Florence

Florence

Florence, Italy

Implementing SUMP road safety policies within a new regulatory framework maximising SOMI.

  • Florence is home to 364,000 inhabitants, chief town of Tuscany in the centre of Italy. Considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence is one of the most popular Italian touristic destinations and its historical centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Its economy is characterised by a strong manufacturing and tertiary sector (with tourism as top income item).

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  • Florence has a huge number of daily city users, mostly tourists, staying for an average of slightly more than 3 days. The municipality of Florence has a strong cooperation in place with the Metropolitan City in terms of mobility policies. Florence is an urban node of the TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor.

Over the past 10 years, the streets of Florence have witnessed 135 deaths and over 29,000 injuries. Fortunately, these numbers are slowly declining, but they still do not align with the goal of having zero road fatalities.

than half of these deaths are due to speeding, failure to yield to pedestrians at crossings, and distracted driving. In its SUMP approved in 2021, Florence identified several infrastructure interventions aimed at improving road safety, starting with gradually redesigning urban spaces to prioritize vulnerable users in residential and commercial areas.

The streets will become places of gathering rather than separation and danger, as Florence aims for a cultural shift in mobility concepts.

The road code

Meanwhile, in the summer of 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport approved a reform of the Road Code, also aimed at improving road safety but reducing the scope of city interventions. Building on the strategic visions from the city’s SECAP, Climate City Contract (CCC), and SUMP&SULP, the redesign of urban spaces will use a system-thinking approach. This will analyse how these spaces interact with passenger and freight mobility hubs of various scales (as identified by SUMP and SULP) and alternative transportation modes (e.g., shared mobility, micro-mobility, public transport).

The evaluation will focus on ensuring equitable access for all citizens and city users, including local businesses, in line with the principles of Mobility as a Right and aiming to maximize the Social Optimum Mobility Index. Particular focus will be placed on the impact of urban space redesign and mobility hubs on the urban logistics ecosystem.

Mobility challenge

How to reshape urbane spaces to enhance safety, in compliance with the new regulatory frameworks in-force?
What is the impact on safety and MaaR? How and how much shared mobility (pax and freight) hubs can support this goal? Which are the potential benefits of dynamic usage or urban spaces?

Governance challenge

Reshaping urban spaces and implement mobility hubs in UNESCO areas (land-scape area).
Identify the most effective synergies with the new reform of the Road Code, New UMF and TEN-T revision to improve road safety.

Objectives

Evaluate the impact of re-shaped urban spaces, in connection with mobility hubs on different city users’ groups Inclusive policy making approach

(ENGAGEMOVE)

Firenze will set up a participatory approach involving the already established Citizens Assembly and specific stakeholders’ groups by means of storytelling approaches, particularly suited to addressing complex sustainability transitions within transport and mobility. It facilitates inclusive and empathetic dialogue and interaction between different knowledges and perspectives; creates mutual learning and collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and different users; contributes to conflict resolution and agenda-setting, which can support collective action; gives a platform to diverse and often unheard voices, resulting in rich data sets

Digital support (GO-X module):

GO-WISDOM will support Florence in evaluating how the co-designed and reshaped urban spaces and mobility hubs impact on MaaR from different users’ perspective, considering the newly introduced Road Code reform and maximising the SOMI

Stakeholders involved

Institutional: Metropolitan area and Region; big mobility demand generators: hospitality industry; service providers: logistics service providers; wider groups:
Citizens Assembly of city users (already established) and local associations; minorities: disabled, young and senior citizens

GOLIA footprint

PUMS update; contribution to KPIs and SUMI; freight and passenger mobility assets integration.

Pilot sites