News

On January 21 & 22 2025, the city of Heidelberg hosted a two-day twinning study visit as part of the REALLOCATE Project, welcoming representatives from its twin city, Utrecht, alongside horizontal partner organisations—including Dekra Assurance, Dekra Automobil, Nudgd, Fraunhofer, the International federation of Pedestrians and University College Dublin (UCD).

The Deputy Mayor of Heidelberg Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain warmly welcomed participants to the city, reaffirming the city's commitment to sustainability. The visit allowed for a productive exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas, highlighting REALLOCATE’s mission to inspire cities to share common challenges and develop sustainable urban mobility solutions adapted to their contexts.

A model of sustainable urban mobility

Heidelberg is located in the German region of Baden-Württemberg and, as a mission city of the REALLOCATE Project, has been long known for its commitment to climate action. Heidelberg was among the first cities in Germany to develop a climate protection approach following the Rio Summit in 1992. In 2014, the city introduced its first climate master plan and in 2019 adopted its Climate Action Plan 2020. In 2020, the city created a dedicated department for climate protection, the environment and mobility further reinforcing the integration of climate action within the administration.

Deputy Mayor, Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, actively participated in some of the workshops and attended the on-site visits, emphasising the city’s dedication and commitment to its Climate Mobility Plan (Klimamobilitätsplan) and improving sustainability more broadly. As Schmidt-Lamontain shared, “Sustainable development has been a central guiding principle of the City of Heidelberg since 1997. We are proud to have already made the transformation towards more sustainable modes of mobility in recent years. However, we in Heidelberg are continuously working to learn and grow in this area. REALLOCATE is a valuable part of this process, where we can exchange ideas and share solutions with experts and colleagues from all over Europe.” 

As Heidelberg’s Twin City within the REALLOCATE Project, Utrecht shares a similar vision for advancing inclusive urban mobility. For example, Utrecht’s strategy for 2040 plans to integrate more greenery and water into urban spaces, develop new ‘centre hubs’ to decentralise growth and create a smart and connected transport network. The visit successfully brought together mobility experts and urban planners to collectively learn from each other and co-create solutions to reimagine and redesign public space allocation. By supporting the transformation of streets at the local level, both cities are working towards inclusive, green, safe and future-proof urban spaces, where communities live and thrive.

Site visits, workshops and joint discussions on public engagement, behavioural change and turning mobility data into solutions. 

The first day of the study visit began with an interactive session led by Nudgd on addressing specific behavioural challenges experienced by both cities in their pilot sites. The session explored possible behaviour interventions to foster school active mobility and encourage residents to take more ownership of the street.  

In the afternoon, UCD led a workshop focusing on the public engagement challenges faced by the cities, followed by an interactive discussion on Nature-based solutions and in particular the use of planter boxes. Dekra Assurance closed the day with an interactive workshop on the different methodologies to conduct a life cycle assessment of planter boxes.

The second day kicked off with site visits, starting at Kleingemünder Straße, one of the REALLOCATE intervention locations. The street is part of a mixed-function district which has a range of facilities including a kindergarten, an elderly home, a post office, shops as well as residential buildings. Participants were presented with the plan for the redesign of the street which included traffic calming measures and new greenery.

Bahnstadt, the second location visited, is credited as one of the world's largest carbon-neutral districts where all buildings meet the energy efficiency requirements of the "passive house" standard.

The site visits rounded off with a tour of Blumenstraße, where the team saw firsthand the changes being implemented there, namely new cycling parking and the redesign of the entrance of the main school to improve ease and accessibility for the children, parents and teachers alike. These site visits, seeing the project pilots in action, helped trigger lively and constructive discussions during which horizontal partners and the representatives of Utrecht collaboratively provided feedback to Heidelberg. 

The knowledge-sharing continued later in the afternoon with an interactive workshop led by Dekra Automobil on turning traffic safety data into actionable decision-making solutions. Through an interactive dashboard, participants analysed accident data to identify safety concerns and potential conflicts between road users, and in doing so explored how this tool can support decision-makers and urban planners in designing interventions to reduce accidents.

This was followed by a final peer-to-peer learning workshop led by Fraunhofer, attended by municipal representatives from Heidelberg, Utrecht and Landratsamt Rhein-Neckar-Kreiswhich. Discussions covered strategies for navigating changing political contexts and sensitive topics and encouraging regional cooperation.

The day ended with a reflective session on key takeaways and inspirations from the visit. Through the two days of activities, it became clear that both cities face common challenges, with the twinning visit providing an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas and peer learning. REALLOCATE wishes to thank the City of Heidelberg for their warm hospitality and to the representatives from Utrecht and all participating partner organisations for their valuable contributions. The REALLOCATE Project team leaves Heidelberg with more knowledge and a stronger commitment to advancing zero-emission, inclusive and people-centred mobility across Europe.