Europe’s best cities for children’s mobility – and Prague came close to being ranked among the worst

Paris has become the best European city for children’s independent mobility—on foot or by bike. This is according to a new ranking by the Clean Cities Campaign. In recent years, the French capital has made dramatic progress and, along with London and Brussels, is challenging traditional leaders in urban quality such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Prague narrowly avoided being labeled as “lagging behind,” a designation that applies to many Central and Eastern European countries. On June 1st, Prague will host the World Bike Ride, which aims to highlight the need for safe infrastructure.

Paris, according to a detailed ranking published today, has become the best city in Europe for children who want to get around on foot, by bike, or independently. It ranked first out of 36 European cities thanks to its extensive—though relatively new—network of separated cycling infrastructure, reduced speed limits, and low- or no-traffic zones around schools.

Behind Paris in the ranking were Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Lyon, and Helsinki—a group of long-time pioneers of progressive urban mobility alongside rapidly improving newcomers. The lower end of the ranking is dominated by cities from Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, although Wrocław, Ljubljana, and Warsaw stand out as honorable exceptions.

The ranking is based on official data collected by the international non-profit organization Clean Cities Campaign. Cities were compared using three indicators aligned with UNICEF’s recommendations and those of other experts on how to make cities and transport systems more child-friendly—a particularly vulnerable group of road users.

Developing children’s bodies are more vulnerable to traffic accidents and air pollution. In the European Union, an average of one child is killed and around eighteen are seriously injured in road crashes every day, although accident rates vary significantly between countries. It is estimated that over a thousand children and adolescents die prematurely in Europe each year due to air pollution. The rise in car ownership is linked to a decrease—sometimes dramatic—in children’s ability to travel independently, especially among girls, contributing to an “epidemic” of physical inactivity.

What Was Measured

The first criterion is the number of school streets near primary schools—areas where traffic is restricted to improve safety, reduce noise, and increase air quality and the number of children walking or cycling to school. London leads with 525 such streets—the highest among all ranked cities—followed by Milan and Paris.

Research shows that children feel safer on cycle lanes that are physically separated from motor traffic—this is the second criterion. Paris and Helsinki have protected cycling networks that cover nearly half (48%) of their street networks—more than any other city in the ranking. Copenhagen follows closely with 43%.

The third criterion is urban speed limits of 30 km/h, which reduce pollution and crash rates—considered a “no-brainer” supported by the WHO, OECD, and the European Transport Safety Council. Paris has implemented this speed limit on nearly its entire street network (89%)—more than any other city—followed by Brussels and Lyon.

Barbara Stoll, Executive Director of the Clean Cities Campaign, said:
“Children today have less freedom to move independently through their cities and are less physically active than they used to be—especially girls. But our ranking shows that parents, teachers, and city leaders can drive dramatic and rapid progress. Walking through Paris today is like a breath of fresh air compared to ten years ago. It takes vision, leadership, and sustained investment—but most cities can and should achieve the same progress.”

Everyone needs the ability to move safely through the city – children and adults alike.

The Secret to Success: City Leadership

Long-standing pioneers of progressive urban mobility such as Amsterdam (2nd overall, grade B) and Copenhagen (11th, grade C) remain at the top of the ranking, while cities like Paris, Brussels (4th, grade C), and London (14th, grade C) have seen rapid rises in recent years.

As Clean Cities found, both new and experienced champions often owe their success to engaged city leaders—this factor can offset otherwise clear divides between North and South, West and East Europe, and regions with different income levels. National policy has less impact—cities within the same country have achieved very different results. Italy’s highest-ranked city Bologna (16th, grade C) contrasts with Florence (29th, grade E) and Rome (32nd, grade E). In Spain, Barcelona (7th, grade C) outperforms Madrid (26th, grade D) and Zaragoza (28th, grade D).

Uneven Progress

In general, cities score well on reducing speed limits but lose points due to a low number of school streets—which is why no city received an A grade. Paris came close, performing well across all three criteria but still needing to implement more school streets.

At the bottom of the ranking, with grades E and F, are many cities from Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe. Prague ranked 25th, Bratislava 27th—both narrowly outperforming eight cities labeled “lagging behind” with grades E or F. Italy stands out for the quality of its pedestrian school streets but has no cities in the top 10 and four at the bottom—due to a lack of consistent political leadership, investment, and resistance to progressive measures. Germany and Poland have no cities in the top 10 because of a persistent car culture and limited city authority over speed limits and parking. However, strong leadership helped Munich (12th, grade C) and Wrocław (20th, grade D) climb the rankings.

Ten cities have no school streets at all, and most that exist operate only during school drop-off and pick-up times instead of as permanent pedestrian zones. In five cities, cars can still travel dangerously fast—with less than 10% of streets limited to 30 km/h. Protected bike lanes are relatively rare among the 36 cities, covering on average only 17% of the street network.

Clean Cities calls on all cities to adopt a “children first” approach to urban mobility. Governments should support cities as needed, the group says, while the European Commission should promote school streets and protected bike lanes more strongly in its upcoming legal guidelines and improve data collection rules. The full report is available here.

The World Bike Ride in Prague will take place on Sunday, June 1, 2025, on Children’s Day

Join Us for a Ride

This year’s World Bike Ride, taking place on Children’s Day, June 1, 2025, will focus on traffic safety and the importance of protected infrastructure. Join us, representatives of the UN, and global embassies for a ride through the center of Prague—passing through places you might not dare to cycle on your own. Together, we will highlight the need for safe infrastructure for everyone.

The meeting point is at 2:00 PM at Strašnická metro station. You are also warmly invited to the accompanying program for kids and adults at Kampus Hybernská.

The long-term goal of the event is to promote the bicycle as the urban transport of the future—a mission that AutoMat pursues beyond just the World Bike Ride.

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