The Sustainability Check of European Regions - Focus Transport was presented at the European Forum Alpbach in late August by the Eco Social forum who commissioned the repot. It is based on a set of twelve indicators that is summarized into an aggregate index and three partial indeces  (environmental, economic and social).

Overall, the ranking is led by Prague and seven German regions (Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Münster und Arnsberg) as well as Lisbon Metropolitan Area and Lancashire (UK). The bottom comprises regions in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium. The top ranked region in Austria is Vienna coming in at 105 out of 276 regions.

The regional disparities found in many countries can be attributed to commuting patterns and geographical circumstances. Thus Åland for example receives a “green” score ahead of all other finish regions with yellow, orange or red scores.

Moreover, the indices reflect urban and rural disparities. Cities’ higher share of public transport, access to freight infrastructure and employment in transport lead to higher rankings in the social and economic partial indices. Conversely, they are ranked lower in the environmental index due to higher pollution.

Find out more about the Sustainability Check here.


Go here to find out more about the research area Sustainable Economic Policy and Global Responsibility.