The need for more sustainable and integrative planning processes as a way of dealing with the complexity of urban mobility has been widely recognised since 2013 and new approaches to urban mobility planning are emerging rapidly in an ever-changing urban mobility climate. Due to people’s willingness to adopt new modes of transport (for example, electric scooters, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and shared transport), the urban mobility dialogue is constantly evolving - and the support available for practitioners needs to adapt, too. 

The 2013 Urban Mobility Package (link is external) set out a concept for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (link is external) (SUMPs) that emerged from a broad exchange between stakeholders and planning experts across the European Union. While the original concept still stands, the Guidelines for developing and implementing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan have been revised.

The core SUMP principles describe the main features of a modern and sustainable urban mobility and transport plan. It comprises the following main elements:

EU action on SUMPs

In addition to the European Platform on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, the European Commission offers support to European cities to tackle urban mobility challenges by:

• Supporting exchange and capacity building on sustainable urban development through, among others, the European URBACT (link is external) programme.
• Improving the quality and availability of data and statistics for urban transport systems operations and decision-making at local, regional, national and EU level.
• Supporting local partnerships in implementing and testing new urban mobility approaches under real-life conditions as part of the CIVITAS 2020 (link is external)initiative.
• Providing financial support for urban mobility projects through European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, Connecting Europe Facility as well as other financial instruments.

The European Commission is working closely with the Member States to ensure the SUMP concept is adapted to the specific requirements and existing planning practices in each Member State and actively promoted at national level in order to reach hundreds of cities in Europe.