Healthy mobility part two: the European policy level

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) is an international non-governmental organisation that puts health at the centre of environment issues. The alliance focuses on many health-related topics, one of which is mobility.

“The way we travel is making us a less healthy European Union. The promotion of more sustainable transport systems is essential for better health,” the organisation maintains. HEAL tries to influence the European policy level.

Goals and methods
The organisation’s goals are:

• Make European citizens and NGOs more aware of policy changes that can help or hinder progress towards sustainable development
• Support the participation of citizens in policy making at the European level and represent their concerns
• Strengthen EU policies in favour of better protection of health and the environmentLink significant research findings to recommendations on policy action

How they achieves this? Except for more passive activities, such as monitoring EU developments, gathering viewpoints and creating partnerships with the United Nations Environment Programme or the World Health Organisation, HEAL uses active methods as well. The organisation conveys evidence to those in a position to influence policy via personal contact, meetings, publications and issuing email alerts and press releases.

Clean air for all
The objectives of HEAL fit nicely into those of European Mobility Week 2008, which will take place from 16 to 22 September. Since we all need good quality air for our own health and that of our environment, the European Mobility Week 2008 theme is: Clean Air for All! A dream or a possible reality? This makes health one of the main focuses of the Mobility Week activities.

All European cities as well as other stakeholders are invited to participate in European Mobility Week. In the organisation's own words: "Local authorities have a crucial role to play in the implementation of national and European legislations and need to protect the health of their citizens. Nevertheless, local authorities need the help of all local stakeholders to meet the challenge of reducing harmful emissions."

Can HEAL play the part of uniting local stakeholders and voicing their needs?

SMILE
Other projects integrate the health factor into their strategies, but do not stress it more than other factors. SMILE, for example: a sustainable mobility partnership formed by organisations from various European countries. SMILE works closely together with European Mobility Week campaigns’ national co-ordinators, European local authorities and experts in the field of sustainable transport policies.

SMILE supports local authorities by presenting 170 successful and replicable practices for sustainable urban mobility in a local experiences database. These best practices were collected by means of a questionnaire. The project also analyses local policies and together with experienced European cities and towns, drafts recommendations for local authorities to facilitate the replication of these practices.

It is up to the locals
Again in this project, it is up to local authorities whether to stress the health factor or not, and to implement measures. But they are not on their own. On the European level, experiences are collected and there is plenty of help available for local authorities to replicate best practices.

Related article: Healthy mobility (part one)