Mobility for everyone: panel discussion in Hohenschönhausen on September 16th!

Mobility for everyone: panel discussion in Hohenschönhausen on September 16th!

The panel discussion “Mobility for everyone in Hohenschönhausen” will take place today from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Humboldt House at Warnitzer Str. 13a in 13057 Berlin. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Neu-Hohenschönhausen and as part of the European Mobility Weeks, the event is primarily intended to improve mobility in the district. District Councilor Filiz Keküllüoğlu (Alliance 90/The Greens) will moderate the discussion, which begins at 6:00 p.m. Before that, from 5:00 p.m., an exhibition on the district's mobility policy will open, which will address developments since 2015 using the example of the Hohenschönhausen S-Bahn and regional train station.

The focus of the discussion is the various aspects of mobility, including local public transport (ÖPNV), cycle and walking paths and safety on school routes. The aim is to develop possible approaches for environmentally and climate-friendly mobility in the north of the district. The panelists include Danny Freymark from the CDU and Stefan Taschner from B’90/The Greens, as well as Holger Mertens, editor-in-chief of SIGNAL, and Evan Vosberg from ADFC Berlin.

Current challenges in local public transport

The discussion about barrier-free mobility is receiving attention not only in Berlin, but also nationwide. On May 5th, a nationwide day of protest took place in North Rhine-Westphalia to draw attention to barriers in local public transport. Numerous actors took part with creative actions and called for barrier-free public transport. The title of a panel discussion taking place at the same time was: “Mobility for all – accessible and climate-friendly?!”

Key demands were raised, such as the need for a fairer distribution of public space and binding infrastructure standards. Prof. Dr. Frank Eckardt emphasized that mobility is a basic requirement for participation in social processes. The criticism that accessibility is hardly anchored in the training of urban planners makes it clear that there are still significant challenges. The conclusion of the discussion was that social justice and climate protection are closely linked.

European approaches to inclusive mobility

At the EU level, intensive work is being done on a transport system that enables barrier-free travel for all citizens. In this context, eleven EU-funded projects developed under the Horizon 2020 program were presented. The aim of these projects is to improve the connectivity, accessibility and inclusivity of European transport systems.

The projects include “Cities-4-People”, which promotes a people-oriented approach to improving mobility in five cities, and “INDIMO”, a digital tool for inclusive transport solutions. These initiatives aim to establish mobility as a universal right and ensure that over 80 million people in Europe who have a long-term disability in particular have easier access to transport services.

The event in the Humboldt House is therefore not only a locally anchored event, but also part of a broader discussion about the future of mobility and the creation of an inclusive, barrier-free transport landscape for all citizens.