Elbasan Climate-Neutral Innovation in Mobility (eCIM)
Elbasan’s journey towards climate neutrality faces significant challenges, particularly in the mobility sector. The eCIM initiative aims to shift the city away from its car-dependent model towards one that prioritizes active transportation and climate resilience. By reimagining urban spaces to favor pedestrians and cyclists, and by promoting sustainable mobility options, eCIM seeks to reduce the city’s carbon footprint while simultaneously improving public health. This transformation could serve as a blueprint for other car-centric Balkan cities. Facing similar issues, demonstrating how urban areas can adapt to and mitigate climate change through thoughtful city planning and a renewed focus on sustainable, active transportation.
The project includes developing a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian sectorial network plan, tested along Aqif Pasha Boulevard and connected areas, and creating a public-supporting area to showcase the benefits of car-free living. It also involves converting key sections of the city into pedestrian-friendly zones and designing and implementing cycling lanes. The project aims to transform Aqif Pasha Boulevard from a car-centric street into a smart corridor that promotes the use of bicycles and pedestrian areas. This will be achieved through implementing a temporary “pop-up” bicycle lane, deploying smart infrastructure like bicycle counting cameras and intelligent pedestrian crossings, enhancing pedestrian areas (particularly in the “Kalaja” neighborhood), and using data-driven approaches to monitor and improve the new mobility solutions.
Through the NetZeroCities Enabling City Transformation Programme under the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral Cities, this project will pilot innovative mobility solutions in Elbasan. The city will serve as a testing ground for developing and implementing comprehensive mobility models that integrate data-driven policy approaches, capacity building, and community engagement to create sustainable urban transportation systems that can later be scaled across the city.
