge.