On 12-13 December SUNRISE partners met in Jerusalem for the second consortium meeting which was followed the day after by a cluster event for the action neighbourhoods on the topic “use and design of public road space for urban mobility”.
The meeting in Jerusalem was also the opportunity to walk through the Baka neighbourhood with local residents, stakeholders and the technical partners in order to identify the main mobility challenges and hear from citizens and residents.
One of the major issues the Baka neighbourhood faces is congestion and rat-running traffic. Set in the west part of the city of Jerusalem, the Baka neighbourhood has a long history of citizens’ engagement with several sustainable mobility measures already put in place. An example is the old rail line which was transformed into a “Rail Line Park” that includes a well-used pedestrian/cycle path. The resulting public space now links the neighbourhood on a lively commercial area, with the former railway station turned into a mixed space for leisure and recreational activities. However, there are still several mobility issues at stake which need to be solved such as the overall improvement of the walkability and cyclability of Baka. This emerged as a key issue particularly for young couples with children, elderly and persons with disabilities.
Most of the SUNRISE project neighbourhoods have held their internal kick-off meetings that set the participatory approach, while the technical project partners have been providing support; for example, in terms of participatory approaches and a communication toolbox, which is available on the website.
In addition, SUNRISE is in the process of establishing a Take-Up Cities group where other cities will have the opportunity to learn how to solve mobility issues by applying the co-creation methodology of the project and visiting some of the SUNRISE cities for focused workshops. The call is on website and is open until 14 February. More information is available here.