Mobility
Projects

From January 1 2025, a zero-emission zone will be introduced in the centre of Amsterdam, with the aim of improving air quality and making the city healthier and more liveable. This policy helps achieve climate goals and supports the ambition of becoming climate neutral by 2050. It encourages zero-emission urban logistics, which contributes to reduced pollution, noise, and traffic congestion. And cleaner air also has positive effects on the health and well-being of residents. With this initiative, Amsterdam - and other Dutch cities implementing such zones this year - aim to set an example for other cities and stimulate innovation in sustainable mobility. The so-called "zero-emission zone" is therefore an essential measure in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable city.

This transition will only succeed through collaboration. Therefore, considerable attention is being paid to the experiences and needs of small business owners in the city. Think of; market vendors, house painters, and local greengrocers. What kind of support do they need to transition to zero-emission vehicles, and how do entrepreneurs creatively adapt to the transition and new rules? Other cities and municipalities are closely observing and there is a strong need for knowledge sharing. It is important that the experiences and lessons learned from Amsterdam, as one of the pioneers, are well-documented and shared on a national and international scale.

Due to lack of space and climate change, the future of living might need to partly move on to water areas. In our history of conquering the water, the Dutch have a head start in some of the challenges associated with living on- and with water. Researchers and designers are therefore imagining and conceptualizing floating urban development. However, to make it a truly realistic and imaginable future scenario, there are more hurdles to overcome. To realize floating neighborhoods, we’ll need to find solutions for more than only the technical aspects, like; financing, community support, ecological aspects, affordability and political support.

Overcoming these barriers will be difficult. We’re currently focusing on urgent (housing)crises and our collective belief on urban development is mainly focused on ‘family apartments on land’. This challenge revolves around creating imaginable and workable scenarios of urban development on water.

Circular initiatives often struggle to progress beyond the pilot phase, including circular charging infrastructure. Numerous barriers hinder these circular initiatives:
• Lack of data on products and how circular/sustainable they are.
• Difficulty in implementing circularity across the entire production chain.
• Regulatory obstacles.
• Current higher costs associated with circular production, leading to more expensive products.
To overcome these barriers, adjustments to regulations are necessary to better align with circular initiatives, alongside the establishment of shared ownership within the production chain.

Greetings Trailblazing Visionaries,
Get ready for a seismic shift in sustainability! We're ByeBye Bed Limited, a force of innovation since 2019, experiencing a staggering 900% growth, and now we're inviting you to be part of our electrifying journey - Reborn Products.
The Powerhouse Behind ByeBye Bed Limited: Meet Paul Beckett, the maverick entrepreneur who saw a goldmine in recycling. His vision isn’t just about mattresses; it’s about transforming waste into a treasure trove of sustainable, retail-worthy products. The world is ready for this revolution, and we're leading the charge.
Dazzling Growth, Unstoppable Momentum: From a modest 6,000 sq. ft. to our current 60,000 sq. ft. facility, we've supersized our operation to revolutionise recycling on a grand scale. Brace yourself for a dedicated manufacturing facility that will catapult our capabilities into the stratosphere.
Reborn Products: Where Sustainability Meets Luxury: Our 'Reborn' products aren't just eco-friendly; they're a testament to style, comfort, and sustainability. From avant-garde mattresses to chic futon chairs and everything in between, we’re turning waste into opulence. Currently, 96% of our materials are recycled, making us the pinnacle of green innovation.
Crushing the Landfill Crisis: We're not just talking the talk; we're walking it, stomping on the UK landfill crisis that swallows almost 5,000,000 mattresses each year. We're not just recycling; we're redefining waste, turning it into a jaw-dropping spectacle of sustainability.
Financial Dynamo: Fueling the Future: Hold on tight because the next phase is a financial thunderstorm. We're not just enhancing the use of our recycled materials; we're rewriting the rules of industry, starting with furniture making. Imagine a world where our waste stream becomes the lifeblood of innovation.
Revolutionary Padding Material: Unleashing the Future: Introducing our game-changing padding material, birthed from our waste streams. It's not just 100% recyclable; it's a disruptor, challenging the status quo and reshaping the very fabric of eco-friendly living.
Invest in Tomorrow: ByeBye Bed Limited is the Future: This isn’t just a crowdfunding opportunity; it’s your ticket to invest in the future of sustainability. Join the movement, fuel the revolution, and be part of a success story that will be told for generations.
Social Impact: Building Lives, Breaking Chains: But wait, there's more! Our initiative with HMP isn’t just about recycling materials; it's about recycling lives. We're rehabilitating prisoners, re-skilling them for a triumphant return to society. And the best part? They potentially become integral members of our powerhouse workforce.
Your Invitation to Greatness: Investing in ByeBye Bed Limited and Reborn Products isn’t just about returns; it’s about being part of a seismic shift. This is your opportunity to be on the ground floor of something monumental.
Interested in More Details? Ignite the Revolution - Join Us Now: Email us for more details and become part of a future where recycling isn’t just responsible; it’s a lifestyle. Let's redefine waste, together.
Thank you for daring to dream big with ByeBye Bed Limited and Reborn Products.

