Similar provisions have been enacted and experimented in other cities in Europe, as mentioned at the
beginning of our study.
However, results that show an alignment with trends encountered in them might require some time in
Bologna.
We want to review here some points emerged in our study:
Q1 — How was Car Use affected by Città 30?
Data at hand do not reflect the average 10% reduction in car traffic typical in
other cities, which may be interpreted as people still being reluctant in abandoning cars in
favor
of public transportation such as buses.
Q2 — Do people choose to use Bikes more?
Bike usage analysis has shown little correlation with the introduction of new
limits, indicating that despite people tend to choose more and more forms of alternative
mobility,
this might not be encouraged by the new law. In Europe, spikes in bike usage (around 10–20%) appear when
new limits are mixed with investment in infrastructures that promote bike mobility.
Q3 — Has the Center been more impacted?
Zones inside the city center have registered a lower traffic both in bikes and
cars, indicating that the new limits don’t prevent traffic accumulation in adjacent areas. This
aligns with results from the first study, that show how people don’t change significantly their behavior
in mobility without other incentives.
Q4 — How has Air Quality changed in the 30-zone?
Air quality has been impacted positively relatively to NO2 emissions, an
effect observed in other cities (with a 10 to 20% reduction, usually for PM10 release as well). However,
emissions regarding the majority of gases accounted for do not register significant changes; this is an
encouraging result, but gases are still well above thresholds imposed by EU and WHO laws.
We believe that Città 30 has marked a new way of thinking life and mobility city to Bologna, indicating a
new attention
in quality of life and environmental issues. This provision, however, is only a dent in the system that
prevents change.
Only by continuing the effort in reshaping citizens behavior and providing sustainable alternatives a real
impact can happen.