From roadworks to regional mobility: how Antwerp turned EU projects into a lasting mobility ecosystem

A decade ago, Smart Ways to Antwerp was created to solve an immediate problem: how to keep the city moving while major infrastructure works transformed its streets. Ten years later, it has become something far more ambitious - a regional mobility platform that helps shape travel behaviour, brings together public and private partners, and supports one of Europe's most comprehensive approaches to sustainable urban mobility.

Its evolution was no accident.

Rather than treating European projects as isolated initiatives with a defined start and finish, the City of Antwerp used each successive Horizon-funded project to build expertise, partnerships and technical capability. Together, they transformed a temporary response to roadworks into a permanent way of working.

Antwerp, Belgium's second-largest city, is home to over 565,000 residents and more than 100,000 companies. As the site of Europe's second-largest port, it faces growing pressures from freight transport and daily commuting. Keeping the city accessible, liveable and economically strong requires a mobility system that can respond to both.

A journey that began with disruption

"If you want behavioural change, you always have to put the end user first," says Penne. "You can never forget the people you're doing it for."

In 2016, Antwerp faced years of disruption as major infrastructure works, including the redevelopment of the city's ring road and new tunnel connections, got underway.

"We knew it would have a huge impact on the city," recalls Michiel Penne, coordinator of the Smart Ways to Antwerp team. "The first objective was simple: inform people about the roadworks, explain the alternatives and reduce the impact as much as possible."

Communication was the initial priority, but the team quickly realised that information alone would not change behaviour.

"If you want behavioural change, you always have to put the end user first," says Penne. "You can never forget the people you're doing it for."

Instead of simply informing people about disruption, Smart Ways to Antwerp began helping them discover better ways to travel. Today, the initiative has grown into a multidisciplinary team of around 15 specialists working across three areas: helping employers to reduce car commuting, supporting innovative mobility providers through the Marketplace for Mobility, and running campaigns and digital tools, including the Smart Ways to Antwerp multimodal route planner.

Building the puzzle through Europe

The transformation did not happen through a single project. Successive EU projects, supported by the Horizon Europe research programme, each contributed to a piece of the puzzle. The first major milestone came with CIVITAS PORTIS , which focused on making urban mobility more sustainable and better connected. It helped establish both the technical foundations of the Smart Ways to Antwerp route planner and the team behind it.

"The route planner is still the heart of Smart Ways to Antwerp," Penne explains. "We use it with companies, mobility providers and citizens. Everything connects back to it."

European funding also enabled Antwerp to build capacity that municipal budgets alone could not support.

"At that moment, a team of 15 people simply wasn't possible," he says. "European funding was essential to start building the team and invest in monitoring and evaluation to track our results."

Subsequent projects have expanded both the programme's scope, reach and partnerships.

• Scale-Up focused on scaling sustainable mobility solutions across Antwerp and the wider region. It strengthened cooperation with the Antwerp Transport Region, the Province of Antwerp and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, helping develop governance arrangements that now underpin mobility planning.
• PIONEERS PORTS , led by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, extended Smart Ways to Antwerp's work into freight and logistics, engaging employers in one of Europe's largest port areas to encourage more sustainable transport choices.
• SPINE has focused on making mobility hubs easier to navigate and use, combining better pphysical wayfinding - including clearer signage, accessible platforms and tactile guidance - with improved digital information.
• GOLIA , building on this digital foundation, is making the route planner more useful and inclusive by integrating additional transport information and better reflecting the needs of users who face greater barriers when accessing existing transport services.
• ALTHEA is strengthening cooperation with the surrounding municipalities and the wider Antwerp Transport Region, improving connections, mobility hubs and the information available through the Smart Ways to Antwerp route planner. The Antwerp-Rotterdam Living Lab is also exploring better links between public transport, cycling, cars, and shared mobility.

Rather than pursuing disconnected funding opportunities, Antwerp deliberately selected projects that complemented a long-term mobility strategy.

"European funding was essential to start building the team and invest in monitoring and evaluation to track our results."

Building partnerships that last

One of the programme's most enduring achievements has been the stronger relationships between local organisations and companies. European projects brought together the City of Antwerp, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the Antwerp Transport Region, the Province of Antwerp and many other partners around shared goals. Those relationships have continued long after individual projects ended.

"The projects didn't only improve our European network," says Penne. "They also improved our local network. People had a reason to meet each other, discuss problems and work towards the same goal."

Benefits that citizens can see

Residents now have access to a sophisticated multimodal journey planner combining different transport options, real-time information and mobility services. Businesses receive tailored support to improve employee commuting. Most importantly, travel behaviour itself is changing.

Cycling has overtaken the car as the principal commuting mode for Antwerp residents, with continued growth in cycling for school and leisure trips alongside declining car use.

For Penne, however, one achievement stands out. Despite years of major construction work, Antwerp remains accessible. "It's incredibly important for shops, restaurants and the whole local economy that people are still coming to our city".

Lessons for Europe

As Smart Ways to Antwerp enters its second decade, new Horizon projects are already shaping the next chapter. Its experience demonstrates that the greatest value of European funding often lies beyond individual project results.

Each project left behind new expertise, stronger partnerships, better governance and more ambitious ways of working. Together, they transformed a response to roadworks into one of Europe's most mature urban mobility ecosystems.

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Smart Ways to Antwerp webpage