| MUNICIPALITIES |
Municipality represents one key player within the area of mobility and housing. It is in charge of the development of residential areas by tools such as zoning and development plans, regulations concerning transport within the municipality, additional regulations setting standards for sustainable mobility in residential areas as well as incentive programmes for the design of residential areas in a sustainable way facilitating energy-efficient transport patterns.
Thus, municipalities have several possibilities to influence the design of residential areas. The scope can lead to compact settlement structures, lower obligatory provision of car parking spaces, the installation of alternative transport means such as Car Sharing as well as priority for the accessibility of residential areas by public transport, bicycle and pedestrian paths.
The advantage for municipalities in facilitating energy-efficient transport in residential areas as well as a dense settlement structure is to reduce or at least slow down the increasing private car use. This has a direct effect on maintenance and building costs for the street networks and parking spaces, since less car transportation results in lower costs for construction and maintenance, easily covering the additional expenses for sustainable transport modes. Moreover, less car transportation in residential areas results in a wider scope for the design of green spaces and the neighbourhoods’ social infrastructure leading to a higher quality of life for the inhabitants. The municipalities gain economically and by raising the standard of living. |
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