September 12, 2021 - After four days of inspiring plenaries, enlightening sessions and empowering speakers, Velo-city 2021 wrapped up in Lisbon. It’s time to say farewell and we hope you enjoyed this year’s summit as much as we did. Already we are excited for next year’s event.
Closing Plenary: Rethinking cities with cycling as the new normal
Something needs to change. If we are to truly tackle the climate crisis and achieve our ambitious emissions targets, we must reshape the cities that we live in. The Closing Plenary began with Carlos Moreno presenting his insights on implementing the 15-minute city concept in Paris.
The 15-minute city will transform urban environments into ecological, cycle-friendly cities, fostering a common good amongst residents by moving away from hectic car-dominated streets. “Until now we have accepted the unacceptable. We need to change the rhythm of the city,” said Moreno.
The plenary concluded with the official handover to next year’s host city, Ljubljana, Slovenia. ECF CEO Jill Warren presented Deputy Mayor Janez Kozelj with the Velo-city banner, asserting that change is a key word associated with our next Velo-city in Ljubljana.
“It cannot be said enough: there is no conceivable way to achieve the sustainable development goals, the European Green Deal or climate-neutral cities without significantly more cycling,” commented Jill Warren, CEO of the European Cyclists’ Federation.
Read the full report here.
