Modelling Active Mobility 2026

DAY 1 (Friday, June 26): ACTIVE MOBILITY MODELS

8:45 – 9:15. Coffee & Arrival

9:15 – 9:30. Welcome and Framing

• Li Wan (University of Cambridge)
• David Lindelow (VREF)
• Andres Sevtsuk (MIT)

Session 1: Foundations — Travel Demand & Behavioral Modeling

9:30 – 11:00. Session Chair: Kay Axhausen.

15 min each + 5 min discussion.

• Kelly Clifton (University of British Columbia) — TBD.
• Alain Chiaradia (Hong Kong University) — TBD.
• Eric Miller (University of Toronto) — Bicycle route choice modelling in Toronto.
• Andres Sevtsuk (MIT) — Recent progress in modeling pedestrian activity.

11:00 – 11:20. Coffee break

Session 2: Foundations 2— Travel Demand & Behavioral Modeling Cntd.

11:20 – 12:50. Session Chair: Niaz Zafri.

15 min each + 5 min discussion.

• Alistair Ford (Newcastle University)  — Data-Driven Planning of Liveable Neighbourhoods and Cycle Networks Using Open Tools in the UK.
• Robin Lovelace (Active Travel England) — Modelling multi-model traffic, casualties and risk: a data-driven approach to improve government guidance on critical safety issues for walking and cycling.
• Raul Kalvo (Estonian Academy of Arts)  — TBD.
• Louis Merlin (Florida Atlantic University)  — Stated Preference Survey of Pedestrian Street Crossing Preferences.

12:50 – 14:00. Lunch (Caius College Hall)?

Session 3: Exposure, Health & Environmental Integration

14:00 – 15:30. Session Chair: Belen Zapata Diomedi.

• Qin Zhang (TU Munich)
• Niaz Zafri (MIT)— Finetuning pedestrian accessibility indices for walking.
• Andrew Breazeale (London School of Economics)  — Pedestrian route choice preferences in NYC.
• Marco Miotti (ETH Zurich)—Beyond Zones: Multi-Scale, Raster-Network Hybrid Modeling for the Active Mobility.

15:30 – 15:50. Coffee break.

Session 4: Plenary Discussion “What are the biggest modeling gaps in active mobility?”

15:50 – 17:15. Session Chair: Andres Sevtsuk.

Moderated roundtable:

• Kelly Clifton
  
• Eric Miller
  
• Alistair Ford
  
• Alain Chiaradia
  
• Carly Gilbert-Patrick
  
• Geetam Tiwari
  

19:00.  Dinner (Millworks). Map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UTicXwzmLTuE5yiu9

DAY 2 (Saturday, June 27) — FROM MODELS TO POLICY, PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION

9:00 – 9:15. Recap of Day 1. Andres Sevtsuk.

Session 5: Equity, Global South & Rapid Urbanization

9:15 – 10:45. Session chair: Carly Gilbert-Patrick.

• Geetam Tiwari (IIT Delhi) — Active mobility in high-density Global South contexts
• Olanike Babalona (VREF / Lagos) — Informality and modeling constraints
• Winnie Mitulah (University of Nairoby, UN)  — Pedestrians’ Intra-Zone trip Generations and route profiles in Mukuru Kwa Njenga Informal Settlement in Nairobi.
• Rob Marty (The World Bank) — Pedestrian Infrastructure, Behavior, and Crash Risk in Nairobi, Kenya.

10:45 – 11:00. Coffee.

Session 6: Implementation & Government Practice

11:00 – 12:30. Session Chair: Rob Marty.

• Carly Koinange (Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport) —Active mobility, climate, and global policy frameworks
• James Woodcock (University of Cambridge)  — Modelling the impact of built environment scenarios on multi-dimensional travel behaviors.
• Chiara Molinar (City of Paris) –TBD
• Mark Seaman (NYC DOT Commissioner’s Office)  — Valuing Livable Streets: Pedestrians’ Willingness to Trade Travel Time for Streetscape Amenities in New York City.

