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Description
The main objective of the project is to reduce car usage in Warsaw. In 2016 there were 571 passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants in Poland which accounted to a total of 21 million cars. Car trips account to 77.3% of all passenger-kilometers travelled (2015) and the use of buses and coaches to 14.5% which is more than the EU28 average (9.4%) (EC, 2019). Since parents driving to schools generate a substantial portion of traffic this project focuses on school communities. Together with parents, municipalities, and local businesses we will co-create and examine possible changes in school neighborhood to reduce car usage. As a result we will deliver a package of tools and methods that can help to change citizens’ mobility choices such as a method for co-designing inclusive and evolving mobility in local communities; air quality and climate change projections for future mobility scenarios; identification of barriers and opportunities for reduction of car ownership in Poland; promotion of active mobility and public transport in local communities; etc.
This will result in delivering knowledge for policy-makers and access to data-driven solutions, access to information for general public, citizens and journalists, innovations in local business, improved air quality, better health, and reduction of economic losses due to ill-health.
All partners will benefit from the project’s unique opportunity to co-design interdisciplinary processes by being exposed to and learning from each other’s expertise. Each researcher will benefit from the holistic approach of the project and the access to the project’s data. The new partnerships between different scientific institutions and disciplines aim at expanding their collaboration beyond this project.
References:
[1] Report: Poland. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/pdf/report_pl_en.pdf
[2] EC, European Commission. (2019) The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019. Country
Summary of project results
Air pollution and private car use in Poland are among the highest in Europe, significantly impacting school commutes and morning traffic.
The project conducted City Labs in three Warsaw primary schools, focusing on creating neighborhood interventions through co-creation with second and third-grade pupils and various stakeholders. This process began with mapping relevant stakeholders and inviting external experts. Collaboration with City of Warsaw and Institute for Environmental Protection enhanced data acquisition and analysis. The project collected rich qualitative and quantitative data using participatory GIS methods, discrete choice analysis, and a carefully prepared survey and questionnaire. Additionally, air quality data were gathered over two years using a sensor network deployed in the project.
Importantly, the project developed a system of models integrating traffic modelling at micro and aggregated levels, machine learning models of transport mode choice, discrete choice analyses of stated preferences, and emission and environmental models of air quality in greater Warsaw. The emission model identified idling and congestion as major NO2 contributors. Findings were presented at key conferences, emphasizing the need for human-centered measures to shift mobility habits. We highlighted pervasive attitudes toward car usage, showing the necessity of soft measures to gradually induce a shift in mobility; and developed a software platform for travel mode choice modelling, leveraging Big Data to align public transport with citizen needs. The project expanded academic skills and expertise through international and transdisciplinary cooperation, promising future research benefits for the team. The short-term results are: the tools and methods developed were widely shared and can be implemented in Warsaw and other communities; interventions during the project improved safety and awareness of air pollution consequences in the three local communities participating in city labs; co-creation gathered various stakeholders and provided them with new experience of innovative problemsolving tools. Project significantly contributed to ongoing discussions on school safety, sustainable urban mobility, and public responsibility for air quality. The project advanced the debate, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable transitions and setting benchmarks for assessing transport mode choice and air quality interventions at both aggregated and local scales.
In the project women were given prominent roles both as the PI and leaders of 3 work packages, and additional support for young female researchers was offered. The experience gained by women in project management and their scientific progress have resulted in further projects and initiatives.
Summary of bilateral results
The inclusion of Norwegian partners helped built a truly transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach in the project. As an example, NILU contribution has shown how large differences in air pollution within the City of Warsaw can be. In the case of travel mode choice modelling it helped interpret the findings revealing the links suggesting the impact of air pollution on mode choices. As shown by NILU experience, air pollution can be a measure of street congestion and one more indicator relevant for mode choice modelling. This and other findings are planned to be summarised in research papers co-authored by Polish and Norwegian partners. Five collaborative papers have been already submitted and two more are prepared. The links between mobility behaviours, car ownership patterns and air pollution were confirmed to be particularly challenging. In particular, they were exploited and discussed during a combined workshop delivered at the final CoMobility conference by Polish and Norwegian partners discussing together mode choice modelling and air pollution modelling.New knowledge on these interrelated topics has been acquired in the project, which will be transformed into research papers. Hence, the bilateral collaboration with Norwegian partners will be continued. The fact that both Polish and Norwegian partners have worked on the data of the same city of Warsaw and have in-depth understanding of the needs and plans of the city will largely help continue this collaboration.Thanks to the cooperation with FNI, the identification of best practices to be used in other contexts (involvement of citizens, kids) was deepened and enriched by the anthropologist perspective, in addition to economic, sociological and psychological ones. Plans to explore future funding opportunities for joint research are established, and a research proposal on ageism in urban mobility has been submitted by the UW team with a letter of intent for cooperation with FNI upon granting funds.