Meeting #42 – Agentes urbanos e a Cidade Participativa

Aproveitando o período de visita da Prof. Rozana Rivas de Araújo, convidamos todos a participar do jogo “Agentes urbanos e a Cidade Participativa”. A sessão será no dia 26 de janeiro, das 14h30 às 16h30, na sala G423. O jogo será realizado em português.

Para preparar o jogo corretamente, necessitamos de saber quantos jogadores irão participar. Por isso, pedimos que se inscreva através do formulário seguinte: https://forms.gle/5VCjqPKj8Bvm1sTJ9

Agentes urbanos e a Cidade Participativa

Durante o jogo, cada um assumirá o papel de um agente urbano que vive numa cidade fictícia: Águas Perenes. O problema em questão é a implantação de um terminal urbano para auxiliar na solução da mobilidade da cidade. Cada participante poderá fazer parte da Associação de Comerciantes, da Associação de Moradores, do grupo dos Empreendedores Imobiliários, da Mídia, do Ministério Público, da ONG Verde ou, claro, da Câmara Municipal. O agente urbano que cada um será (e representará os interesses) será sorteado na hora. Venha participar desta experiência criada pelo Grupo Cartilha da Cidade da USP-São Carlos. “O jogo está estruturado a partir de situações-problema, elaboradas a partir de problemas reais das cidades, e propõe que os participantes, organizados em agentes urbanos com interesses específicos, cheguem a possíveis soluções para as situações através de discussões e diálogos.”

Rozana Rivas Araújo possui graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1993); mestrado e doutorado em Planejamento Urbano e Regional pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – PROPUR-UFRGS (2005 e 2011, respectivamente). Posdoc na École Nationale Supérieure dArchitecture de Strasbourg (ENSAS), França, participando do grupo AMUP (jul-2017 a jun-2018). Foi professora do Curso de Arquitetura e Urbanismo na UNESC (2006-2009). Atualmente Professora Titular no Departamento de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal de Sergipe – DAU-UFS (desde 2009) e no Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Civil – PROEC-UFS (desde 2023); Professora no Mestrado de Políticas Públicas – UFS (2015-2019). Foi Vice-Diretora Pró-Tempore e Coordenadora Pedagógica do Campus Laranjeiras – UFS (2012-2017), membro do CONEPE-UFS (2011-2015 e 2023-atualmente), CONSU-UFS (2015-2017 e 2019-2023), COMPIBIC-UFS (2013-2017), COMPQ-UFS (2015-2017), coordenadora do DAU-UFS (2012) e vice chefe do DAU-UFS (2018). Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa: Laboratório da Cidade. Áreas de Pesquisas: Mobilidade Urbana; Caminhabilidade e uso dos espaços públicos; Transformações e valorização do solo urbano. Áreas de interesse: Mobilidade Urbana; Projeto Arquitetônico e Planejamento Urbano. Conselheira Estadual do Conselho de Arquitetura e Urbanismo – CAU-SE nas gestões 2015-2017 e 2018-2020. Tem experiência profissional em projetos e execução de cenários para campanhas publicitárias, arquitetura efêmera e de interiores (1994-2006).

Meeting #41 – Understanding Urban Mobility for Sustainable Cities: A Case Study on Travel Behavior and Mode Choice in the City of Porto

Our next session will be on the topic Understanding Urban Mobility for Sustainable Cities: A Case Study on Travel Behavior and Mode Choice in the City of Porto, by Beatriz Cavaleiro.
This session will take place on Tuesday, 13th of November, at 12.00 p.m. in room L119 and will be chaired by Marta Campos Ferreira.

 

Abstract
Urban mobility is a key factor in achieving Europe’s climate, environmental, and social goals. The European Commission’s New Urban Mobility Framework 2021 emphasizes a shift towards sustainable, inclusive, and efficient mobility systems, highlighting the importance of collective and active transport, zero-emission urban logistics, and improved connectivity between urban and rural areas. Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) play a crucial role in this strategy by integrating transport planning with climate, energy, and spatial strategies. The implementation of sustainable mobility policies may face significant social, economic, and cultural challenges that need to be carefully assessed. Understanding the distribution of transport modes used by the population for both daily and long-distance trips is fundamental to evaluating the sustainability of a transport system. Several factors influence the population’s choice of transport mode; some are related to the availability of infrastructure and services, while others are more social in nature, linked to demographic structure, economic activity, or spatial patterns.

Based on these considerations, this study focuses on the municipality of Porto, the second-largest city in Portugal, using data collected from a mobility survey conducted at the end of 2024, which yielded a total of 4,749 responses. The primary objective is to explore mode choice patterns and examine their correlations with sociodemographic variables, providing data-driven insights to support the development of more sustainable and inclusive transport strategies. Following a comprehensive literature review, the survey data was pre-processed using the CRISP-DM methodology to ensure consistency and reliability. Exploratory data analysis, including descriptive statistics and contingency tables, was conducted to identify mobility patterns and their association with sociodemographic variables. These relationships were further validated through Chi-square tests of independence. Hierarchical clustering was then applied, revealing four distinct groups with unique sociodemographic and mobility profiles. The findings offer data-driven insights to inform targeted mobility policies, contributing to sustainable urban development and aligning with broader European goals for climate neutrality and transport efficiency.

