EIT Urban Mobility project 2024
As one of the selected applications for the EIT Urban Mobility SME Market Expansion Call, our first roll-out in Riga is now underway. In 2023, we piloted a Smart Zone at Riga Technical University, the city’s dedicated living lab. After a successful evaluation, we expanded to the neighborhood level to address illegal parking comprehensively and enhance curbside management.
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About the project
This initiative represents a significant step forward in our commitment to enhancing urban mobility and making cities more accessible and livable.
Currently, the RTU campus lacks sufficient visitor parking, and drivers often enter without knowing the availability of parking spaces, leading to unnecessary driving around or rogue curbside parking, which hinders pedestrian accessibility. RTU aims to maintain a safe, green campus with minimal automobile presence, making new parking spaces undesirable.
In response, we are implementing five Digital Smart Zones across the campus, piloting them with real-time occupancy updates and booking options.
This phase, running from August 29, 2024, includes enhanced signage and clear street markings to guide drivers. With visibility through the app, drivers can better plan their visits, improving accessibility, reducing noise, and decreasing emissions. The project is now focused on visitor parking rather than logistics, aligning with the real campus needs.
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Expected Results:
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Increased parking efficiency for visitors and guest lecturers
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Reduced rogue parking and driving around for available spaces
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Improved campus experience and pedestrian safety
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This impact is significant for university campuses and serves as a model for other urban settings where space management is crucial.
Meet the project partners
Together with these partners we're working on a neighbourhood level impact
Riga Technical University (RTU) is a leading educational institution and an official smart city living lab in Latvia. As a hub for innovation and research, RTU collaborates with industry and city officials to develop and test cutting-edge urban solutions. The university's efforts in transportation, energy, and infrastructure are key to transforming Riga into a model smart city.
Riga, Latvia's capital, boasts a population of 614,618 as of 2021, a third of the nation's total. As Latvia's largest city by a considerable margin, Riga holds a central role. It comprises six districts, with the historic central district designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This concentration of businesses near the historical center adds complexity to the city's logistics.
A European initiative to create liveable urban spaces
EIT Urban Mobility is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Since January 2019, EIT Urban Mobility has been working to encourage positive changes in the way people move around cities in order to make them more liveable places. We aim to become the largest European initiative transforming urban mobility. Co-funding of up to EUR 400 million (2020-2026) from the EIT, a body of the European Union, will help make this happen.
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New Smart Zones
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New features
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Months of piloting
This project is supported by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. EIT Urban Mobility acts to accelerate positive change on mobility to make urban spaces more liveable. Learn more: eiturbanmobility.eu