Limassol moves ‘Laou Laou’ this week

By Sara Mariza Vryonidi For one week in September, Limassol is being asked to do something that does not always come naturally to a fast-growing city: slow down, look around and question how we move. European Mobility Week runs from 16 to 22 September, under this year’s theme ‘Mobility for Everyone’. In Limassol, we have given it a more local name: ‘Laou Laou’, the familiar Cypriot expression meaning slowly, gently, without rushing. For Friends of the Earth Cyprus, the week is not really about telling people to stop driving. It is about acknowledging that, for many people today, the car is not so much a choice as the only realistic option. Put someone unfamiliar with Limassol in the middle of the city and ask them to move around independently. Or think of a teenager who has grown up seeing the city mostly through the window of their parents’ car. What real choices do they have? Can they rely on public transport? Could they cycle safely? What if they are pushing a stroller, use a wheelchair, are elderly, or simply do not own a car? These are questions about mobility, but they are also questions about quality of life, fair access and public space. Throughout the week, different activities in Limassol approach these issues from different perspectives: cycling through the city, discussions on transport poverty and mobility justice, accessibility, public space, urban design, and stories from residents about how they experience movement through Limassol. The programme culminates in a car-free day on Gladstonos Street on Sunday and closes on September 22 with In Motion, a short artistic documentary built around the everyday mobility experiences of Limassol residents. Who gets to use the city? On Friday September 18, from 6-8pm at the Amphitheatre of Molos, Friends of the Earth Cyprus will host the panel discussion “Creating an Inclusive City”. The conversation brings together different ways of experiencing and thinking about the city: transport engineering, architecture and urban planning, civil society and, importantly, everyday lived experience. Rather than speaking only about infrastructure, we want to ask a more basic question: who is the city designed for? One street, for one day, experienced differently Then, on Sunday September 20, part of Gladstonos Street will close for cars for Car-Free Day – Laou Laou. For a few hours, a space normally organised around moving and parked cars will become a place for walking, cycling, play, workshops, music, conversations, local businesses and simply spending time. There will be activities for children and families, cycling and road-safety activities, creative workshops, a sustainable mobility exhibition, local businesses opening onto the street, public discussions and spaces where people can sit rather than simply pass through. Free bus options are also being provided for access to the event. Even if you haven’t cycled in years, bring your bike, your skates or whatever wheels you enjoy. Bring a reusable bottle and refill it at the water stations along the street. Come walk, ride, sit, stop, talk to people and experience Gladstonos in a completely different way for one day. A future Limassol should allow someone to walk safely if they want to. To cycle. To take a bus. To move through the city with a disability. To push a stroller without treating every pavement as an obstacle course. To skate or use a scooter. And for children to have more opportunities to be outside, move independently and experience their neighbourhoods. Most importantly, future generations should inherit a city in which owning a car is not the condition for participating fully in everyday life. For us at Friends of the Earth Cyprus, that is what ‘Mobility for Everyone’ ultimately means. And for me, that is the kind of quality of life I want my city to offer. Sara Mariza Vryonidi is a project manager at Friends of the Earth Cyprus. This year’s event is co-organised by the Limassol Municipality, the Limassol Tourism Development and Promotion Company, Friends of the Earth Cyprus, and OPU. Full European Mobility Week programme – Municipality of LimassolCar-Free Day / Laou Laou Facebook event