Across Europe, cities are rethinking what streets are for. Once dominated by traffic flow, they are increasingly seen as places for life where people walk, cycle, meet, and breathe cleaner air.
From Prague to Malmo, local leaders are showing how redesigning streets can make them safer, healthier and more equitable, while helping Europe meet its climate and road safety goals. Their message is clear: putting people first requires courage, design innovation and strong support from the European level.
Why rethink streets now?
Europe has set itself an ambitious goal: by 2050, no one should die or be seriously injured on the continent’s roads. Known as Vision Zero, this target underpins the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 and is closely tied to wider ambitions for climate neutrality. But in many cities, the built environment still prioritises cars over people.
The concept of ‘shared space’, where rigid segregation between transport modes is softened, offers a path to change. By slowing down traffic, reducing car dominance and encouraging social interaction, shared spaces can help reclaim streets as public spaces for everyone.
Yet the transition is not without challenges. Without clear design principles and accessible features, shared spaces can exclude vulnerable users such as people with visual or mobility impairments. As cities take bold steps to transform their streets, inclusion and safety must remain at the core.
Prague: reclaiming streets, boosting local life
For Jaromír Beránek, Councillor and Chairman for International Relations and EU Funds in Prague, the story begins more than a decade ago. “We started when people began to realise that the division of space can have both positive and negative impacts,” he explained.
Changing the planning culture, however, remains difficult. “It is especially complicated when it comes to policy departments with old school urban planners who don’t understand the actual reality,” Beránek admitted.
Despite the obstacles, Prague’s experience demonstrates that redesigning streets pays off. Data from the city shows that reducing heavy traffic and adding green spaces supports local businesses. “When we free up the streets and add greener spaces, it helps mitigate climate change and benefits local economies,” he said.
But for Prague and many others, the missing ingredient is political support. As Beránek stated: “We lack one important thing we need for Vision Zero: political will. 2050 is too far away.”
Budapest District 8: making low-speed streets the norm
In Budapest’s District 8, once known for its dense traffic and narrow pavements, change has been rapid. “In the last few years, we have gained 20,000 square metres for pedestrians,” said Dániel Rádai, Deputy Mayor of Budapest District 8. “We are showing it is possible.”
He outlined a pragmatic roadmap for other cities, stressing the need to be transparent and participatory and to “hear everyone’s voice”, to establish clear internal structures for accountability, to pilot changes through tactical urbanism, and to build trust by showing success early. And perhaps most strikingly: “In my career as a consultative urban planner, there is only one topic where zero consultation is required: Vision Zero in less than two years. Everyone wants their children to survive their urban use.”
The district has turned seven square kilometres of residential streets into low-speed zones, “and it costs nearly nothing,” Rádai said. For him, this is not just about safety, but about reclaiming a sense of community.
Malmo: equality and night-time liveability
For Stefana Hoti, First Deputy Mayor and Commissioner for Urban Planning in Malmo, street design is about fairness. “It is important to remember why and for whom we are making this,” she said. “There are huge differences in life expectancy depending on where you are born in the city. How are we tackling that?”
Malmo’s climate plan is among Europe’s most ambitious: climate-neutral by 2030, in one of Sweden’s smallest municipalities. Space, therefore, matters. The city has developed 500 kilometres of cycling lanes, is experimenting with ‘super cycle’ routes, and is working to electrify all public transport.
Hoti emphasised that every planning decision must translate this vision into physical space. “We have a clear priority for a walkable and cyclable city, and this needs to be visible in how we plan.”
A particularly successful measure has been closing some streets to cars at night. “When people can finally sleep because there are no more racing cars, they don’t complain about music at weekends,” she laughed. “It is about making the city liveable again.”
Vilnius: rediscovering streets as places for life
For Andrius Grigonis, Deputy Mayor of Vilnius, the mission is as much cultural as technical. “When I see old pictures of Vilnius, I think how many people were on the streets buying, talking, living. Now most of the space is used by cars,” he reflected. “The good news is that we are getting back to the original purpose of the street: as public space where life happens.”
Vilnius has already halved road deaths since 2017 (from 21 to 11), thanks to new pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, lower speed limits and safer crossings. “We prioritise people first, cycling second, then public transport. Only after that do we talk about cars,” Grigonis explained.
The city also involves residents directly. Citizens’ assemblies invite participants of all ages to co-design a ‘mini-Vilnius’ model, imagining how the city’s streets could evolve. “We are receiving really good ideas that could be implemented,” he said. As European Green Capital 2025, Vilnius aims to show that safer, greener and more inclusive mobility is achievable within the decade.
What cities need from Europe
The European Commission recognises cities’ central role in delivering safer, more sustainable streets. Claire Depré, Head of the Road Safety Unit at DG MOVE, praised local efforts: “Cities are doing the job. We can help and support, but they are the ones making it happen. It takes courage, but also knowledge of what works, so that others can replicate.”
At the EU level, action focuses on developing guidance for vulnerable users, low-emission zones and speed management; supporting enforcement measures, including driver training and tourist compliance; and funding exchange programmes and pilots to spread practical solutions.
Prague Councillor Jaromír Beránek also stressed the importance of international networks and knowledge partners in making this possible. International organisations and think tanks such as Eurocities, he noted, help cities learn from each other and influence European debates. “It comes with a price tag, and the city also needs to find funding, but it pays off,” he said.
Projects like Reallocate, involving 10 cities and 15 pilot sites, are showing how European funds can directly improve life on the ground by turning streets into inclusive, green and safe spaces.
But speakers agreed that EU funding frameworks still tend to prioritise large mobility infrastructure. As Beránek put it: “Most of the funding we get goes to cleaner mobility, but not to redesign streets. We need direct funding for human-scale projects too.”
Andrius Grigonis added that smaller interventions, like improved lighting or accessible crossings, can have a huge impact: “These solutions should be funded separately. They are about society as much as transport.”
Winning public support
Every change brings resistance. “When you produce change, people don’t like it,” Depré acknowledged. “That is why you need courage and resilience.” She cited Brussels’ example: long preparation, gentle enforcement, and persistence. “For a year, citizens were informed about what’s to come. Then enforcement started, first without real fines. Now Brussels is a lively city, not a dead one, as many feared.”
Tracking impact is vital. “Cities need indicators on road safety, helmet use, and more. When something works, record it,” she advised.
A European movement takes shape
From shared spaces and super cycleways to night-time quiet zones and participatory redesign, these examples reveal a clear direction: Europe’s cities are designing streets for people again. They are proving that safe, inclusive and climate-friendly mobility is not a distant goal, but an achievable reality, provided local leadership is matched by supportive EU frameworks.
As Thomas Lymes, Policy Director at Eurocities, concluded: “We need to rethink our cities to make them safer, healthier, and more accessible.”
The dialogue that brought these voices together took place at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, in a session co-organised by Eurocities and the REALLOCATE project. It offered a glimpse of Europe’s urban future, one where streets are no longer spaces to drive through, but places to live in.
