Steps towards Sustaining a SUMP Network in Greece

Abstract

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) have been for some years now an important tool for municipalities and regions in the European Union (EU) Member States for achieving their goals in their jurisdictions and improving the daily life of their citizens. The EU has adopted the SUMP approach and supports all related efforts through various actions and initiatives. Along these lines, the transnational project ENDURANCE attempts to promote the concept of SUMPs by creating national networks of cities and other entities that would agree, by joining them, to start developing such plans in their area. There are several different examples of such networks in the EU at European or national level. For Greece, the effort is in progress and so far meets the positive response of several Municipal Authorities. The issues that need to be addressed are not few and definitely not minor, with most important ones the lack of appropriate staff in municipal and regional services, the lack of relevant experience and culture and the lack of funding. Moreover, the absence of an appropriate policy about Sustainable mobility at national level, which would set the framework for the lower levels of government, creates additional difficulties in achieving the sought objectives. To cope with these problems, specific proposals are made based on relevant recommendations by experts and also from round table discussions at recent events about this subject. Based on a national survey made by the local ENDURANCE team (national focal point) to a number of Municipalities eager to become part of a Greek SUMP network issues such as the preferred network form and its financing, the network technical support mechanisms, staff training and the interaction with existing governance structures are examined. The preferences of the Municipalities surveyed may be exploited as a useful guidance to other SUMP network cases having similarities to Greece.

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