SMAFO Campaign: Rethink Your City - Without Cars

Just in time for the relaunch of its new website, the Paderborn-based e-bike subscription specialist SMAFO has called for people to rethink their city under the motto “This is Free to Move.” Visitors to the landing page can immediately sense the audible impact of increased bicycle traffic in local mobility, the start-up advertises. Under this claim, the company explores what a livable city looks like and what role mobility plays in it.

Mobility is not thought of as merely the transport of people and their goods, but is consciously part of the living space. Demand-oriented mobility solutions such as bicycles are at the forefront of individual mobility. Conventional vehicles with combustion engines, which take up space, are moving into the background. Specifically, SMAFO asks, “What does it literally mean when combustion engines are rolled back?”

Noise from vehicles has been less discussed so far

The focus of the This is Free to Move concept is on sounds. While increasingly intensive discussions are being held about traffic area allocation and new city concepts are being considered, daily noise pollution caused by combustion engines, which penetrates into people's living spaces, is often still overlooked, the start-up finds. It invites users of the site to immerse themselves in the urban scenery and become part of the concept. Pushing back cars creates space for bicycles, other electrified vehicles, and natural ambient noises.

“Our vision is to make mobility easier for everyone. E-bikes play a significant role in getting more people on bikes. Thus, the traffic landscape changes for the benefit of everyone, in the spirit of Free to Move. We aim to do justice to this vision with the concept,” advertises Sven-Ulrik Schneider, CEO and Co-Founder of SMAFO.

Sarah Hohmann-Spohr, Brand Manager at SMAFO, adds that the concept is deliberately not a utopia. The idea is to continue thinking: Everyone is called upon to rediscover and actively shape their city or place of residence. For this, the infrastructure must be provided, as well as solutions in the form of attractive bikes.