MobiliseYourCity in Eastern Europe

Urban mobility in Eastern Europe

Many cities in Eastern Europe have existing urban planning and mass transport systems, often inherited from the Soviet era. But as private car ownership is growing rapidly, ageing public transport fleet and infrastructure, as well as governance and operation issues have contributed to a continuous decrease in ridership.

Some cities are growing rapidly, and so too are the challenges they face. Administrative staff are often unprepared for taking on this new work of reconciling economic and environmental matters with demographic challenges. In particular, it is important to address road congestion and the impact of transport on pollution and greenhouse gases emissions, through better planning and organisation of mobility, and by taking advantage of existing opportunities for alternative motorisation, such as the existing networks of electric buses and trolleybuses.

MobiliseYourCity members and partners in the Region

MobiliseYourCity has 5 partner cities in Ukraine, with a total population of nearly 2 million.

Ukraine has invested in decentralisation in the past years, strengthening local governments with new capacities and mandates. In line with the approach of integrated urban development, they are expected to tackle urban development issues through comprehensive and interdisciplinary processes. Plans developed on this basis support sustainable development, social balance and diversity.
Member cities in Ukraine are supported by GIZ on mobility planning and support to sustainable mobility through the project Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine. This support is funded by the German Ministry of International Cooperation (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Operationalizing MobiliseYourCity Activities in the Region

Integrated urban development in Ukraine is committed to improving living conditions in Ukrainian cities. Together with international and national experts, the project supports the development of integrated urban development concepts and provides advice in important areas such as transport and land registry systems. Building on this, partners develop sectoral plans to improve structures and prepare the implementation of these plans.

Administrative staff take part in courses that  train them in how to approach their new local self-government work in a professional manner and improve how they cooperate with one another.

For more information on the project Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine, click here.

For more information about each specific project, please read our project factsheets Eastern Europe and the country page Ukraine.

Results and project impact in the Region

The most notable achievement of MobiliseYourCity in Eastern Europe are the elaboration and adoption of 3 SUMPs by the cities of Lviv, Poltava and Zhytomyr, with the support of GIZ.

Among the flagship investments in their SUMPs, the cities of Lviv, Poltava and Zhytomyr have decided to capitalise on their existing trolley bus networks by planning infrastructure improvements and vehicle replacement. In total, more than 210 vehicles will be acquired, the majority of which will be trolley buses. In addition, the city of Lviv has decided to invest in the extension of its transport network and the strengthening of its tramway offer.

IThe project ‘Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine’ has trained more than 2,100 employees from MobiliseYourCity partner cities between 2016 and 2019 in seminars in the ‘Qualification 2030’ training programme, and contributed to the preparation and adoption of 3 SUMPs. The cities have set up platforms for civil society participation and invite people to get involved. Citizen information centres advise people about initiatives, and citizens have worked with the cities to set priorities for development. Over four years, around 40,000 people have participated in a host of public events. In addition, basic and further training opportunities for urban planners have improved significantly. Along with new courses on urban development, there is also an opportunity to study at a German university of applied sciences for a semester as part of an international exchange.

Our projects in the region