Mobility Moshpit 18

✨ Hello pioneering minds!

The Lab of Thought wants to challenge the way we think and act about mobility and the spaces we live in. We love to question the narratives that have shaped our motonormative mindset and explore alternative ways of seeing, thinking, and doing. Curious? Let's go!

SHAKING UP BRATISLAVA: BOLD IDEAS FOR CHILD-FRIENDLY CITIES

At the 2nd Start With Children Summit in Bratislava, Marco teamed up with the incredible Tim Gill, author of Urban Playground. In their session they inspired their audience by showing the leading examples of cities that truly start with children: Barcelona, Freiburg and Utrecht.

One of the key challenges Tim and Marco see, is the lack of strong and positive narratives that get us out of the boring 'car-free' lock-in. With that challenge they turned the room into a giant, structured 1-2-4-All brainstorm, leading to: 'free children are free parents', 'playing on the move' and 'more risk is less unsafety'. In a final twirling moshpit, the 300 attendees had to develop concrete actions that could nurture and empower these new narratives. App groups were formed, guerilla play streets cooked up and some will pick up their role at home to make more noise for existing initiatives around children.

Do you also want to stir up a conference? Get in touch, we are always up for a good moshpit that unlocks our thinking! Big thanks to the Dutch embassy in the Slowakian Republic to make this happen. You can also learn more about the power of new narratives with our engaging LOT free online course.

THE FIRST RUIMTEMAKER HAS ARRIVED IN EDE!

In the street Logerij, local residents are reclaiming space. Over the next few weeks, they'll use a single parking spot to drink coffee, play, work, hold meetings, and even celebrate, thanks to the Ruimtemaker.

So, what is it? The Ruimtemaker is a wooden bench placed on a platform measuring 4.5 by 1.8 meters, surrounded by planters. It fits perfectly into a standard parking space, while leaving the adjacent spots fully usable for cars.

In Ede, seven streets will get to host a Ruimtemaker for three weeks. Want one in your street too? You can apply via www.ededoet.nl. Fun fact: the Ruimtemaker was designed and built by local company Dutch Steel Design.

PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST IN STREET DESIGN

In the last couple of weeks we saw the movement for more child-orientated streets grow. In Belgium a 'Kindnorm' was undersigned by several organisation including the Lab Of Thought. Stating that every child has the right to be able to live and move individually in a safe, healthy and child friendly environment.

This Kindnorm got a wide support and is now being implemented on several levels of (local) government. In the city of Amersfoort the new mobility program takes an 8 year old as centerpoint and give them the right to travel independently to facilities like school and sports. Do you know of any of these kind of initiatives where kidsrights are a big part of the policy? Let us know by sending an e-mail to frank@thelabofthought.co

AMERSFOORT ROCKS, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

Amersfoort continues to push boundaries as one of the Netherlands’ most progressive cities. Its latest move? Officially recognizing the right of 8-year-olds to move independently through the city, a powerful signal of trust, safety, and freedom. That’s massive.

Last week, local civil movement Ring to Park celebrated five years of grassroots innovation. To mark the milestone, they invited us to help explore how to take their work to the next level, through experimentation. With limited time, our Frank and Jonne turned the session itself into the experiment.

The result? The Crash Course. With 50 energetic participants, they kicked off with a quick intro to experimentation as a method for system change. Then they launched into 15-minute sprints to shape real-world experiments: funny, smart, sometimes wild, but always grounded and doable.

What did this prove? Collective thinking, when guided (the RHSC framework was used), can quickly spark meaningful and actionable ideas. Designing experiments isn’t just fun: it creates momentum. Thanks to Ring to Park and Renske Bouknecht for the invitation and trust!