Low emission zones (LEZ) aim to improve air quality by limiting the circulation of the most polluting vehicles. However, these measures can penalize vulnerable individuals, who often own older vehicles and have limited mobility options. "Our question is, when metropolitan areas implement LEZ, how can we better integrate these vulnerable groups and offer them interesting and effective alternatives and support?" asks Clara Coornaert.
Funded by Erasmus+, the LEZ4All project brings together four partners from France, Belgium, and Spain. It aims to bridge the gap between mobility professionals and those in the social sector, who still know too little about each other. To achieve this, training sessions gather field actors and representatives from metropolitan areas around simulations and games. The goal: to learn to know each other better in order to collaboratively build responses tailored to the needs of the affected populations.
The project also facilitates the sharing of concrete initiatives between territories. In Barcelona, an individual mobility advisory service, inspired by the Brussels experience, has been developed. For Charline Morichon from Groupe SOS, this European cooperation allows for the pooling of expertise and the creation of reusable tools elsewhere. "Once the project is completed, another territory wishing to explore this same theme will be able to rely on the tools that have been created."
Beyond borders, LEZ4All advocates for an ecological transition that leaves no one behind. Improving air quality cannot happen without considering the social realities and daily challenges faced by those with the fewest mobility solutions.
