I recently spent an afternoon in Grenoble and greatly enjoyed this charming mountain town: elegant, innovative, and heavily focused on sports and nature. Located in the heart of the Alps, it thrives on active tourism. I was impressed by the city’s usage and urban planning.

Notable features include bike lanes in the middle of streets, shared roads for bicycles and cars and equally divided roadways between cars and bikes. Additionally, there are high-quality investments in urban design, tree protection, and green public spaces between apartment blocks.

Named European Green Capital in 2022, Grenoble achieved a 25% reduction in air particles between 2004 and 2015. It lowered speed limits to 30 km/h and became France’s largest low-emission zone. It ranks second in France for bicycle commuting with 320 km of bike lanes.

Half of school cafeterias are supplied with organic or local products. Another impressive initiative is that green spaces have been maintained without phytosanitary products for the past decade. Since 2022, the city has been powered entirely by green energy.

Many of these achievements stem from local policies as well as thoughtful urban planning and design. Cities could lead the climate change. Cities do not always need governments to fight against climate change. A city can implement reforms much faster and adopt measures or pilot projects that help urban communities become sustainable and climate-neutral.

This is why the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission is an innovative tool and Programe at the European level, as it brings change to the cities participating in the Mission.

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