Belo Horizonte is the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil. Growing affluence made the number of cars and motorcycles increase and with them the modal share of private motorised transport. Belo Horizonte's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, or PlanMob-BH (2013), the first ever in Brazil, strives to change this trend.

Municipal traffic planners explored how to make people change their mobility habits. A scientific study showed that a variety of perceptions and expectations are involved when it comes to commuting, traffic and green transportation in Belo Horizonte. This has consequences for making cycling in particular more popular.

In order to align with such new insights and experiences PlanMob-BH was reviewed in 2016.

The plan for 30km/h zones was concretised in exchange of expertise in partnership with the German City of Bremen that brought in additional ideas. To make the speed reduced traffic zones work, the street design was changed, parking spaces newly arranged and urban furniture installed to slow down traffic. Signals and road markings draw attention to the 30km/h zones and the existence of cyclists and pedestrians. Bremen also helped to create a "Fahrradstrasse", a bicycle street, in Belo Horizonte - another move to reassign public space from cars to people.

This people-centered thinking affected the planning process, too. The city administration sought for backing and inputs from civil society organisations. Public hearings and open workshops for discussion and planning were organised.

Implementing sustainability in the transport sector requires dedicated and committed planning, infused by good practice ideas from other cities worldwide. The socio-economic and socio-cultural factors need not to be underestimated, too.

Mobility lies at the heart of citizens' daily life, needs and wishes. While the status quo of urban mobility is often unsatisfactory, as in Belo Horizonte and Bremen, visions for alternatives need to be fostered to grow, with some of them being almost unthinkable at the start of a transformation process. Civil participation in transport system planning can help to promote new ideas, perceptions and change of habits. Belo Horizonte is on a good way to expand new horizons of urban sustainable development in Latin America.

Author: Sabine Hammer