Beyond Flying Cars - the Masterclass on Co-Imagining Urban Mobility Futures

For many people mobility futures are still about flying cars, an idea that has been around for over 100 years. It is time to move beyond those old-fashioned, tech-driven imaginaries. Using speculative design tools and transition management, this Masterclass will focus on exploring different scenarios and strategies for change in the field of urban mobility, providing participants with innovative and hands-on tools to create mobility futures that are realistic and worth living.

It is hard to deny that we are in the middle of a mobility transition that will define the future of our cities. Managing this complex system change in a way that makes our cities human-centred, fair and sustainable can seem difficult and overwhelming. Transition management and design methodologies like speculative design help us deal with complexity by turning alternative futures into actionable decisions today.

Thinking about the future is less an exercise of predicting what’s next than a creative approach to dealing with uncertainty. Unfortunately, most images of the future tend to be in the hands of a very limited group of people. This leads to a poor creative process missing out on the opportunities of what democratising the future can offer.

This is why this masterclass applies speculative design as an approach to not only solve today’s problems but to imagine and create alternative narratives in a collaborative way, challenging our relationship with reality and triggering us to think more deeply about the futures we do and do not want. This multidisciplinary approach forms the core of this Masterclass’ methodology.

Methodology and activities

For the purpose of creating a holistic learning experience this Masterclass uses a combination of theoretical and practical approaches. These include:

• Short lectures to introduce key concepts and contextualise
• Keynote lectures featuring guest speakers from key stakeholder organisations and academic institutions
• Several guided workshops in a variety of formats
• Use of speculative design tools such as scenario matrix and speculative prototyping
• Design thinking applied to urban mobility: Ideation, Prototyping and Testing sessions, with the objective of testing the group’s conclusions and findings
• Site visits and guided tours in Rotterdam and surroundings

Learning objectives

1. Learn to identify key trends influencing infrastructure and societal changes in urbanism in general and mobility in particular.
2. Apply speculative design tools to urban mobility challenges, learning to identify ways to improve transportation networks and public space in our cities.
3. Become familiar with co-creation as a collaborative way to do strategic planning in the urbanism field.
4. Learn to bridge the imagination phase with the real world, translating ideas to actions.
5. Learn to use futuring as a useful, relevant tool to ideate future urbanism scenarios in an in-depth thorough manner.

Key take-aways

1. Create valuable connections with other participants from the private and public sector.
2. Develop long-lasting partnerships with relevant stakeholders in the Dutch and international design community.
3. Experience the Dutch approach to urban mobility by discovering Rotterdam and its surroundings.
4. Get familiar with applying speculative design principles in new disciplines.

Who is this course for

Urbanism or design professionals who want to change their approach to urban mobility planning and design. These include, but are not limited to:

• Municipal, Regional or State-level civil servants
• Municipal, Regional or State-level policy-makers
• Technical professionals in the urban development or infrastructure fields
• Urbanists and Urban Planners
• Designers, Architects, Engineers
• Transportation officials or operators

Participation fees:

Regular registration: € 1,250 (excl. VAT)

Non-for-profit organisations : € 950 (excl. VAT, limited spaces)

Students : € 800 (excl. VAT, limited spaces)

The price includes bicycle rental, materials, and lunch for all three days. Accommodation is not included.

Our partners

Humankind

Humankind is a Rotterdam-based agency specialised in accelerating urban change towards cities that are human and kind to ourselves, others and our planet. The office provides cities, organisations and change makers with human-powered data and insights to make sense of the present, creative tools to start shaping the future today, and knowledge so that anyone can be a city maker.

European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT)

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) is an independent body of the European Union set up in 2008 to deliver innovation across Europe. The EIT brings together leading business, education and research organisations to form dynamic cross-border partnerships. These are called Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and each is dedicated to finding solutions to a specific global challenge.   EIT Urban Mobility is one of the EIT KICs, working to encourage positive changes in the way people move around cities in order to make them more liveable places. EIT Innovation Communities develop innovative products and services, start new companies, and train a new generation of entrepreneurs. Together, EIT empowers innovators and entrepreneurs across Europe to turn their best ideas into products, services, jobs and growth.

About and contact

Organisation and content of Beyond Flying Cars - the Masterclass on Co-Imagining Urban Mobility Futures are the work of Humankind.

This project is funded by the EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

For questions or queries please contact Mario Raimondi Pruss (mario@humankind.city), Humankind Academy Director.