Welcome to the UNLOCK15-Toolbox - we are collecting tools to empower „agents of change“ from civil society as well as city officials to unlock existing lock-ins. We hope you will find some relevant tools to drive change towards mobility transition in your context!
From experience, three types of tools are need for real change: tools to create and communicate evidence, tools to envision possible futures and scenarios and participatory tools for on-site action.
This type of tools help you to collect evidence, which supports the change you are aiming for. Some tools also allow crowd-based approaches to involve citizens in a broad manner. Evidence helps to convince decision makers to back-up change.
A joint survey between district politics and initiatives has potential to drive change. A survey means to ask inhabitants of an area what they like or don't like about status quo and what they want to change. The initiative has local knowledge of the area and knows what is important to ask. The survey results give politicans guidance what kind of change is backed up by the inhabitants.
From our experience a joint survey is possible when
- all involved people are amicable towards each other
- there is a third neutral party (for example science project or neighbourhood management) that coordinates the process
An instrument that enables the assessment of road infrastructure projects taking into account sustainability goals.
We can’t reduce the speed limit on this road because the busses would loose time!“ This or similar arguments may come up in discussions about street transformations. Maybe with your local knowledge you think: „Because of the frequent stops, the local busses don’t go beyond 30 km/h anyways.“ In those situations, it can help to bring evidence for your argument into the discussion. For example by measuring the speed of busses. Think in advance how to make your data collection as valid as possible within your ressources. To produce solid evidence about the speed of public transport we suggest the following steps:
- Make a plan how you will collect your data: What do you want to measure (one busline in both directions between bus stop X and Y), when (on peak/off peak, which days) and how often (how many times per day)
- Install an App that collects GPX-Tracks (data that links speed with location)
- Ride the busses according to your data collection plan
- Find someone who knows how to use QGIS (open source program for making maps) and install the plug-in for GPX Segment importer (https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/GpxSegmentImporter/#plugin-about)
- If everything works out the result should be maps like the ones you see here.
- Think about how you want to communicate the data: In a confidential setting or rather to a bigger audience?
more tools for Evidence…
In this category you find tools that help you to create a vision of what you are aiming for. A strong vision is key for driving change because it helps you to grow as a movement and to shift public opinions. This category also includes tools that help you envision how you want to work together as a group.
Defining goals, structures, roles and means of decision making are all crucial parts of founding and maintaining collectives, cooperatives, and other groups. Many aspects of organisation however remain ad hoc, informal and opaque, creating the possibility of power imbalances, misunderstandings and exclusion. The link will lead you to website with key questions that any group should consider and define during its formation.
The framework of "Story-Based Strategy" helps you figure out your campaign’s narrative strategy. It’s composed of tools or worksheets that you can use to analyze the opposition’s story, the current popular narrative about your issue, and develop a way of pitching or talking about your issue that will win over the folks you need to win!
Power Mapping is a visual method for strategically analyzing actors, relationships, and dynamics of influence. It helps identify the right target individuals or institutions — those who actually have the authority to make or shape decisions — and reveals through which pathways and allies one can gain access to them or build pressure on them.
more tools for Vision…
Small steps towards the realisation of local change can help to make the vision tangible and also easier to be discussed. Tools for action help to make the impact of change tangible and involve local communities.
Lack of funding or stuck in slow processes? Maybe a local collaboration can boost your vision to the next level! That happened to the Galileigasse in Vienna. Thanks to a collaboration between the district Alsergund, the Technical University Vienna and the LA21 the schoolstreet was completely transformed. A team of city planning and architecture students, their teachers and one carpenter planned and built the tactical urbanism elements within one semester. The district covered the cost for the material. The project cost a fracture of what it would have cost if a team of professional carpenters had done it.
Bikebus is an organized bicycle group for children who cycle safely to school together with accompanying adults. Like a school bus, only by bicycle.
The aim of the tour is to challenge traditional contexts of exhibiting art by producing new creative content in unconventional locations, while at the same time promoting urban cycling and sustainable communities. See also RAD performance in Vienna as an example.
more tools for Action…