CIVINET .BE and local professionals work together on inclusive mobility
How can we make mobility more accessible for everyone, including those who are excluded today? During a workshop 'Inclusive mobility' on 19 June, organised by Mobiel 21 and CIVINET .BE, local authorities, welfare organisations and mobility experts worked together on insights, practical examples and methodologies. A retrospect.
Inclusive mobility as a lever against social exclusion
Mobility poverty, sometimes called transport poverty, prevents people from fully participating in society. Due to a lack of money, knowledge, facilities or skills, some do not get to their destination, or do so with difficulty. When work, shop, family, school or doctor are difficult to reach, it can lead to loneliness and social exclusion.
Local governments want to change this, but often come up against a lack of data, tools or proven solutions. On 19 June, CIVINET .BE and Mobiel 21 therefore organised a workshop on these challenges. The aim? To inspire, connect and strengthen local players with knowledge and tools to structurally embed inclusion in mobility policy.
Exploring the issues: mobility poverty in focus
The workshop started with an in-depth exploration of the complex issues. A diverse group of participants, from mobility experts to staff of PCSWs and welfare organisations, shared insights and questions from their daily practice. Some recurring themes:
- The demand for up-to-date, useful figures at local level is high. Figures often only exist at the national level, while local policies just need fine-grained data.
- The definition of mobility poverty remains vague. What are the standards? In time? In frequency of travel? It is a complex problem, involving a lot of elements.
- Target groups are difficult to define: Who experiences mobility poverty, and how do you reach them? Depending on the profile, mobility poverty can be experienced very differently. Traditional methods often miss who does not move at all.
Action-oriented work with European methodologies
Participants then engaged with tools and insights from European projects and reports. We used the 4 A's (i.e. Availability, Accessibility, Affordability, Acceptability) as an analytical framework. Participants thought about how these four aspects constitute a barrier, and how they can remove that barrier in their own city or municipality.
It often came up during this exercise that 'mobility does not end at the bus stop'. The whole journey, from door to door, must be included in policy and supply. Here, local anchoring is essential, as is cooperation between mobility, welfare, spatial planning and other policy domains.
Case studies from the field
During the workshop, attendees shared and discussed many solutions and initiatives from their local context.
- pilot projects on accessible shared mobility with social tariffs
- village points, supported by the municipality and volunteers, where basic services and mobility come together
- workshops and 'digital cafés', where vulnerable groups learn to work with the apps of NMBS and De Lijn
- street surveys on satisfaction
- ...
Also interested? Sign up for the next edition!
The workshop showed that there is a strong need for knowledge sharing and practical tools around inclusive mobility. We are therefore planning a second edition of this workshop in the autumn. We will pick that date soon. Would you also like to promote inclusive mobility in your municipality or organisation? Would you like to receive an invitation to the next workshop? Let us know!
What is CIVINET .BE?
CIVINET .BE is een lerend netwerk dat Belgische steden en gemeenten verenigt om het maximum uit Europese mobiliteitsprojecten te halen. Het netwerk helpt schepenen en ambtenaren om een overzicht te bewaren van wat er zich allemaal afspeelt op het Europese niveau.
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Everyone has the right to move freely and participate in society. We support people facing transport disadvantages by identifying vulnerable groups, and seek to integrate equity into sustainable mobility.