On 24 April 2024, the Mobile Worlds Pilot Workshop was conducted in Porto, at the Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment (CITTA) of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto. There were 14 participants – 7 women and 7 men – of very varied ages, some students, some researchers, some professors. All from an academic context, thus, but otherwise really quite varied.

The participants formed three groups, and it was rather impressive how much fun everyone seemed to have with the materials. You can see the six emerging mobility futures imagined by the groups (two each) in the pictures below.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a bit of focus was placed on the dynamic of the private car versus sustainable and active mobility. This was to be expected especially since most of the participants are researching sustainable mobility in some way. However, child-friendly planning, greenery, and multi-functionality, among other themes, also emerged.

We as organizers again learned a lot during the workshop, and noticed the power the workshop already has on its own: to bring together people that would otherwise be much less inclined to share relatively personal experiences, such as professors and students. And recognizing that one has various things in common with other participants, or that some might identify with cultures that they originally hadn’t thought of but that someone else brought up, are all processes that end up having their own impact. We are now moving on to analyzing all this rich material in more detail in terms of research, and it is proving very exciting!

A warm thank you to all participants in this workshop again!