Scale-Up User-Centric and Data-Driven Solutions for Connected Urban Poles (SCALE-UP) is a four-year, Horizon 2020 Innovation Action that started in June 2021. It brings together 23 partners from five different European countries.
As part of SCALE-UP, three advanced urban nodes – Antwerp, Madrid, and Turku – team up around one main goal: developing data-driven and user-centric strategies to accelerate the take-up of smart, clean, and inclusive mobility, by means of well-connected and multi-usage urban nodes, and to the level needed to meet EU climate and transport objectives.
To reach the main goal, five strategic objectives were defined:
- Improve multi-level and multi-stakeholder governance enabling seamless multimodal transport across urban nodes (GOVERNANCE)
- Develop (inter)connected and multimodal nodes for passengers and freight as a backbone of a resilient mobility system, including network optimisations (MULTIMODAL)
- Develop data-driven mobility strategies and tools to stimulate seamless multimodal transport of passengers and freight, and optimise network capacity across the wider urban area (DATA)
- Provide access to inclusive, clean, and safe mobility solutions (CLEAN, SAFE, INCLUSIVE)
- Change travel behaviour, focussing on clean, active, and healthy modes of transport (BEHAVIOUR).
The five objectives relate to fields of intervention in which the SCALE-UP urban areas excel and deliver valuable output by implementing 28 mobility measures scaled to the functional urban area and taking into account the TEN-T dimension. Furthermore, a strong framework for thematic policy validation amongst SCALE-UP experts guarantees a meaningful cooperation between the three urban areas, internal capacity building, and mutual exchange and learning.
A sixth strategic objective (TAKE-UP) defines how the project delivers evidence of the effectiveness of the different actions in relation to EU climate and transport targets, and how it accelerates the take-up of these solutions amongst and beyond SCALE-UP urban areas.