We Are all the Plan: Envisioning Urban Mobility Futures Through Everyday Life, by Veronica SAUD

Understanding how decision-making in urban mobility planning can trigger transformative strategies is crucial for advancing just socio-ecological transition agendas. These transitions are not only technical or institutional. This requires recognising that changes comprise relational dynamics between the material, spatial and environmental dimensions, the human and social dimensions, as well as the institutional dynamics.

This research explores the social dimensions of decarbonisation and mobility agendas. It argues that, beyond the material and technological concerns, placing social needs at the center of the planning and decision-making process, accessibility and everyday life becomes crucial to develop more inclusive and sustainable cities.

It is also known that the governance of urban mobility under decarbonisation objectives face significant governance challenges, in particular, at the local level. These include, among others, uncertainty around funding mechanisms, fragmented responsibilities, and, above all, challenges in building a shared vision for change. In doing so, it requires overcoming the political and technocratic vision, moving beyond technocratic and efficiency-driven models, aligning objectives, and creating a common commitment towards a more decarbonised future.

This research examines how planning processes around decarbonisation and active mobility can either reinforce existing inequalities or challenge them, focusing on how institutional and political dynamics influence who participates in planning, under what conditions, and how these decisions affect accessibility on the ground.

Rather than viewing planning as a controlled, expert-led process, this work frames it as an ongoing negotiation among diverse actors—local governments, civil society, professionals, residents, and even visitors. These interactions shape not only policies, but also the underlying values and assumptions about mobility, inclusion, and ultimately, urban life.

This talk invites participants to reflect on their own experiences of movements and accessibility in the city, opening space for a transdisciplinary dialogue. Ultimately, it calls for a reimagining of planning as a shared process, where socio-ecological transitions are not only envisioned, but co-created through everyday practices, negotiations, and joint discussion about whose future is being planned.

Veronica SAUD is a Chilean architect with a PhD in Development Planning from UCL. Her work focuses on innovative approaches on governance, policy, and planning on mobility justice and inclusive decision-making for a decarbonized future, reflecting her passionate concern for reducing inequalities and addressing the climate emergency. She is currently Assistant Professor at Universidad Central de Chile, where she teaches urban planning, sustainability and accessibility. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, scuba diving, and hockey.
 

Supported by the GATES project (Grenoble ATtractiveness and ExcellenceS), funded by the French government's Programme d'Investissement Avenir and implemented by ANR France 2030