Context
At the heart of the GEMINI Project lies a commitment to fostering innovation and to accelerate the transition towards climate neutrality in mobility solutions.
Goal 11 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals advocates for access to safe, affordable, and sustainable transport systems. Nowadays, transport plays a significant role on air pollution and is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions and is the only sector in the EU with increased Green House Gas (GHG) emissions compared to 1990.
The promotion of sustainable and innovative mobility solutions can help towards reducing GHG and carbon footprints, improving air quality, and achieving climate goals.

Project brief
The GEMINI Project (2023-2026 “Greening European Mobility through cascading innovation Initiatives” is a Horizon Europe funded project with 43 partners led by the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI).

To accelerate the transition towards climate neutrality, GEMINI aims to foster widespread adoption of sustainable shared mobility solutions. To achieve this, the project will develop and test innovative business models for New Mobility Services (NMS) such as shared connected automated vehicles and shared mobility public transport through public-private partnerships. The NMS business models will be demonstrated in ten European Cities (Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Munich, Leuven, Ljubljana, Paris-Saclay, Porto and Turin).

Additionally, GEMINI will create digital tools and platforms that accommodate various mobility services, promoting collaboration and integration within the mobility sector. The project will actively engage stakeholders in the co-creation process, introducing Mobility as a Commons (MaaC) and incentivizing behavioural shifts and user acceptance of these new mobility options.

Furthermore, GEMINI will formulate policy recommendations to enable the scaling up and replication of successful mobility solutions. By aligning with Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and urban mobility planning frameworks, the project aims to contribute to a comprehensive policy package that guides and incentivizes future mobility innovations. The GEMINI project envisions fostering sustainable, accessible, and affordable shared mobility solutions that contribute to a safer and more environmentally friendly urban mobility landscape.

Objectives

1. Develop and test sustainable business models for New Mobility Services (NMS) to increase shared mobility solutions (MaaS and MaaC) for various user groups, including enterprises, families, and tourists.
2. Create digital enablers, including collaboration platforms and multimodal MaaS solutions, to integrate and facilitate a wide range of mobility services.
3. Actively involve stakeholders in the co-creation of new mobility options and integrate Social Innovation practices to incentivize behavioural changes and user acceptance.
4. Formulate policy recommendations to support the scaling up and replicability of successful mobility solutions, contributing to the development and implementation of SUMPs and urban mobility planning frameworks.

Cenex NL key contributions
The team plays a vital role in developing policy recommendations and technology roadmaps to accelerate the deployment of innovative mobility services. Through collaboration with local authorities in twinning cities, these roadmaps will align with the fast-track deployment of shared mobility trends in the short and medium term. Additionally, Cenex NL will contribute to the development of the Handbook consolidating the project’s learnings and offering practical guidance to cities and citizens across Europe.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101103801.

