Five things UK Cities could learn from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo

By Adam Tranter, CEO, Fusion Media

Last week, I had the chance to listen in on a conversation between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. As ever, she was honest, direct and determined. In my opinion, there is a lot to admire in what Paris has achieved over the past decade; I was curious to listen in to hear what other cities could learn from Paris’ progress. With directly elected Mayors becoming much more of an important part of the UK’s political landscape, it’s relevant too for UK regions.

Mayors are uniquely placed to tackle the big, complex issues that affect our cities and regions. Whether it’s climate change, congestion, poor air quality or inequality, these are not challenges that can be solved from behind a desk in Whitehall. They need place-based solutions, shaped by people who know their communities and can bring partners together. In much of the world, mayors already do this. They are powerful, directly elected figures with the budgets and the mandate to deliver real change.

That hasn’t always been the case in the UK. Until recently, a Mayor was usually a ceremonial role; often a long-serving councillor in a gold chain posing with a spade in front of a new roundabout. These traditional mayors, the Lord Mayors or civic mayors, still play a role in local life, but they don’t have real power. But since 2017, the UK has introduced directly elected metro mayors in city-regions like Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and the Liverpool City Region. These mayors oversee increasingly significant budgets and responsibilities, from transport and housing to skills and infrastructure.

The UK remains one of the most centralised countries in Europe. Too many decisions are still made in Westminster, but the devolution trend is growing, and metro mayors are proving what can be done when local leaders are given the tools to lead. I saw this firsthand working with former Mayor Andy Street as his Cycling and Walking Commissioner in the West Midlands.

The UK Government agrees that this direction of travel is the right one. Recently, metro mayors from across England came together to pledge their support for a national walking, wheeling and cycling network. The initiative, supported by Active Travel England and the Department for Transport, shows what can happen when city leaders collaborate around a shared mission. With representation from Labour, the Conservatives and Reform, mayors are backing bold plans to make active travel safer, easier, and more inclusive.

Of course, the Mayor of Paris has far more executive power than UK metro mayors, with control over the city’s roads, police, schools, housing and social services. By contrast, UK directly elected metro mayors operate within a more limited and negotiated framework, with powers varying by region and often dependent on deals struck with central government. With the exception of London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who controls a small percentage of London’s route network via TfL, UK directly elected mayors don’t really have the power to deliver transport projects on the road network in their areas; this is down to local councils. Although the funding, which comes via Mayoral Combined Authorities, can influence what gets built where.

But this relative lack of power compared to European Mayors doesn’t mean we can’t learn from Paris’ recent transformation in terms of active travel and air quality.

I enjoyed listening to Mayor Hidalgo, who didn’t pretend it had been easy. She spoke about political resistance, media hostility, legal battles and the deeply personal nature of leading change in a city. What stood out most was how methodical and values-driven the approach has been.

Here are five things that stayed with me.

1. You need political will, but that alone will not get you there

It is tempting to imagine that change is just a matter of being bold. If only leaders had more courage, things would move forward. There is some truth in that, but it is far from the whole picture.

Mayor Hidalgo talked about political will, but also about coalitions, advisors and having a plan. She emphasised the importance of strategy and of preparing the public. According to her, transformation is “impossible without strategy”. Wanting change is not enough. You have to work out how to build support for it, deliver it and defend it when it comes under attack.

She described how she worked with doctors, NGOs and scientists to build a credible health case for cleaner air. It was clear that during COVID, they knew that the change in travel behaviours provided a way to develop new mobility policies, but they would need to plan the network at scale and ensure their processes and delivery were robust in case it came under attack and legal challenge, as it did.

2. The car is “not just a vehicle”

One of the most thought-provoking things she said was that “the car is not just a car”. In Paris, as in many places, the car symbolises power, freedom and, in her words, masculinity. Challenging that dominance is never simply a technical decision about street layouts or emissions levels. It is a challenge to a deeply embedded status quo.

She explained how being a woman mayor taking on the car lobby came with its own set of challenges. At one point, she was ridiculed in the press as “crazy” simply for proposing car restrictions. The attack lines weren’t really about traffic or business disruption; they had a subtext of gender and identity.

For all the celebration of Paris’s progress, Hidalgo did not sugarcoat the process. She described the political battle as “very violent”; not in physical terms, but in how aggressive the backlash had been.

She talked about coordinated misinformation, pushback from powerful lobbies, and media narratives designed to derail her agenda. 

None of that stopped her. But it did make clear that changing streets means challenging stories, and not everyone is ready to give up the transport status quo without a fight.

3. Cities cannot wait for national governments to act

What struck me throughout the session was how little time was spent talking about national government. Instead, Hidalgo focused on the power of cities to lead. She talked about building alliances with other mayors, from Brussels to Madrid, from Vancouver to the global C40 network.

She mentioned how they took joint legal action after the Dieselgate scandal, targeting car manufacturers through the European Court of Justice. This was a coordinated legal and political push from city leaders determined to protect their residents.

In the UK, cities still take a lot of their cues from national conversation and national government policy. Increasingly, UK Mayors are setting their own agendas – and even influencing the national discussion; this is a welcome development that will only increase in frequency with more awareness of what mayors can do, as well as more power and more funding.

4. Health is the most persuasive argument we have

Time and again, Mayor Hidalgo returned to the subject of health. It was not a side benefit of her transport reforms. It was the heart of the case.

She spoke about the links between air pollution and asthma, cancer, strokes and chronic disease. WHO officials echoed this, describing the city’s agenda as a public health intervention. They translated her policies into medical outcomes: fewer hospital admissions, better mental health, longer lives.

This is something many of us working in mobility have known intuitively. But hearing it from both political and public health leaders underlines just how powerful a tool this is. Health is not only the right argument. It is also the one that connects with the public in a way that abstract emissions targets rarely do.

5. We need more women Mayors

It was refreshing to hear a woman leading one of the most recognisable cities in the world, speaking plainly about power, equity and public health. She did not frame her gender as central to her policies, but it clearly shaped how she was perceived, and how she led.

As mentioned, Hidalgo had already identified the car as “a symbol of masculinity”. Ever since I came to understand why our streets are designed the way they are, and the incredible influence of car-based planning, I’ve been convinced that it would be much different if more women were in charge. From planning departments, to traffic engineering, to leading a city as an elected Mayor, we need many more women in transport.

In May 2025, four out of six new mayoral contests were won by women. From safety on public transport to access to green space and affordable housing, many of the issues shaping our urban future are also gendered. More women in positions of power will likely make our cities more inclusive and more effective.

Final thoughts

Of course, we can learn from Paris not because it is perfect or because it has all the answers, but because it shows what is possible when leadership meets delivery. I’m just a tourist when it comes to visiting Paris, and, like all politicians and policies, it is important to note that they are not universally popular. But even if you disagree with Mayor Hidalgo’s policies or approach, you cannot argue that the change delivered has not been fast and bold.

If we want to transform our cities for health, for climate and for future generations, we need to give Mayors the powers, funding and tools to do so. And they need to stick with it, even when it’s hard.

Adam Tranter is the CEO of Fusion Media, the agency for movers, focusing on communications and public affairs for cycling and the outdoors. He was the Cycling & Walking Commissioner for the West Midlands under Mayor Andy Street. He is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast.