The "Shared Space" concept in urban environments firstly implemented within the Interreg IIIB North Sea program (2000-2006), with the aim of designing public spaces where personal traffic is not dominant. Increasing use of personal vehicles, has led to the adaptation of the public spaces to personal vehicles, when designing the space, and in this way all other types of transport became less relevant. The true flourishing of this concept was achieved by incorporating it in the Guidelines for Developing and Implementing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, as an equal measure for reducing the use of personal vehicles in urban environments. By using the "Shared space" concept, the space is no longer shared, it merges, and the barriers are not lifted but crashed. Within the "Shared space" zones the corridors for vehicles, are not strictly defined. The same applies to corridors for pedestrians or facilities. All surfaces are usually located at the same level, ie they can be slightly raised, but in a way that they do not present an obstacle either to pedestrians or to personal vehicles. In this way, designing such spaces requires an innovative approach to planning, designing and making decisions. The result is involvement of the public and politics in decision making. The benefits identified by the use of such concept are not unified, but they lead to a reduction in the emission of harmful gases, increased traffic safety by reducing the number of traffic accidents and reducing urban congestion. One of the benefits of such approach, although not immediately visible, is that, participants in traffic, assume the responsibility for their behavior. Some examples of good practice will be presented in this paper.

shared space, urban mobility, SUMP