Living, moving, breathing: ranking of European cities in sustainable transport

Replacing high volumes of cars with high volumes of cyclists and pedestrians makes roads safer and the air cleaner, finds a Greenpeace Germany report ranking 13 European cities on sustainable transport, mobility and air quality. Safe roads and clean air go hand-in-hand. This study shows that when you improve a city’s public transport infrastructure in a sustainable way, people breathe cleaner air and their roads are safer. The research conducted by the Wuppertal Institute found that London, Budapest and Paris have high air pollution levels while Zurich, Oslo and Copenhagen have some of the cleanest air, from the cities examined. Along with cleaner air, these cities also rank well on road safety and have high shares of public transport use, as well as developed walking and cycling infrastructures. The report also demonstrates how some cities are managing to address the challenges that all major cities face, through a combination of public transport and active mobility solutions. Copenhagen, which tops the report’s ranking as best overall city, is using a wide variety of solutions to improve air urban quality and liveability.