Urban Cycling Mobility in the European Green Deal

The European Green Deal aims at achieving a 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050. To this end, it sets forth a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, providing a roadmap for the reduction of transport-related emissions. Investments in alternative fuels, electric cars and the renewal of public transport fleets rank high on the agenda. On the contrary, comparatively less attention is devoted to the promotion of cycling mobility, despite the well-demonstrated benefits of increasing the cyclability of urban areas. Such benefits encompass, on one hand, substantial environmental improvements that would arise from the replacement of motorized transport with human-powered forms of mobility, in terms of both GHG emissions reduction and air quality improvement. On the other hand, investing in cycling mobility also has important health and social co-benefits, for instance in terms of prevention of cardiovascular diseases and economic affordability. Against this background, this paper examines whether, and how, the policy framework laid out in the European Green Deal can drive the growth of cycling mobility in European cities. The paper is structured as follows. First, it introduces the concept of cycling mobility, focusing in particular on its environmental and economic benefits. Then, it turns to an analysis of cycling mobility policies in the EU law, with special focus on the European Green Deal. Lastly, it explores how the EU normative framework can be strengthened in order to enhance the promotion of urban cycling mobility.