The aim was to present new concepts and successful practical examples that redesign the transportation space and ensure that life in cities remains worth living.
This included the building blocks of mobility, micromobility as a car replacement, apps as (digital) access to integrated mobility, urban space for people and mobility in the city as well as planning concepts for infrastructure measures - with the cities of Bremen and Darmstadt presenting "best cases" that scored points with neighborhood planning and more living space and less traffic, respectively.
Building blocks of mobility
What would be necessary to design mobility in the best possible way? According to mobility expert Pia Blessing, this requires the following building blocks: services, space, guard rails/regulation and mobility behavior. However, there are still many obstacles to implementation: there is a lack of attractive offers, e.g. in the area of autonomous driving, or there is a lack of space to make use of the offers. In terms of mobility costs, regulations are important, for example to attract more users to public transport - unfortunately, public transport is not worthwhile for many people because the ticket prices are still too expensive.
One factor that should not be underestimated, however, is people themselves, who do not always act rationally and remain in the status quo far too often and for far too long. What is needed here is the courage to change and set new standards to replace the car.
Living in a car-free city? Currently still a vision - but there are enough approaches that could pave the way for this.
Alternatives to the car
Good examples include micromobility with e-scooters, which are increasingly offering a welcome alternative to the car. Commuters in particular can benefit considerably from the time advantages of using e-scooters during peak times; e-scooters are also a cost-effective alternative to public transport for leisure activities, e.g. when attending concerts or soccer matches as a "first & last mile". The often criticized arbitrary parking of e-scooters has now also been significantly counteracted, for example by installing parking stands.
With the NürnbergMOBIL project, VAG Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg, a partner of the information event, has developed an app designed to provide (digital) access to integrated mobility in Nuremberg and the region. According to project manager Tobias Zuber, the aim was to offer a platform without any hurdles for the user. This requires customer feedback in order to generate added value for the customer beyond the various standards. Simplifying the complexity of purchasing tickets, providing information in the event of a fault or integrating a chat module are just some of the features that make the app user-friendly - the focus should not be on technology, but on usability.
How much mobility is necessary?
Prof. Dr. Harald Kipke from Nuremberg Institute of Technology provided an interesting insight into the evolution of mobility. According to him, mobility has changed considerably in the history of mankind, from a formerly forced mobility in nomadism to a desired mobility and physical mobility that was characterized by curiosity or a need for movement.
Mobility stands for "change of location" - there are basically two types of locomotion: humanoid movement (walking) and android movement, which is a mix of human and machine.
So people have always been on the move, only the type and purpose have changed over time. What is certain is that the mobility of the 21st century requires a different distribution of public space that also takes modern aspects such as digitalization, logistics and the non-physical exchange of information into account.
But how much mobility do we need at all? What if all the activities I wanted to do were possible on foot? An exciting question that will certainly inspire reflection beyond the event.