12:30 – 13:45. Lunch (Caius College Hall)

Session 7: Walking activities beyond transportation

14:00 – 15:00. Session Chair: Kelly Clifton.

• Wenjie Chen (Doctoral Researcher, Loughborough University)— When Social Interaction Becomes Urban Data.
• Shino Miura (Chuo University, Japan)—Reframing Street Evaluation For Inclusiveness: "Strolling Indicator" Development Alternative to Level of Service.
• Puspita Dirgahayani (Professor, Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning, and Policy Development, ITB Bandung, Indonesia) – Walking to The Stop: Land-Use And Built Environment Influences on First- And Last-mile Passenger Experience in Surabaya

Session 8: Breakout Groups

15.00-16.00. The Future of Active Mobility Modeling and Policy Engagement

Participants split into 4 groups:

Group A: Model Development and Integration. Lead: Benjamin Büttner.

Participants:

• Raul Kalvo
  
• Andrew Breazele
  
• Robin Lovelace
  
• Qin Zhang
  
• Alain JF Chiaradia
  
• Andres Sevtsuk
  
• Li Wan
  
• Christian Weber
  

Questions:

• How do we integrate walking, cycling, micromobility, transit?
• Toward interoperable and replicable model architectures?
• What should be the software development priorities for modeling active mobility?
• What are the main challenges?

Group B: Integrating Economic, Health and Environmental Benefits of Active Mobility to Models and Policy. Lead: James Woodcock.

Participants: 

• Winnie Mitullah
  
• Ying Jin
  
• Alistair Ford
  
• Babalola Olanike Christiana
  
• Belen Zapata-Diomedi
  
• James Woodcock
  
• Jerry Chen
  
• Keara Dennehy 

Questions:

• How can economic, health, and environmental metrics be integrated into modeling frameworks?
• How can cross-sectoral issues of active mobility be better coordinated among policy makers?
• Can analysis methods and metrics be standardized to encourage broader adoption?

Group C: City Partnerships & Implementation. Lead: Mark Seaman.

Participants:

• Dominic Jenks,
  
• Rob Marty
  
• Gladys Nyachieo
  
• Puspita Dirgahayani
  
• Carly Gilbert-Patrick
  
• David Lindelow
  
• Geetam Tiwari
  
• Chiara Molinar
  

Questions:

• What do cities actually need?
• Toolkits vs academic models: How can active mobility models be used in policy and planning?
• Are there any particular needs  for data or methods standardization?
• What are the key challenges and opportunities for policy adoption?

Group D: Metrics of Success and Policy-relevant Indicators of Active Mobility. Lead: Louis Merlin.

Participants:

• Kay Axausen
  
• Shino MIURA
  
• Eric J. Miller
  
• Wenjie Chen
  
• Marco Miotti
  
• Niaz Mahmud Zafri
  
• Matteo Bosi
  
• Gladys Nyachieo
  

Questions:

• What key indicators of activity mobility should governments or researchers track?
• How can these indicators inform policy making or planning and design?
• What should be the active mobility replacements of “LOS”, “Travel Time Savings”, or “AADT”, to communicate intervention benefits?

16:00 – 16:15. Coffee.

Session 9: Reporting Back & Synthesis

16:15 – 17:00. Each group: 7 min report. Followed by moderated synthesis discussion.

Goal outputs:

• 3–5 research priorities
• 3 practical steps for city engagement
• Potential joint funding proposals

Closing Session

17:00 – 17:30. Reflections.

• David Lindelow (VREF)
• Ying Jin
• Andres Sevtsuk

19:00. Dinner— Queen’s College at the University of Cambridge. Dinner is in the Munro Room and the Old SCR. Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eziMmsUQ81E1LqEb6

DAY 3 — (Sunday, June 28) Free Day with optional activities

• Walking tour of Cambridge (time and place TBD)
  
• Punting on the river Cam  (time and place TBD)
  

Monday June 29 – Wednesday July 1: Applied Urban Modeling symposium

 If you are staying, please make sure you have registered (seats were limited and may have run out by now: https://www.landecon.cam.ac.uk/news/aum2026 )