The transport associated with mobility is responsible for a fundamental part of the emissions that occur in urban environments, so the decarbonization and transformation of mobility models are already a strategic priority for administrations, companies and citizens. Under this context, The newspaper La Razón recently celebrated an analysis and debate table in which the great challenges and opportunities of the big cities like Madrid were addressedto promote a more sustainable, accessible and competitive development.
Experts in the sector discussed the need to make investments in infrastructure to transform urban mobility, the role that plays public-private collaboration, the regulatory framework, as well as the identification of current barriers in the development of more sustainable and scalable solutions. The table, moderated by The wave journalist Ignacio Rodríguez Burgoswas attended by: Borja Carabantedelegate of the area of Government of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility of the City of Madrid; Just Vicente, CEO Construction Spain of ACCIONA; Ángela BaldellouDirector-Manager of Coam; and Fernando MinayaCivil Engineer consultant, mobility expert, road safety and accessibility, and member of the College of Technical Engineers of Public Works.
Borja Carabante It opened the debate highlighting that urban mobility has evolved to the point that if we were talking about the intermodality between public transport and the private vehicle, with the appearance of new means of transport, we now have an integration of all of them. “So that sustainable mobility can advance needs new infrastructure, green and sustainable that make the most habitable places.” The delegate of the Madrid City Council gave as an example the underground of the A5, a project executed by ACCIONA, which will allow to recover 80,000 m2 of green areas, habitable for the use and enjoyment of citizens.
Ángela Baldellou corroborated the good work Madrid City Council with the Madrid 360 Planas well as the creation of tables to define the new plan of the capital, an example of innovation and collaboration with the sector. The director of Coam explained that the Madrid region is the most transforming throughout Europe in urban and demographic terms, which is a great challenge. “From our point of view, architecture is essential in all sustainable urban mobility strategies, because the urban approach is based and the basic parameters that mark how we are going to move in a city in constant growth are defined.”
Just Vicente He also exalted the management in cities such as Madrid, where pedestrian streets have been recovered for the coexistence of citizens. “The purpose must be to undertake sustainable infrastructure such as the one made on 30th Street, and be undergoing areas that make the city more friendly.”
“Investments guarantee perfect combinations of means of transport,” according to Justo Vicente
The active manager also sees it necessary to reinforce public transport lengthening the subway lines so that they can reach the new neighborhoods, such as those projected in the southeast zone of the capital. “People should be able to have perfect combinations of a subway and bus, for which it is necessary to make investments that guarantee communications.”
“Madrid supports 14 million daily displacements,” says Borja Carabante
As a continuation of this section, the Civil Engineer consultant, Fernando Minaya, believes that the keys go through knowing how citizens move to provide them with a public transport offer that rival the private vehicle. «In urban mobility it is not about choosing between electric, hydrogen, or combustion vehicle. Duality is what should live in time, “he says, pointing out that” it is necessary to find transverse elements of mobility to cover all the needs of a diverse and increasingly lonely population. “
Spain is urban, since more than 75% of the population lives in cities. In addition, 70% of citizens use the private car in their displacements. For Ángela Baldellou It is necessary to generate alternatives to the traditional mobility model, shared and agreed with the sector, and where citizens are complicit. “You have to favor air quality and well -being with more inclusive mobility that favors interconnection,” he says.
“Architecture is fundamental in all sustainable urban mobility strategies,” says Angela Baldellou
On what priority investments in infrastructure should be, experts agree that it is necessary to have adequate data of the data, supported by AI, to facilitate decision making and prioritize the most necessary actions. Borja Carabante He explained that 14 million displacements are produced daily in Madrid, with about one million people entering and leaving the outskirts. “Fortunately, all municipalities in the community have given the competencies in metropolitan transport to unify and optimize the public transport network.”
In any case, Just Vicente advocates the creation of more control centers and mobility hubs from which decisions on infrastructure and mobility based on the intelligent data analysis can be made. “We must have the public-private collaboration to combine the problem of logistics and transport of goods, together with that of people. We cannot leave the administration alone to solve these types of problems that affect everyone.”
“We must find transverse elements of mobility for the entire population,” says Fernando Minaya
For Fernando Minaya It is necessary to rethink how infrastructure, smart roads, the use of IoT, or mobile phones to optimize traffic trace have to change. Ángela Baldellou Coam advocates introducing the concept of scale in urban mobility, carrying it according to needs in the new and future neighborhoods such as Madrid Nuevo Norte, Valdecarros Project or the camp, among others. He also sees with good eyes emulate the success cases of other large cities. In this sense, Minaya emphasizes the concept of hubs or exchangers built in Madrid, a great success that has been exported to other places in the world.
Several were the scheduled themes that were pending to address. Just Vicente He closed his speech stating that “seeing what is in Europe and the rest of the world, I must say that in Spain all the media are combined very well, even the healthy habit of walking. With the execution of underground infrastructure, we achieved more green areas on the surface, enabling new soil for the coexistence of people, and allowing those who wish to remain in their neighborhoods.” Fernando Minaya He put the final note stating that “engineers are very symmetrical when it turns out that mobility is asymmetric. We must bet on more flexible infrastructure.”