Riga

Welcome to Riga, where the future of urban logistics is sculpted with Art Nouveau elegance Riga, the amazing capital of Latvia and its largest city, has been selected as one of the first 100 climate-neutral and smart cities in Europe by 2030. This ambitious goal is part of Riga’s proactive approach to sustainable urban development, focusing on reducing emissions and enhancing public-private partnerships to foster sustainable mobility and logistics solutions.

Commitment to Sustainable Development

Riga has laid out a comprehensive framework through its Riga Sustainable Development Strategy until 2030 and the Riga Development Programme 2022-2027. These plans are geared towards reducing greenhouse gases and particulate matter, with a specific focus on transforming the transport sector. Additionally, the city is working on the Air Quality Improvement Action Programme 2025 and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan 2030, which are integral to achieving its environmental targets.

Strategic Mobility and Urban Planning Initiatives

The city aims to enhance the synchronization and fluency of mobility connections between the public transport systems of Riga and the surrounding metropolitan area. By 2027, Riga intends to reduce car traffic by at least 5% compared to 2019 levels, shifting the modality towards public transport and micro-mobility. This shift is supported by a significant investment in cycling infrastructure, expected to double the share of cyclists by 2027. An intermediate goal has also been set to reduce CO2 emissions from transport by 20% by 2027 relative to 2019.

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and Local Efforts

While Latvia sees the development of SUMPs in its thematic action plans, Riga is spearheading this initiative with a specific focus on creating a cohesive transport network that integrates the entire metropolitan area. This pilot approach aims to establish a framework of best practices that can be replicated in other regional centers across Latvia.

What is their role in UNCHAIN?

In the UNCHAIN project, Follower Cities play a crucial role in the implementation and demonstration of solutions developed in the project. These cities, Riga, Prague, Mechelen, and Funchal, work alongside the primary demonstration sites of Madrid, Berlin, and Florence to maximize the geographical coverage and replicability of solutions across Europe.

Riga has decided to support the demonstration of many different UNCHAIN services:

• Service 5: On-street loading zones planning tool
• Service 6: Active UVARs and City Regulations tool