Living Labs

Create Living Lab

Name	City
Brussels The Brussels Living Lab tested three shared mobility solutions in Neder-Over-Heembeek: a peer-to-peer company car-sharing scheme, shared cargo bikes, and a social taxi service using volunteer drivers provided with carsharing vehicles. Alongside these pilots, the Living Lab also worked to identify viable business and governance models for this type of service, including the potential of flexible mobility-activity hubs at existing highly-frequented locations.	Brussels, Belgium	Neder-Over-Heembeek is a Brussels district, administratively part of the City of Brussels but located relatively far from the city centre, with a sentiment among residents of being "forgotten" in terms of mobility public services. The area has a lower availability of public transport and micromobility services, and the car dependency among residents is higher compared to other and more central districts, even though a tram line connecting the district to the city centre was inaugurated in 2023. This combination of administrative inclusion and relative distance from central services in Neder-Over-Heembeek, has made it a prime candidate for one of the Living Lab's of the DREAMS project, focused on reducing car dependency in urban outskirts.
Budapest The Budapest Living Lab aims to provide an effective alternative to the reliance on private car usage and low-frequency public transport in the Rákosmente district of Budapest. By encouraging more sustainable transport modes, the living lab seeks to reduce the reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, thereby fostering a greener and more accessible urban environment. A further objective is to test an island-like bike-sharing operation, independent of the large inner-city service area.	Budapest, Hungary	The living lab's core focus is strengthening connections within the Rákosmente district. Enhancing these connections facilitates better movement across neighborhoods and promotes a sense of community among residents. With improved accessibility, residents are more likely to engage with local services, boosting the local economy and encouraging a vibrant neighborhood atmosphere. The primary target group is the local population, but commuters and visitors are also relevant user groups due to the presence of railway stations, educational, healthcare, retail and leisure destinations.
Munich Region Geretsried, a car-dependent town near Munich with no direct rail link, ran a nearly two-year Living Lab to design a network of mobility points combining car sharing, bike sharing, and better bus connections. A planning process to design a mobility point pilot and scale it up across Geretsried's neighborhoods led to council approval of a pilot at the central B11 bus stop, plus a long-term plan for four more locations.	Geretsried, Germany	*Geretsried's urban structure still reflects its origins as a planned post-war settlement, with residential areas spatially separated from commercial, administrative, and service functions. This spatial configuration has reinforced private car use as the dominant mode of transport for daily activities. Approximately two-thirds of all daily trips are made by private car. In addition, residents must travel to the neighboring city of Wolfratshausen to access the nearest direct rail connection to Munich. Local bus services operate approximately every 20 minutes. Survey findings and field observations indicated that this level of service is insufficient to encourage a significant shift away from private car use. These mobility constraints disproportionately affect older adults, who account for nearly one-third of the population, as well as Geretsried's sizeable migrant community, both of whom are particularly vulnerable when access to a private car is limited. Given these characteristics, together with the municipality's commitment to promoting sustainable mobility through its existing Mobility Concept, Geretsried provided an appropriate setting to evaluate whether a shared mobility intervention could enhance accessibility and reduce car dependence.
Paris A living lab focused on urban outskirts, testing station design as mobility hubs and the governance of transport planning in disadvantaged areas.	Paris, France	Improving feeder services and active transport access to tram stations in suburban areas.
Utrecht Overvecht is a spacious and relatively green post-war neighbourhood, characterised by a mix of low-, medium- and high-rise housing within a distinctive green urban structure (Gemeente Utrecht, 2025). The neighbourhood also has a relatively high concentration of households in a financially vulnerable position: 28% of households live on an income up to 125% of the statutory social minimum, compared with 14% across Utrecht (Gemeente Utrecht, Onderzoek & Advies, 2026). At the same time, Utrecht is transitioning towards more sustainable and space-efficient urban mobility. The Municipality of Utrecht is gradually introducing paid on-street parking across the city, including in Overvecht, with citywide implementation planned by 2034. This policy aims, among other things, to encourage alternatives to private car use and create more public space for walking, cycling, shared mobility and green space (Gemeente Utrecht, 2024). Against this background, affordable and accessible alternatives to private car use are becoming increasingly important. The Utrecht Living Lab explores how different business and operational models, together with reduced user tariffs, can make shared cargo bikes more affordable, accessible and viable in this context.	Utrecht, The Netherlands	For the Utrecht Living Lab, the key question was how shared micromobility can become a realistic and affordable option for a broader range of residents in the outskirts of Utrecht. This is particularly relevant in Overvecht, our focus area, where financial constraints may make the costs associated with commercial shared-mobility services as alternatives for private cars a more significant barrier for some households. The Living Lab therefore focused on whether lowering the costs of shared cargo bikes (of a commercial model), together with alternative ways of organising and operating the service (a cooperative model), could make shared mobility more accessible and attractive to residents who might otherwise be less likely to use it.
Vienna Siebenhirten, in Vienna's 23rd district of Liesing, is a car-dependent peripheral neighbourhood characterised by large-scale social housing, limited local amenities, and few opportunities for everyday life within walking distance. The Living Lab set out to explore whether a temporary pop-up hub could improve local accessibility, encourage active travel, and foster social interaction in an area that falls outside the reach of conventional 15-minute city strategies. Over six weeks, the Living Lab tested a mobile community hub — the Raum_Wagen — combining free cultural programming with a temporary bike-sharing station.	Vienna, Austria	Everyday mobility in Siebenhirten relies mostly on the car. Despite being served by the U6 metro terminus, the neighbourhood lacks the walkable, mixed-use environment that makes proximity-based living possible: ground floor spaces are vacant or inactive, public space is sparse, and cultural or community infrastructure is almost absent. Families and older residents are particularly affected, as they depend most on local services and social opportunities within their immediate neighbourhood. This combination of physical car-orientation and service undersupply made Siebenhirten a fitting and necessary test case on the urban outskirt, where the gap between the 15-minute city ideal and everyday reality is most acute, and where low-threshold interventions have the most to offer.

Brussels
Budapest
Munich Region
Paris
Utrecht
Vienna