GRAD DUBROVNIK

Their core work

City of Dubrovnik is the municipal government of a Croatian coastal city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — that has engaged in EU-funded transport research as a pilot urban environment. Their real-world contribution in these projects is providing the city itself: public streets, regulated zones, administrative access, and the political will to test new mobility and logistics approaches in a dense, heritage-constrained urban setting. As a public authority, they bring local planning powers, direct control over public space, and the regulatory levers needed to make or block real-world deployment of sustainable transport solutions. Their participation in projects focused on cargo bikes and urban freight suggests the city is actively working to reduce motorized vehicle pressure in its historic center.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2016, Dubrovnik entered EU research through a broad sustainable urban mobility framing — the Prosperity project addressed SUMP promotion across cities without a specific technology focus. By 2018, their participation had narrowed to a concrete operational challenge: replacing motorized delivery vehicles with cargo bikes in city centers. This shift from planning frameworks to physical logistics pilots reflects a maturation from policy engagement toward hands-on urban experimentation. The trend suggests Dubrovnik is moving toward becoming a demonstration city for low-emission urban freight rather than just a general mobility planning participant.

Dubrovnik is positioning itself as a demonstrator city for car-free or low-traffic urban freight, a direction well-suited to its UNESCO-protected historic core where vehicle restrictions are both necessary and enforceable.

How they like to work

Dubrovnik has never led an H2020 project — they consistently join as a participant, functioning as one pilot city among many in large, multi-country consortia. With 46 distinct partners across 21 countries generated from just two projects, these are clearly broad European partnerships rather than tight bilateral arrangements. This tells a prospective partner that Dubrovnik is a reliable implementation site and public authority voice, not a research driver — they bring legitimacy and a testbed, not scientific output.

Despite only two projects, Dubrovnik has touched 46 unique consortium partners across 21 countries — a sign of participation in large, well-networked European transport research consortia. Their network is broad but shallow: wide geographic reach, no evidence of repeat partnerships.

What sets them apart

Dubrovnik is one of very few European cities where UNESCO heritage restrictions, a pedestrianized historic core, and extreme seasonal tourism freight pressure all coincide — making it an unusually compelling testbed for cargo bike and car-free logistics solutions. A consortium looking for a Southern European, Adriatic, or heritage-city pilot site will find few alternatives with Dubrovnik's combination of political willingness and physical constraints that make sustainable freight not just desirable but operationally necessary. Their public authority status also means they can provide regulatory facilitation that a university or private partner simply cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CityChangerCargoBike
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 131,156) and the one with the most specific technical focus — deploying cargo bikes as a systemic urban logistics tool — making it the clearest signal of Dubrovnik's operational direction in sustainable freight.
• Prosperity
  Their entry point into H2020, focused on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans across European cities, establishing Dubrovnik's credentials as a city actively engaging with EU transport policy frameworks.