In January 2025, we officially kicked off CONIFER, an ambitious three-year project that will run until December 2027, aiming to transform urban mobility and promote the 15-minute city concept across Europe. By bringing together diverse partners and local communities, CONIFER fosters sustainable, accessible, and inclusive cities through innovative research, policy development, and civic engagement.
What is CONIFER?
CONIFER (Co-creating New Inclusive Frameworks for Equitable and Resilient Cities) is a European-funded initiative designed to rethink how cities approach mobility, accessibility, and urban planning. By integrating AI, gamification, photovoice, and walkshops, the project empowers citizens—especially young people—to actively contribute to shaping their cities.
Our approach: Civic Labs
At the heart of CONIFER are six Civic Labs, established in:
- Brussels (Belgium)
- Kortrijk (Belgium)
- Torun (Poland)
- Cologne (Germany)
- Matosinhos (Portugal)
- Budapest (Hungary)
These labs will serve as innovation hubs where local communities, policymakers, and urban planners collaborate to test new strategies, discuss challenges, and implement solutions for more inclusive and walkable cities.
Objectives
CONIFER is driven by four key objectives:
✅ Enhancing accessibility and walkability through community-driven research and policy development.
✅ Fostering social inclusion by ensuring that diverse voices, particularly young people, influence urban planning decisions.
✅ Leveraging innovative methods such as AI, gamification, and participatory research to co-create sustainable urban mobility solutions.
✅ Developing scalable models that can be adopted by other European cities to advance the 15-minute city vision.
Expected outcomes
Over the next three years, CONIFER will:
🔹 Engage local communities in co-designing urban mobility policies
🔹 Conduct data-driven research to inform decision-making
🔹 Test digital tools and methodologies to promote walkability
🔹 Develop policy recommendations to inspire cities beyond the project consortium
Meet the partners
CONIFER brings together leading organizations and research institutions committed to urban innovation:
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
- International Federation of Pedestrians – Research (IFP-r)
- CollectiveUP (CUP)
- KTI Hungarian Institute for Logistics and Transport Sciences
- Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME)
- Universidade de Aveiro (UA)
- Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (WI)
- Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI)
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences (IGSO PAS)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun (NCU)
- City of Matosinhos
As we embark on this journey, we invite citizens, policymakers, and urban planners to join us in shaping the future of European cities. Stay tuned for updates from our Civic Labs and insights into how we can make the 15-minute city a reality!
👉 Follow our progress on our social media (LinkedIn, Instagram).
