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.
Websites like mapperoni and uMap let you create maps with layers in a minute, embed them in your site or share them with others to contribute. An example: The urban design office prostorož invited citizens of Ljubljana in 2020 to vote for locations they experience as hot. In three weeks, they cast around 700 votes. The data was consistent with the locations of heat islands measured by satellite thermal imaging. The responses showed that people change routes and habits in the summer or avoid certain locations in the city altogether due to the heat. Respondents also suggested their own cooling measures - they want more and bigger trees, less asphalt, less concrete, and less parking spaces. This map was then published in newspapers and reached a big audience.
An instrument that enables the assessment of road infrastructure projects taking into account sustainability goals.
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
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.
An AI-based tool for demonstrating and visualizing street redesigns.
There are several digital to do lists out there, that can help you as a group to organise projects, assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress collaboratively. Trello is free until ten collaborators, wekan and kanboard are completely open source.
The Five Whys is a simple yet powerful research method from human-centered design. Starting with a broad question about a person's habits or behaviours, you ask "why" five times in a row — not horizontally ("why else?") but vertically, going deeper with each answer until you uncover the emotional and human roots of a problem. The method takes only about 15 minutes, requires nothing more than pens and paper, and is designed to get to the core of a person's beliefs and motivations.
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.
The Place Mobil is a cargo bike that takes up two parking spaces when unfolded. However, as it is officially classified as a bicycle, it can be parked anywhere in public spaces (including parking lots) free of charge and legally.
Presswork helps you to spread your vision of change. With a little preperation and a good idea, your work could be covered in the local news by tomorrow. Attached you will find a guide in english and german for successful presswork.
Initiatives use window banners to communicate their demands to the public. This creates visibility and helps the initiative grow, encouraging more and more people to join the cause and the banner campaign.
more tools for Action…