Reshaping urban space: How parking connects cities

Report: European Parking Conference & Exhibition 2025

Parking is no longer a standalone technical service, but a strategic lever for reshaping cities, enabling sustainable mobility, and driving climate action.

This was among the key messages that emerged from the European Parking Conference & Exhibition, which took place in Brussels last week.

The conference is a key gathering of the European Parking Association (EPA), the umbrella organisation for Europe’s national parking associations and the wider parking and urban mobility sector. 

The 21st European Parking Conference & Exhibition saw mobility leaders, policymakers and industry specialists from across Europe to share their thoughts in speeches, policy sessions and workshops.

The two-day conference also saw the presentation of the European Parking Awards, the unveiling of a new EPA board, launch of Women in Parking in Europe and the affirmation of a major alliance of parking, city and logistics organisations.

Putting parking policy centre stage

The European Parking Conference programme featured contributions by a number of politicians. The welcome speech was delivered by Anaïs Maes, alderwoman for town planning, public spaces, road works and mobility at the City of Brussels. 

The keynote addresses included a video message from Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, who confirmed the sector’s longstanding view that “parking is not the problem, it is part of the solution.”

Belgian minister of defence and foreign trade Theo Francke told delegates that underground parking also has a role in civil defence, citing his own recent experience in Ukraine as proof that such infrastructure can be repurposed as shelters or even drone factories. 

On-stage debates provided platforms for viewpoints from the likes of: Karen Vancluysen, secretary general of POLIS; Joost Vantomme, chief executive of ERTICO – ITS Europe; Paola Cossu, chief executive of FIT Consulting and board member of ALICE; and Dr Giuliano Mingardo, deputy director of the Erasmus Centre for Urban, Port and Transport Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. 

The closing keynote was delivered by André Sobczak, secretary general of Eurocities, who underlined the common challenge that cities and the parking sector face: limited public space must serve many purposes, at times conflicting, and therefore creative solutions need to be found together. 

A united approach

The European Parking Conference celebrated a milestone at the conference with the signing of a joint statement between the EPA, POLIS (a network of European cities and regions working on sustainable urban mobility and transport innovation), and ALICE (which stands for the Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe). 

The joint statement marks a new chapter in the three organisations long-standing cooperation focused on advancing zero-emission urban mobility and logistics, fostering policy dialogue, and promoting stakeholder engagement across Europe. 

By bringing together the complementary expertise of cities and regions (POLIS), parking and kerbside management (EPA), and logistics innovation and decarbonisation (ALICE), their alliance provides a strategic platform for dialogue, innovation, and co-creation. 

The partners’ joint work has already inspired EU research and projects such as DISCO, the Data-driven, Integrated, Syncromodal, Collaborative and Optimised urban freight meta-model.

The new joint statement serves both as a reflection of this journey and a call to action for wider engagement in building sustainable, competitive, and integrated urban logistics solutions.

Top takeaways

Key takeaways from the 21st European Parking Conference:

• Parking as policy: Central to Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), parking management shapes travel behaviour, urban design, climate outcomes and the use of public space.
• Collaboration is essential: Partnerships across municipalities, operators and the private sector are the foundation for successful solutions.
• People-first cities: Parking policy can support walkable, healthier, more inclusive urban environments, reducing car dependency.
• New mobility services and hubs: Shared mobility, MaaS (mobility as a service), and mobility hubs need strong data, fair pricing, and adaptable regulation – covering both dense cities and rural areas.
• EV charging integration: Charging infrastructure and parking must be planned together and on a reasonable basis, balancing availability, usage needs, accessibility, safety, demand, grid capacity, and public space.
• Cybersecurity readiness: Attacks are inevitable; awareness training, external expertise, and embedding cybersecurity across organisations are vital.
• Urban logistics and multifunctional spaces: Flexible, data-driven use of urban and parking space unlocks value and investment.
• Digitalisation and enforcement: Cross-border enforcement remains fragmented at best, impossible at worst. Harmonised digital tools and functioning EU-level frameworks are needed.
• Automated valet parking: The technology is nearly ready – the next steps involve standards, user trust and market acceptance.
• Diversity and inclusion: Initiatives such as European Women in Parking underline the importance of representation and engagement in shaping the sector’s future.
• AI for smarter parking management: “AI will not replace managers. But managers who use AI will replace those who don’t.” AI is less about technology itself than enabling smarter decision-making, better customer experience and sustainable growth.European Mobility Data Space (EMDS): The sector is exploring opportunities for parking within Europe’s digitalisation agenda. The EPA expressed interest in developing a dedicated “European Parking Data Space” as a feeder to the EMDS, raising awareness of standards, best practice and stakeholder benefits. 

European Women Parking

The EPA launched the European Women in Parking (E-WiP) network, a new initiative dedicated to advancing diversity, equity, and leadership in the parking and mobility sector. 

The launch session featured contributions from: Giovanna Piras (Automatic Systems, EPA board member and E-WiP co-chair), who outlined her vision for the upcoming mentoring program; Unity5’s Hannah Fuller, who spoke from her UK experience of building similar initiatives, underlined the importance of ‘finding your tribe’ and inspired participants with her uplifting and energizing perspective; and Yasmin Jefferies (BPA, EPA and E-WiP co-chair), who led the panel on the initiative’s importance for the sector. =

Parking connects cities

Across the conference, partnerships and cross-sector cooperation emerged as recurring themes.

From electric vehicle (EV) charging and artificial intelligence (AI) to urban logistics and enforcement, experts highlighted the need for transparency, fairness, and trust in data and policy. 

The event underlined how parking facilities should be recognised as key enablers for sustainable mobility, urban logistics, societal resilience, and EV adoption.

Tom Antonissen, EPA executive director, says: “As highlighted by EPA’s new president Theo Thuis and lead rapporteur Dr Giuliano Mingardo in the Closing Session, the sector has evolved over the past 15 years from being seen as ‘unwelcome in cities’ to being firmly recognised as part of the solution for sustainable mobility and resilient urban infrastructure. 

“Yet challenges remain: balancing competing interests in the use of space, reconciling on-street and off-street needs, avoiding unused EV charging points while promoting electrification, and managing the tensions between public and private priorities.

“In present times, cybersecurity is non-negotiable, mobility hubs must be realised, and the sector must continue shifting from car-first to people-first approaches. Resolving these dilemmas will demand courage, compromise, and co-creation between public and private actors.

“The European Parking Association affirms its commitment to sustainable growth, stakeholder partnerships, and to ensuring that parking management continues to evolve as a strategic, integrated, and indispensable part of Europe’s mobility ecosystem.” 

The European Parking Association (EPA)

The European Parking Association, which was founded in 1983, is the umbrella organisation for Europe’s national parking associations and the wider parking and urban mobility sector. 

The EPA seeks to play a leading role in the reinvention of parking as a mobility service and parking as a mobility platform, aiming to facilitate cooperation between the professional parking organisations of different European countries

EPA member associations represent the parking sector as a whole, which consists of private companies and public bodies that are operating and managing on- and off-street parking structures and services. 

EPA corporate members represent the operators and supply industry that offer all related products and services concerned with parking.
For further information on the European Parking Association’s activities visit
www.europeanparking.eu
 
Opening Plenary Session with Theo Francken, Belgian minister of defence and foreign trade and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU commissioner for Sustainable Transport & Tourism (via video message)
 
The signing of a Joint Statement between Fernando Liesa (ALICE secretary general), Karen Vancluysen (POLIS secretary general) and Tom Antonissen, EPA executive director
 
The official launch of the European Women in Parking (E-WiP) network