GATHERING & UNDERSTANDING

The ‘Travel Skeleton’ survey tool, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology on behalf of the BMW Group, was instrumental in supporting the NEW MOBILITY BERLIN project. It helped not only in capturing the everyday mobility behaviour of local residents — whether for work, shopping, or leisure — but also in examining occasional mobility, such as weekend trips, which often play a decisive role in car ownership within cities.

Psychological factors, such as attitudes toward different modes of transport, provided deeper insights into individual mobility patterns and car ownership than was previously possible.

Key Finding: The group of ‘Car Independent Pragmatics’ makes up more than one-third of the surveyed car owners. They rely on cycling or public transport for their daily journeys and are therefore potentially highly receptive to the idea of giving up private car ownership altogether. On the rare occasion that a car is needed, there are now numerous practical alternatives available. This target group represents significant potentials in creating relief effects on public space and new opportunities for urban development — not just in the pilot neighbourhoods, but across all of Berlin!

TRANSFERRING & IMPLEMENTING

Those who give up their cars can play a key role in driving the mobility transition. This is why we have introduced initiatives to make it easier for car owners to transition away from private vehicle ownership toward the array of novel multimodal options. In focus groups, we collaborated with local residents to develop alternative uses for streets. These concepts were implemented in 2016 and 2017 through action weeks and days promoting diverse multimodal mobility, as well as parklets and additional seating areas on streets.

Cultural events, such as public book readings and singer-songwriter performances, brought a comforting and inspiring sense of normality to spending time on asphalt spaces traditionally

reserved for parked cars. The anticipated conflicts with car owners, who perceive public spaces solely as parking areas, were constructively addressed through several participatory events. Over time, many of those who initially criticised the NMB project came to understand that they too could benefit from reduced parking pressure.

The most significant contribution to this transformation was the five-year campaign ‘YOUR FLEET”.

Many car owners from the ‘Car Independent Pragmatics’ group hold on to their private vehicles to ensure they can handle occasional needs beyond everyday mobility. However, experiences like ‘YOUR FLEET’ illustrate that family visits, leisure trips to Berlin’s surrounding areas, and even holidays can be managed conveniently with car sharing or similar options.

The freed parking spaces which become available when car owners switch to alternative mobility options play a vital role in the much-needed redesign of neighbourhoods. The noticeable decline in car ownership per household in Berlin now gives local authorities a strong basis to promote more diverse and people-centric uses of public street space.

A striking outcome of our surveys in the NMB project was however that before focusing on improving the quality of street life, many people consider enhancing traffic safety in their neighbourhoods to be a more pressing concern. The district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is addressing this need by implementing traffic-calming measures in many neighbourhoods, ensuring safer conditions for all population groups to navigate the streets.

This approach illustrates that there are ample opportunities to reduce conflicts over street space, while also improving the sustainability and efficiency of mobility patterns and enhancing the quality of life for all residents.