Alpine Pearls in Calalonia, Spain
Conference on improving mobility in rural and low-density areas
Today, we are looking back at June 2025, when we had the opportunity to participate in the XVI Mobility Conference organised by the Barcelona Provincial Council Diputació de Barcelona. Alpine Pearls was invited to participate online in the session ‘Best Practices for Sustainable Mobility in Europe’ to share experiences on mobility solutions and services in Alpine regions that work through collaboration and transnational cooperation.
Challenges, Strategies and Best Practices
Background: The Barcelona Declaration, signed by European transport ministers in 2023, highlighted the importance of developing sustainable mobility strategies to address the challenges and opportunities faced by rural areas, where access to basic services is often limited by inadequate infrastructure and transport services. In many rural areas, long distances and the scarcity of reliable transportation services can isolate people, making it difficult for them to access medical care, education, and economic opportunities, which negatively impacts the social and economic development of local communities.
Cooperation and voices from different backgrounds
Throughout the conference, representatives from the provincial, regional, and national levels participated, along with representatives from local entities who provided the voice of the territory. In addition, experts in the field of mobility and Sarah Twardella from the EGTC Alpine Pearls shared their knowledge and experiences on innovative and sustainable solutions.
Congratulations to the organisers on this very rewarding event! It was also very interesting to listen to the other speakers in this session, learning about a community bus initiative in Germany, public transport and rural mobility hubs in the Netherlands or the Interreg Europe project Rural Mobility. We look forward to further cooperation in the future.
LINKS: Rural Mobility project: https://www.interregeurope.eu/rural-mobility