We are a group of parties (SME, university and research center) working on involving the next generation in urban redesign by addressing mobility and parking challenges in mixed-use neighborhoods experiencing increasing parking and public space allocation pressure. The primary focus is on empowering youth, transitioning from on-street to off-street parking, reinvesting public space, and ensuring the process is supported by data-driven tools and partnerships.

We are looking for consortium leads and partners in order to submit a proposal for Horizon call HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-01-01

With the growing urban population and increasing demand for sustainable living, cities are undergoing a transformation, driven by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European urban development targets.

Some European cities have already set ambitious goals to reduce car usage, promote alternative mobility, and reclaim urban space for public use. These cities are leading the way in sustainable urban planning, prioritizing the optimization of public spaces and addressing mobility challenges to create more livable urban environments. For example, Paris is implementing its "15-minute city" concept, reducing parking spots to reinvest in public infrastructure, and fostering the use of bicycles and public transport. Amsterdam has committed to being car-free by 2030, encouraging cycling and shared electric vehicles. Copenhagen, a pioneer in green mobility, continues to expand its cycling infrastructure and reduce the presence of private cars in the city center.

However, a common challenge remains in ensuring that mobility solutions are accessible, inclusive, safe, and supported by the right infrastructure. In parallel, parking spaces, especially on-street parking, are diminishing due to the push for more sustainable allocation of public space usage. Off-street parking, often under-optimized, holds the potential to address these challenges if appropriately restructured and integrated into the broader urban mobility framework.

Moreover, youth—who represent the next generation of leaders and users—are underrepresented in today’s urban planning and decision-making processes. Their integration into this evolving urban landscape is critical for creating a future-ready, inclusive city environment.

We aim to bridge these gaps by focusing on three key pillars:
1. Youth Inclusion: Empower the next generation by integrating youth into the urban redesign process and influencing their mobility behaviors through gamified engagement.
2. Optimizing Public and Private Parking Space: Secure a better use of public on-street spaces by supporting the transition to alternative mobility solutions and reinvesting these spaces for higher-value activities. Simultaneously, optimize the accessibility of private off-street parking capacity to support different user needs (accommodation of former on-street capacity, secure alternative mobility parking capacity, mobility hub to public transportation or shared mobility options).
3. Sustainable Mobility Transition: Ensure that the transition to greener mobility is inclusive, efficient, and does not hinder access to transportation and to quality of life. This involves providing diverse mobility options, investing in its supporting infrastructure, and ensuring economic stability for local palyers and communities (we want to avoid that neighbourhoods lose their attractivity because parking is being redesigned).

Advantages and innovation
By connecting the city to its youth citizens, we are able to collect useful data and test out urban scenarios of urban evolution. Working hand in hand with Parking management solutions enables to move parking from on-street to existing off-street facilities in order to optimize resources as a whole and offer solutions to the cities.
Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
We are looking for partners and a coordinator who believe that this approach is providing a piece of solution on Horizon call HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-01-01 (e.g. cities, other companies, etc.)

Framework program
Horizon Europe
Call title and identifier
HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-01-01 - Rethinking urban spaces towards climate neutrality
Submission and evaluation scheme
Anticipated project budget
Coordinator required
Yes
Deadline for EoI
09/02/2025
Deadline of the call
11/02/2025
Project duration in weeks
Web link to the call
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-01-01
Project title and acronym
YSMO - Youth inclusion, Sustainable Mobility, and Optimizing public and private spaces