Context
Africa is the fasted growing continent on the planet, measured both in GDP as in population, which historically is accompanied with a growth in energy consumption. With an eye on the Paris Agreement and COP26 it is clear the energy should be Low or even Zero Emission. However, it is important this does not stifle the economic growth allowing millions to climb out of poverty. With this in mind the EU funded the SESA project that aims at mitigating climate change while improving access to sustainable energy under affordable, reliable conditions.

Project brief
SESA is a four-year (2021-2025) EU H2020 funded R&D project designed to combine innovative energy access solutions for a range of applications in both urbanised and rural contexts in Africa. These solutions will include decentralised renewables (solar photovoltaics), innovative energy storage systems (including second life batteries), waste-to-energy systems (biomass to biogas), smart microgrids, (micro) mobility solutions, climate-proofing, resilience and adaptation, and rural internet access.
SESA focusses on testing, validating and replicating those energy innovations through co-developed demonstration actions in 9 sites across the continent (1 Living Lab for testing, 4 for validation and 4 for replication).
The collaborative project is the result of a strong partnership between leading European and African universities, research centres, industry actors, local governments, knowledge and implementation organizations and networks.

Objectives
The main goal of SESA is to support a diversity of affordable solutions that help provide access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy services for all, creating new business opportunities and developing concepts that can directly contribute to a low-carbon development. It further provides policy makers with recommendations aiming at creating a favourable regulatory environment to ensure long-term impacts of the solutions developed. In addition, a key deliverable for the project is the SESA Toolbox, which will contain materials relating to the following main building blocks:

• Impact assessment
• Capacity building
• Business plans and models
• Innovations tested in demonstration actions
• Design, operations and management for different solutions
• Financing & funding options
• Policy support

Cenex NL’s key contributions
Cenex NL leads the work package responsible for the development of the key repository of the project, the so called “SESA Toolbox”, and the evaluation of the project results available in the toolbox. Our team will be involved in three tasks:

1. Build a scalable and harmonised toolbox for advanced implementation, management and operation strategies of efficient sustainable energy solutions.
2. Develop an evaluation framework based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of the proposed solutions.
3. Assess the impact of the solutions developed in at least five the demonstration and validation projects using the framework developed in the previous task.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation progamme under grant agreement No 101037141

The climate is changing and Amsterdam is getting busier and busier. We are faced with the task of keeping the city, including Southeast, liveable, safe and accessible at the same time.Various events, concerts, sports competitions attract millions of visitors to Southeast every year. To bring all these visitors to the city in a more sustainable way, the municipality of Amsterdam, Johan Cruijff ArenA, Ajax, NS, GVB, Transdev, Transport Region Amsterdam and Amsterdam Smart City have joined forces. Their ambition is to make CO2 neutral travelling to and from large events the norm by the end of 2023.

Alternating travelbehaviour requires a diverse coalition
The car is currently still the most widely used means of transport in Southeast. The transition to sustainable mobility requires cooperation between (semi)public and private parties and the strengthening of sustainable alternatives to the private car. While reducing car- and parking accessibility, and placing bycicle parking options lays within the power of the municipality, the public transport providers posess all travel data and have the power to expand their transportcapacity. Moreover, to convince the supporters and fans to change their behaviour, you need the direct communication power from Ajax (Football Club) and the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Hence, you could say the challenge within the challenge is to find new forms of collaboration, data sharing, and fine-tuning the alignment of measures.

Short and long-term measures
The coalition of partners have developed an action plan and analysed crowd-and travel behaviour. During 2023, these findings initiated the shaping of first measures to influence the mobility choices of visitors. During the first pilot event at the end of May, bike parking facilities will be expanded and group transportation will be aranged for those living in so called 'public transport desserts'.

