During 2023 we are launching our first collaboration in the city of Brussels with our partners VUB - Mobilise, Brussels Centre for Urban Studies and STIB.

Within Brussels UTL, a participatory action research project will be carried out with the aim to find meaningful and creative ways to engage the public and create awareness about the need to shift to more sustainable modes of mobility. Such a shift requires a holistic effort, from municipalities, stakeholders as well as the public. This project focuses on the latter group, with an interest to engage a select number of city inhabitants to produce a form of ‘Commuter Diaries’ i.e. mixed-media reflections on the perceptions of using public transport to give insight into the life of commuters who rely primarily on public transit for their daily mobility needs.

The Brussels UTL project

The Brussels project follows a participatory action research approach to explore how public transport is embedded in popular narratives in the Brussels context, how personal experience and peer-learning from other users’ experiences can support modal shift, and if non-financial incentives such as social media exposure can facilitate modal shift.

The project fosters a multi-disciplinary approach to commuting in cities, recruiting 12 inhabitants of the Brussels Region to participate in a program during which they ‘report’ on their commuter experience and lifestyle via their chosen medium(s). Such mediums can include photography, social media, art, blogging, and essays. Semi-structured interviews before, during and after the campaign (36 in total) will be carried out with the participants that will be analysed through content analysis.

The Brussels UTL project will officially launch on Car Free Sunday - 17th of September - if you live in Brussels and would like to participate apply as soon as possible to secure a spot amongst this unique cohort.