Is GOLIA an oracle for inclusive green mobility?
In ancient Greece, leaders travelled on foot or by horse to the city of Delphi to ask an oracle what the future might hold. Their questions are lost to history; ours are not.
Today, cities want to know which sustainable mobility interventions will truly work, not only in terms of efficiency and investment, but also in terms of inclusion and public space planning in a holistic approach. And for answers, they increasingly turn to a modern source of wisdom: data and artificial intelligence.
Go wisdom
What if a cycle lane were extended by another five kilometres to reach a university campus? What if zero-emission zones expanded beyond the city centre? What interventions would motivate daily commuters to switch from private car to public transport when reaching their workplace in the morning? How can the city enhance traffic safety in areas with a high volume of van deliveries?
The future is uncertain. Cities are anthills where people with different values, lived experiences, and daily challenges coexist, and it is not always easy to cater to them all. But what if cities could assess the impact on their policies through the lens of different stakeholders and citizen groups?
Through the GOLIA project, three partner cities – Pilsen, Florence and Antwerp- will be able to explore predictions and simulations based on machine learning, helping them assess which sustainable mobility plans from cycle networks and public transport combinations to low-emission zones are feasible, effective, and inclusive.
For example, it will help Pilsen address the challenge of strong commuting patterns towards the city, which relies on good public transport infrastructure but has high car use. “It’s difficult to change habits,” says Jaroslava Kypetová, Head of Grants and Integrated Territorial Investments Department at the city of Pilsen. It will also help Florence, which, “as a tourist city, faces a high flow of mobility,” as Elena Aversa, Technical Officer at Fundraising and EU projects Office at the city of Florence, stressed.
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