When speaking of long(er)-term measures, one could think of time-adjusted public transport supply, personal (digital) travel advice, and campaigns through Ajax and its supportersbase to raise awareness and appreciation of car-alternatives.

Across North West Europe, cities are increasingly investing in renewable energy production and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. However, the control systems for energy generation, energy utilisation, energy storage and electric vehicle charging work are currently separate from each other. This results in high costs and CO2 emissions due to energy inefficiencies.

Electric vehicles are mostly powered by fossil fuel generated electricity. At the same time, renewable energy is inefficiently utilised because production and demand are not synchronised across the city.

The project CleanMobilEnergy will integrate various renewable energy sources, storage devices, electric vehicles and optimisation of energy consumption through one unique smart energy management system. The development of this intelligent Energy Management System (iEMS) will increase the economic value of renewable energy and significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

The iEMS will assure the smart integration through interoperability based on open standards for data flows and analysis tools.CleanMobilEnergy will make it possible for renewable energy sources to be used locally, so electric vehicles can be charged with 100 % renewable energy offered at an optimum price. Electrical energy from the grid will only be required when prices are low or renewable energy sources are not available, the iEMS monitors and optimises the system 24hours a day, 7 days a week.

One generic transnational iEMS will be adapted to the 4 specific City Pilots, in Arnhem, London, Schwäbisch Gmünd and Nottingham. These pilots range from small towns to large cities. The 4 City pilots cover different types of renewable energy, storage and electric vehicles as well as different contexts and diverse city environments.

The City Pilots will utilise different state-of-the-art storage media in various environments, which are representative of North West Europe and are easily replicated in other cities across Europe. Specifically in London and Nottingham, for example, electric vehicles themselves will be used to power the buildings and depot by using innovative bi-directional chargers controlled by the integrated energy management system iEMS.

In Arnhem, on the other hand, renewable energy will be supplied to ships in the harbour adjacent to its industrial area. These pilots were chosen to represent a wide range of city sizes and environments, which are essential to developing a widely applicable system for future implementation across Europe.

500+ cycling infrastructure documents from all over the world, and growing. Cycling infrastructure design manuals, strategy guides and more all curated in one easy-to-use database.

On Thursday, March 17 Grisha Zotov pitched some of the dilemmas his team encountered during the process of urban design. Among others, he touched upon densification and building height as aspects that influence intensity of human interaction.

Located in the former industrial zone, Schinkelkwartier is an example of inclusive and interdisciplinary redevelopment. Destined to be a diverse mix-use hub, Schinkelkwartier will develop in several phases during 25 years. At an early stage local stakeholders and neighbors of the area were involved.

On behalf of Architectural Prescription Grisha raised questions about opportunities and risks offered by water-related location and complexity due to the amount of interested parties.

Suggestions, ideas and feedback are always welcome.

Local or guest, reach out and share what you think!

Open access toolkit of people-centered methods for urban planners, designers, and advocates to make cycling inclusive and accessible to all.

Building the largest interactive LEGO model of the future city ever!

Imagine a model of the city; however, instead of a literal representation, this is a sculpture that holds ideas and dreams from citizens, policymakers, entrepreneurs and visitors about what the city might be like after we solve major transitional challenges (e.g. sustainability, energy, equality, smart).

What would it feel like to be in this city? What do people wish this future city to become?

the goal
A model of the city that contains the ideas that a diverse group of people have about how the city might emerge from major transitional change like climate adaptation, sustainability, equality, smart. Imagine the city from what might be and what opportunity change offers.

the form
A room-sized model built with LEGO in a public space and with interactivity (e.g. app / QR link / AR) to share the stories that this model contains.

the process
Lego is an powerful way to evoke and capture stories about how people think about something. Through a series of workshops, people from all parts of the city will be invited to share how they think about the future of the city and capture their stories in a collective model. An interactive installation opens up those stories to passers-by and other participants.

partners
finance, organisational, tech

call to action
Get in touch if you want to contribute to the realisation of the largest LEGO city vision model ever!

