About UMCASE

Groups vulnerable to exclusion, such as older people and people with a low income, are not often considered in the design phase of (digital) mobility solutions. The UMCASE project (Citizens’ Inclusive and Accessible Urban Mobility Solutions), a one-year project supported by EIT Urban Mobility, aimed to tackle this challenge by shifting the attention of policymakers and mobility experts to those who often don’t have a voice. The project ends in December of this year.

Focus

Using a participatory approach, UMCASE was piloted in Vitoria, Spain, and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and connected local residents, transport providers, business actors and policy-makers to develop and evaluate potential mobility solutions. Furthermore, the project created an innovative method to engage these key city actors in creating the mobility that suits them.

The City of Vitoria sought to bridge the gap between older citizens and digital mobility services, while the City of Eindhoven co-designed solutions for reducing private parking spaces in a local district.

Outcomes and lessons learnt

The resulting UMCASE methodology and implementation guide will be available for cities, citizens, service providers and other stakeholders to support the design of more inclusive mobility services. These materials also include a set of recommendations that can be used by local governments to improve their mobility policies.

The performed activities have been both a valuable and enriching experience. The main lesson learnt from using the UMCASE method as part of this project, is the fundamental gain of knowledge, insights and experiences from engaging with citizens and cities. Users and citizens will tell us what works best for their individual mobility needs.

“Citizen engagement does not only foster an understanding of different viewpoints. It also has to create trust in the government and public institutions. This trust means that people not only feel they are heard but know they are understood since their voices are being used to construct a better future.”

To read more about the project, the method, and the resulting recommendations, visit the website.