EIT Urban Mobility is pleased to announce that the members of City Club have chosen the Chairpersons for the period 2023-2024: Mr. Kalle Toivonen, City of Helsinki, is the new Chair of City Club, and Mrs. Melanie Grötsch, City of Munich, will serve as Deputy Chair.
Before becoming Chair, Mr. Kalle Toivonen has served as Deputy Chair for the lasts two years. He is among the founders of the City Club and holds a relevant experience within the EIT Urban Mobility ecosystem. He takes over from out-going Chair Mr. Àngel López, City of Barcelona.
Mr. Toivonen is a Senior Specialist in the Economic Development division of the City of Helsinki where he coordinates the development and establishment of digital testing platforms in the city and has been actively building the portfolio of smart mobility projects, including multitude of autonomous transport initiatives and mobility lab concept in Helsinki for the past 7 years.
Mr. Kalle Toivonen, Chair of EIT Urban Mobility City Club: “Within the City of Helsinki we understand the value that cities can bring to the EIT Urban Mobility in translating the people’s needs and demands for better urban environments and more sustainable mobility options. The City Club shall continue to serve the KIC as a platform for impactful actions and help to tackle the bigger issues that surround our cities by leveraging the KIC partnership and financing models to support the development and uptake of innovations in transport. The City Club is a platform for open discussions, sharing of ideas and problems and cheerful networking. One thing is for certain, one person cannot achieve all of this, and I truly trust in our great network to work jointly towards these goals.”
The Deputy Chair of City Club Mrs. Melanie Grötsch is Head of Research at the newly established Mobility Department at Municipality of Munich. Earlier she was responsible for traffic planning and innovations in mobility at the Department of Urban Planning and Building Regulations overseeing a wide range of projects relating to mobility in a Smart City, including the “Modellstadt 2030” project of the Inzell initiative aimed at implementing forward-looking solutions for sustainable mobility in the city of Munich, or the project car-free old town.
Congratulations from the entire Eit Urban Mobility Community to the City Club chairpersons on their new appointment. We wish them success in their new role and look forward to the great impact they’ll make.
About City Club
City Club is EIT Urban Mobility’s platform for local authorities for sharing best practice, upscaling ideas and putting them to work. This is a collaborative community of towns, cities and metropolitan area authorities. The members share a powerful vision for sustainable urban mobility and liveable urban spaces. The City Club is at the core of the EIT Urban Mobility, which builds on understanding and solving some of the most critical challenges connected to transport and mobility in urban areas through an open innovation community approach.
The City Club members: Municipality of Amsterdam, Barcelona City Council, AMB – Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Municipality of Eindhoven, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Municipality of Helmond, City of Helsinki, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Municipality of Milan, City of Munich, City of Stockholm, Ville et Eurométropole de Strasbourg, Toulouse Métropole, Municipality of Lublin, and ZTM – Public Transport Authority Warsaw.
The Leading Cities who have partnered with the EIT Urban Mobility in 2022: Belgium: City of Hasselt, Municipality of Leuven; Czech Republic: Municipality of Ricany; Estonia: Municipality of Tallinn; France: Ville de Paris, Metropole du Gran Paris; Hungary: City of Zalaegerszeg; Ireland: Dublin City Council; Italy: Rome’s Mobility Agency, Municipality of Modena; Latvia: Municipality of Riga; Norway: Municipality of Kongsberg; Portugal: Municipality of Braga, Lisbon Metropolitan Area; Spain: City of Madrid Municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Municipality of Esplugues De Llobregat, Municipality of Vic, Logroño City Council.