As Amsterdam’s metropolitan area continues to grow, so do traffic related issues such as congestion, crowded streets, and increasing pressures on fragile infrastructures. Just like cities worldwide, the City of Amsterdam is faced with the challenge of finding better ways to manage urban mobility. Code the Streets wants to support cities with this challenge by bringing together cities, mobility providers and science to create sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions that keep cities liveable, now and in the future.

Code the Streets is working on improving an already existing navigation app by adding data about school zones, fragile infrastructures, congestion and pollution. We want to stimulate car-users to choose an alternative route, for example one that avoids school zones or vulnerable city infrastructure. That way we work to towards a more sustainable way of driving and make the streets of Amsterdam safer and less crowded. Starting in autumn, we will be running pilot programs testing the application in Amsterdam. Interested in trying the app? Sign up here.

Code the Streets is an European EIT Urban Mobility Project bringing together partners from Amsterdam, Helsinki and Budapest to work on innovative solutions for sustainable, inclusive and safe mobility.

Note from ASC: What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments!

City officials require sensor data to optimize operations, plan projects, or measure effects of interventions. Citizens often do not notice the sensors deployed by the City in public space. Also, the benefit for the public is not directly obvious to city residents or immediately shown by the sensing systems in place. Namely, in many cases only after data is processed, it informs an action that affects citizens.

Public concerns about sensors are often connected to concerns about potential action (to be taken by, for example, city officials), and that the action has negative implications. With ‘Simple Sensors’ we address these concerns.

The Simple Sensors project, which is part of the Responsible Sensing Lab, investigates these questions: What if sensors are designed to be seen? What if they communicate clearly what data they collect and how? And what if sensors invite you to interact with them?

Modules for responsible and ‘simple sensing’
Simple Sensors consists of a family of modules, designed by The Incredible Machine, that can be combined: some modules improve transparency over what data is being collected, other modules encourage interaction, and some modules just make it understandable how sensors work. The Simple Sensors family allows the City of Amsterdam to design sensors to fit any context or purpose.

A privacy friendly alternative for CCTV
The first Simple Sensor prototype called millimeter wave (mmWave) has been developed as a proposal for the City’s crowd management sensor at the Marineterrein Amsterdam Living Lab. It consists of four modules: 1) sensor module 2) transmission module, 3) data module, 4) threshold module... Continue reading about the project on our website >>

The automotive sector is the second largest contributor to CO2 emissions globally. Even though car manufacturers push forward the development of electric vehicles (EVs), the current market penetration is still relatively low. Developing lightweight materials is an essential step to increase EV adaptation since a reduced weight results in improved vehicle efficiency and increased range.

52wekenduurzaam nodigt je uit om je eigen leven stap voor stap duurzamer te maken. Een jaar lang iedere week een kleine verrassende en duurzame stap. Om te zien of het bij je past. Word je er gelukkig van, dan hou je het vol. Zo niet, dan skip je het. Wij onderzoeken wat er wel kan. Uitdagend, leuk, leerzaam en gratis. Loop je een stukje met ons mee?

Wij denken dat we met elkaar op een gemakkelijke manier veel duurzamer kunnen worden. Door elkaar te inspireren en uit te dagen. Door leuke en verrassende dingen te onderzoeken. Om zo je eigen versie van een duurzame leefstijl te ontwikkelen. We streven naar 5000 deelnemers in 2021. Hoe meer mensen meedoen, hoe beter. Voor onze Totale Impact Score, maar ook voor jezelf, want samen is veel leuker dan alleen. Dus geweldig als je nu al je gezin, je buren, vrienden en collega’s inspireert om ook mee te doen.

