Vectos

Congratulations to Vectos’ International Director Professor Laurie Pickup for being awarded a CIVITAS Lifetime award at the annual CIVITAS Forum held in Graz, Austria this month. This is the first time that the European Commission has handed out lifetime achievement awards. The award recognises the exceptional commitment and active contribution by individuals to the CIVITAS initiative.

CIVITAS has been the European Commission’s flagship demonstration programme over the last 17 years to implement sustainable urban mobility in Europe’s cities. Since it was launched is 2002, CIVITAS has tested and implemented more than 800 measures in more than 80 Living Laboratory cities Europe-wide. More generally the CIVITAS city network has expanded to include almost 400 cities, providing an incredible knowledge base.

Professor Pickup has been involved in European transport innovation for 40 years, specifically in CIVITAS from the early preparatory activities in 1998. Within the wider CIVITAS programme, he has been closely involved in projects demonstrating over 300 best practice sustainable mobility solutions in 25 European cities. He has also chaired the CIVITAS Forum from 2013 to 2016 in Brest, Casablanca and Ljubljana.

On receiving the award, Professor Pickup said: “I am very proud to have received this award from my peers. In a professional environment drowning in conferences on the future of mobility, CIVITAS provides the essential ‘reality check’. CIVITAS brings together political and professional stakeholders with the mobility industry, that otherwise rarely collaborate, to engage in combined efforts to introduce sustainable mobility – improving the quality of life, the urban environment and social cohesion, while generating growth in the new ‘green economy’. Going forward, it will be essential that cities are able to implement practical ‘high street’ solutions from ‘catwalk innovations’ and CIVITAS provides that essential reality check”.

As part of the portfolio of international innovation projects, CIVITAS enables Vectos to develop best practice innovations into best-fit solutions for our UK and international clients.

“Vectos is able to bring many of these high impact innovative measures, ideas, knowledge and technologies into our development projects to ensure we provide our clients with the most sustainable and innovative solutions,” he said.

“I hope that my work and the work of my colleagues at Vectos will inspire others to make cleaner and better urban transport choices – smart cities will be those that make sustainable and smart decisions”.