The EU Interreg Central Baltic Programme-funded Cycle4Climate project (C4C) aims to implement and evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of physical and social interventions to make people switch from car travel to bike travel.
But what do our team members Age, Veronika and Elise do in the project? What are they most looking forward to in the next 3.5 years? Let’s find out!
At C4C project, Age is leading the activities concerning traffic and travel measurements for CO2 emissions estimation.
What’s your educational background/discipline?
I am a human geographer with a background in environmental sciences, and I do research on human mobility and human-environment interactions.
What do you do in the Cycle4Climate project?
Together with our partners and project team in Tartu, we are currently planning the 2-wave travel survey to be conducted comparatively in four cities, both before and after the cycling supporting interventions take place. We aim to understand the effectiveness of interventions in various social and spatial contexts and learn from the evidence how to design context-specific urban interventions which lead to sustainability transitions.
What are you most looking forward to in the next 3.5 years?
I am excited about the possible change in behaviour and social practices that the well-planned interventions in four cities might bring. Also, I look forward to the results of the travel surveys and evidence from traffic counts to better understand the formation of cycling-related meanings and behaviour in the interplay of individual, socio-cultural and material spheres of daily life.
What would be your superpower related to Cycle4Climate?
As a geographer, I think my superpower would be understanding the social, spatial, and temporal patterns of cycling behaviour.
Veronika focuses on the data gathering and travel survey design.
Your educational background/discipline?
I have completed a BSc, MSc and PhD in human geography.
What do you do in the Cycle4Climate project?
I am involved in the project activities related to WP1, such as designing the travel survey methodology and questionnaire, and data analysis.
What are you most looking forward to in the next 3.5 years?
I am currently enjoying the fruitful discussions we have had with the project consortium so far, and I am very much looking forward to analyzing the travel data to observe intervention effects on individual mobility practices. Following this, I am looking forward to connecting analysis findings with current transport and mobility studies to understand these changes and to advance existing theories.
Where to commence a cycle for the climate?
One possible starting point for a positive climate cycle is making changes in urban space and infrastructure that allow people with a pro-environmental mindset to seamlessly conduct their everyday activities. These changes should also nudge those without a pro-environmental mindset to engage in activities that place less burden on the environment. Another important but challenging topic is how to reduce the climate impact of companies and corporations.
Elise is focused on equity aspects of sustainable mobility.
Your educational background/discipline?
My previous background is in human geography with a focus on sustainable mobility and urban experiments. But further on, I will focus more on equity in the transition to sustainable mobility.
What do you do in the Cycle4Climate project?
I am part of the Tartu University team, and we will focus on the travel survey in the four cities that will take place during the project. I’m contributing to the design of the survey and will help with data analysis.
What are you most looking forward to in the next 3.5 years?
I’m eager to see the impact and the results that will take place in the cities. It is interesting to do all the preparations and be part of the design, but it will be extra thrilling to see the actual interventions taking place and the difference they make in how people commute in all four cities.
How can a cycle for the climate be commenced?
The most important thing is to get over the barriers of trying new things. If you have already done it once, it will be far less scary to do it again.
The Mobility Lab of the University of Tartu is an interdisciplinary research group that studies human mobility and its associations with society and the environment using mobile (big) data.