In this episode we bring you some of the highlights from our Active Travel Summit, which we held on 29th September, and what the road ahead looks like for collaboration, R&D, and commercialising innovation in this exciting and growing sector. The summit was a space to explore with innovators, city leaders, transport authorities, active travel commissioners, central government, business leaders and world-leading academics, how Britain can unlock the full potential of active travel to power the shift to healthy, net zero mobility.

Active travel is one of the most exciting areas of growth and opportunity within urban mobility - the kind of getting from A to B where your legs, arms and heart have to do their fair share of the work, rather than an energy consuming machine.

When we think about what more active travel in places means, it's about creating options for us to move more. This can have a massive impact on our physical and mental health, the air quality in our overly congested cities by getting more commuters out of cars and onto bikes and footpaths, and the UK's collective effort of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But active travel is also about seizing a potentially huge economic opportunity!

Music on this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Phill Ward Music (www.phillward.com)

Follow the show!

Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Please also take a moment to write a review and rate us so that more people can hear about the podcast and what we do at Connected Places Catapult.

Show notes

You can click on these links to read the two UK government reports that are referenced in the episode – Gear Change: A Bold Vision for Cycling and Transport, and Decarbonising Transport: Setting The Challenge.

To read and download our Net Zero Places Innovation Brief, which explores a number of new market opportunities in the active travel sector, click here.

You can also read and download free of charge the Catapult's new report on Hubs of Innovation which looks at the role of districts, corridors and quarters as hubs in the COVID-adjusted economy, as well as the accompanying Playbook for Place Leaders, a practical guide for establishing or growing an innovation hub.

To find out more about what we do at the Connected Places Catapult and to hear about the latest news, events and announcements, please sign up to our newsletter!