The International
Urban Mobility Conference and Project Closing Event within the scope of the
SUMP Türkiye Project, co-financed by the Republic of Türkiye and the European
Union, with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure acting as the
Contracting Authority and the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye as the End Recipient,
was held on 7–8 July 2025 at the Ankara Bilkent Hotel and Conference Center to
discuss the future of sustainable urban mobility policies, share SUMP
implementation experiences, and strengthen multi-stakeholder engagement. With
the participation of over 300 attendees, the event provided an important
platform that brought together public institutions, municipalities, academia,
civil society organizations, private sector representatives, and international
experts.
The opening speeches
of the conference strongly reflected the sectoral and strategic dimensions of
the event. Suat Yıldız, Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of
Türkiye, emphasized that sustainable urban mobility is not merely a matter of
transportation, but a fundamental pillar in terms of quality of life, societal
resilience, and social justice. Yıldız underlined that the SUMP Türkiye Project
significantly contributed to positioning municipalities as policy partners and
strategic actors. Jurgis Vilcinskas, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the
European Union to Türkiye, highlighted the EU’s support for sustainable urban
mobility policies and the implementation of SUMPs in Türkiye, while Kutluhan
Taşkın, Vice President of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, referred to
the increasing strategic importance of urban mobility within the framework of
development plans.
Over the course of the two-day conference, the strategic approach, implementation outputs, and lessons learned through the SUMP Türkiye Project were comprehensively shared via multi-stakeholder sessions. In the panel discussions that brought together sectoral experience and technical expertise, in-depth analyses were presented on key components of sustainable urban mobility, including reflections that can directly inform policymaking processes.
Day 1 Panels:
Planning: The Key to Impact and
Progress
This panel addressed the strategic role of planning for successful SUMP implementation in a holistic manner.
Framework and Approach: SUMP
Türkiye Project Presentation
Wolfgang Backhaus (PhD), Director of the SUMP Türkiye
Project, presented the overall framework and strategic approach of the project.
Following his presentation, the SUMP Türkiye Almanac Film summarizing the
three-year project journey and its key outcomes was screened for the audience.
Inspiring Change: Case Studies
from Türkiye and Europe
In this panel, the experiences of municipalities
implementing SUMPs in Türkiye were discussed alongside successful European
examples, offering a multi-layered perspective.
Integrated Approaches in National
and Local Planning
This panel focused on institutional experiences for effectively integrating sustainable mobility planning at both national and local levels.
Day 2: Thematic Panels
The second day continued with a series of panel
sessions where different components of sustainable urban mobility were explored
in depth with contributions from experts from Türkiye and Europe:
Data-Driven Mobility Governance
This panel discussed how data-driven decision-making
processes can be strengthened in SUMP implementation, with approaches shared on
the collection, management, and integration of mobility data into policymaking.
Building Resilient Urban Mobility
Systems
This session addressed strategies for maintaining
mobility during crisis situations, including disaster risks, protection of
vulnerable groups in the context of the climate crisis, and strengthening the
resilience of transport systems.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Systems
This panel brought together national and international
experts to present analyses on the applicability and efficiency of bus-based
public transport systems in cities.
Ensuring Equity in Daily Mobility
This panel focused on inclusively addressing the mobility needs of groups such as women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Institutional actions required to achieve transformation based on equality and justice in transport systems were emphasized.
The conference concluded with a closing speech by the
Project Director, followed by the SUMP Türkiye Project Closing Reception. The
reception featured a closing speech by Fikret Gültekin, Director of Projects
and Financing at the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, and the presentation
of plaques to the project management team.