September 25th, 2025
Watch the insightful Curbside Management webinar on YouTube.
As part of the IURC North America programme, this webinar gathered experts and city practitioners from Europe, the US, and Canada to explore how digital tools can transform curbside management for more sustainable, efficient, and inclusive cities.
The curbside has become one of the most contested urban spaces. Pressures are mounting from:
- E-commerce logistics: exponential delivery growth (+36% delivery vehicles by 2030 in the world’s 100 largest cities).
- Sustainable mobility: demand
sfor bus lanes, cycle tracks, pedestrian safety. - Social & economic roles: outdoor dining and public spaces
- Climate adaptation: opportunities for trees, water management, and green infrastructure.
Efficient curbside management is now essential to balance these competing demands. Solutions were presented by two featured speakers:
Andrew Glass Hastings, Executive Director, Open Mobility Foundation
- Introduced the Curb Data Specification (CDS), an open-source tool that allows cities to digitally map and manage curbside use.
- Showcased real-world applications for regulating loading zones, monitoring curb use, and improving enforcement.
- Invited cities in North America and Europe to join the Smart Curb Collaborative.
María Eugenia Martínez Donaire, Head of International Strategy, City of Madrid
- Shared Madrid’s challenges with congestion, logistics, and limited curbside space.
- Presented innovations including dynamic parking rates, the DUM 360 app for digital loading/unloading management, and pilot projects such as KER8 dynamic curb devices and AI-powered monitoring systems.
- Highlighted public-private partnerships and regulatory reforms enabling smart curb pilots.
Roundtable Exchange
Panelists from San Francisco and Phoenix (USA), St. John’s (Canada), Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain), reflected on local experiences and future needs, underlining:
- The importance of integrating curb solutions into broader mobility strategies such as electrification.
- Ensuring that technology deployment aligns with safety and sustainability goals.
- The challenge to implement a system that can be flexible enough to accommodate different uses throughout the day.
Key Takeaways
- Curbside space is critical urban infrastructure—demand is growing faster than capacity.
- Digital management tools such as CDS and Madrid’s DUM 360 app, enable cities to regulate, monitor, and adapt curb usage in real time.
- Policy, regulation, and enforcement must evolve alongside technology.
- Peer learning networks such as IURC-NA create valuable opportunities to share practices and scale solutions internationally.
📄 Download the presentation slides