In de toekomst zullen we ons anders door de stad moeten bewegen. Vanwege de toenemende drukte en de verduurzamingsopgave zullen we minder afhankelijk moeten worden van onze privéauto. Dit betekent meer fietsen, meer met het openbaar vervoer en meer gebruik van nieuwe vormen van vervoer zoals deelmobiliteit. Om deze mobiliteitstransitie te kunnen faciliteren moet de gemeente ook haar rol als wegbeheerder herzien. De huidige verkeerscentrale is namelijk nog vooral gericht op klassiek wegverkeer en kijkt dus niet naar de verschillende mobiliteitsstromen. Daarom testen we in Amsterdam Zuidoost met een nieuwe mobiliteitscentrale die naar alle verschillende mobiliteitsstromen kijkt.

Te wicked? Niet voor ons.

Wij werken allemaal aan urgente, complexe, maatschappelijke uitdagingen. Issues die schier onoplosbaar lijken, van dilemma’s en paradoxen omgeven, nog niet duidelijk hoe het moet. Wel is duidelijk dát het moet, dat we elkaar nodig
hebben en dat we er NU aan moeten beginnen. Om met de woorden van Jan Rotmans te spreken; we leven niet in een tijdperk van verandering maar in een verandering van tijdperk. En hier hoort een nieuwe gereedschapskist bij.

En of je nou aan energietransitie werkt, andere mobiliteitssystemen, creëren van waterstofhubs, peer to peer autodeelsystemen, het maakt niet uit, we zien dat al deze opgaven op enig moment tegen gelijksoortige barrières aanlopen. Op samenwerking, financiering, privacy, onvoldoende aansluiting op de maatschappij, om maar een paar voorbeelden te noemen.

Unieke samenwerking
Als Amsterdam Smart City netwerk willen en kunnen we deze opgaven niet laten liggen. Door het bundelen van onze kennis en expertise kunnen we als netwerk iets unieks bieden en de wil en durf tonen om deze barrières te doorbreken. De betrokken partners die dit uitdenken en begeleiden zijn RHDHV, Kennisland, Drift, NEMO, Arcadis, Alliander, HvA en Metabolic. Zij bundelen hun expertise en ervaring om de echte vragen boven tafel te krijgen, tot nieuwe manieren van samenwerken te komen en barrières te doorbreken. We richten ons met name op de start van de samenwerking. Gezamenlijk ontwikkelen we een ‘wicked problem aanpak’. Op een nieuwe manier, lerend door te doen, exploratief.

Waar moet je aan denken?
Wat is eigenlijk het echte probleem? Wiens probleem is dit? Hoe kijken anderen er tegenaan? Welke andere partijen lijken nodig? Hoe vind je ze? Hoe ga je om met eigenaarschap en botsende frames? Hoe zorg je dat je al in
een vroeg stadium de maatschappij (bewoners, ondernemers, werknemers, etc) betrekt en hun ervaringen in het project trekt? Het wicked problem team zet nieuwe methoden in voor het beantwoorden van deze vragen. En het creëren van de benodigde commitment om het vraagstuk aan te pakken. Niets staat van te voren vast, want we passen ons aan aan wat we tegenkomen. Met elkaar ontwikkelen we een nieuwe aanpak om de barrières te doorbreken.

You would like to connect with Urban Environmental Sustainability practitioners and researchers in China and exchange your approaches to green transport, clean energy, compact urban development, water and solid waste management, green buildings and municipal finance? Then sign up to the EC-Link platform! The platform links Eco Cities across Europe and China, offering inspiring examples from both sides of Eurasia and enabling direct contacts to the innovators. With the help of an integrated translation tool, posts can be translated into Chinese and English with just one click. Use of the platform is free of charge: http://eclink.org/bbs/#/?lang=en

A description of how the platform works can be downloaded here: http://eclink.org/ec_platform/upload/document/EC-Link_Users'%20Guide-EN.pdf

EC Link

Innovating Crowd Management Practice