The 2023 ARL Congress - Towards a viable and mobile future - How can we plan socially just and ecologically responsible mobility?

This session took place in a hybrid format, with participants being present in Leipzig and a digital audience who had the opportunity to exclusively participate in this session. The session discussed different social and ecological aspects of mobility and put them into different European perspectives.

The first speaker, Michał Czepkiewicz (University in Poznań), presented a case study of two cities in Poland which addressed the criticism faced by sustainable transport for neglecting social justice aspects, while studies on transport poverty overlook environmental consequences. To integrate these perspectives, the presentation proposed using social-ecological models and highlighted their potential for urban planning.

Marcus Beringer (AustriaTech), the second speaker, took us to Austria, where the Federal Ministry for Climate Action adopted a co-creative approach, establishing partnerships with cities to address challenges in mobility, energy, and circular economy. This approach focuses on developing tailored solutions for urban sustainability based on the needs of participating cities.

And the third and last speaker of this session, Jeffrey Turner (University Leeds), set out some indicative directions for more gender-equitable socially sustainable Climate Action Plans in order to deliver a gender-equitable response to the need for rapid action to address climate change in the transport sector within the UK.

The congress venue, the Leipziger Kubus, in Leipzig. Photo: ARL/Dario Eidens-Holl, 2023. 

Read more about the whole congress here.