 

Beatriz Cavaleiro loves challenges that combine analysis, strategy, and innovation. She earned her M.Sc. in Services Engineering and Management from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) in 2025, where she developed her dissertation in collaboration with the Alliance for Energy Transition (AET) project. She also holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Porto School of Engineering (ISEP), obtained in 2023. Beyond her academic achievements, Beatriz has dedicated 15 years to classic and contemporary dance, achieving first place in a solo performance at Dance World Cup 2016 in Jersey (UK). This experience gave her discipline and determination, which she now carries into her professional role.

Meeting #40 – We Are all the Plan: Envisioning Urban Mobility Futures Through Everyday Life

On Friday (jul, 11th) we will host Prof. Veronica Saud for a session on the topic We Are all the Plan: Envisioning Urban Mobility Futures Through Everyday Life.

The session will take place in room G421, at 11.00 a.m.

 

Short bio

Veronica SAUD is a Chilean architect with a PhD in Development Planning from UCL. Her work focuses on innovative approaches on governance, policy, and planning on mobility justice and inclusive decision-making for a decarbonized future, reflecting her passionate concern for reducing inequalities and addressing the climate emergency. She is currently Assistant Professor at Universidad Central de Chile, where she teaches urban planning, sustainability and accessibility. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, scuba diving, and hockey.

 

Abstract

Understanding how decision-making in urban mobility planning can trigger transformative strategies is crucial for advancing just socio-ecological transition agendas. These transitions are not only technical or institutional. This requires
recognising that changes comprise relational dynamics between the material, spatial and environmental dimensions, the human and social dimensions, as well as the institutional dynamics.

This research explores the social dimensions of decarbonisation and mobility agendas. It argues that, beyond the material and technological concerns, placing social needs at the center of the planning and decision-making process, accessibility and everyday life becomes crucial to develop more inclusive and sustainable cities.

It is also known that the governance of urban mobility under decarbonisation objectives face significant governance challenges, in particular, at the local level. These include, among others, uncertainty around funding mechanisms, fragmented responsibilities, and, above all, challenges in building a shared vision for change. In doing so, it requires
overcoming the political and technocratic vision, moving beyond technocratic and efficiency-driven models, aligning objectives, and creating a common commitment towards a more decarbonised future.

This research examines how planning processes around decarbonisation and active mobility can either reinforce existing inequalities or challenge them, focusing on how institutional and political dynamics influence who participates in planning, under what conditions, and how these decisions affect accessibility on the ground.

Rather than viewing planning as a controlled, expert-led process, this work frames it as an ongoing negotiation among diverse actors—local governments, civil society, professionals, residents, and even visitors. These interactions shape not only policies, but also the underlying values and assumptions about mobility, inclusion, and ultimately,
urban life.

This talk invites participants to reflect on their own experiences of movements and accessibility in the city, opening space for a transdisciplinary dialogue. Ultimately, it calls for a reimagining of planning as a shared process, where socio-ecological transitions are not only envisioned, but co-created through everyday practices, negotiations, and joint
discussion about whose future is being planned.

 

Organized and moderated by: Sérgio Pedro Duarte and Juliana Carvalho

Meeting #39 – BBAX: A Modular Blackboard-Based Explainable AI System for Adaptive and Transparent Decision-Making in Urban Transport

Meeting no. 39 will take place at FEUP, room L202A, on Friday, June 13th, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. The topic of the session will be BBAX: A Modular Blackboard-Based Explainable AI System for Adaptive and Transparent Decision-Making in Urban Transport and will be presented by Soraia Felício. The session will be chaired by Joana Hora.

Abstract: This study presents BBAX, a modular system combining Blackboard Architecture (BBA) with Explainable AI (XAI) to support intelligent decision-making in urban transport. Tested through scenario-based simulations at Ermesinde Station in Portugal, BBAX adapts to environmental disruptions while providing transparent explanations. Results show effective scheduling adjustments and system robustness, suggesting its potential for real-world applications in smart mobility and other complex domains.

 

Soraia Felício is a seasoned software engineer and data scientist with over 25 years of experience in software development. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Informatic Engineering at the University of Porto, focusing on knowledge-based systems, machine learning, and data mining. Soraia is part of the ATE – Alliance for the Energy Transition, a national initiative that promotes innovation and resilience in Portugal’s energy sector. She has also contributed to the SafeCities project, a collaboration between Bosch and the University of Porto, and previously participated in some academic research projects in Brazil.

Meeting #38 – Beyond Innovation in Transport Policy and Engineering

Our next session will be under the topic Beyond Innovation in Transport Policy and Engineering, by António Ferreira and Kim von Schönfeld.
This session will take place on Tuesday, 13th of May, at 11.30 a.m. in room G423 and will be chaired by Sérgio Pedro Duarte.

 

About the topic

Transport policies and engineering are being shaped by a fundamentally pro-innovation paradigm. This paradigm confuses the public interest with the implementation of novelties that in turn lead to efficiency, digitalisation, smart technologies and behavioural interventions geared towards economic growth. This workshop challenges the alignment of the supremacy of innovation with the public interest and invites participants to explore a more plural vision of change and continuity in transport policies and technologies.

Starting from a conceptual triangle with three vertices (innovation, maintenance and historical return) we will question how policy paradigms limit imagination and exclude relevant solutions. Through discussion and visual mapping exercises based on this triangular model, participants will explore a central question: How can we support initiatives free from pro-innovation ideological paradigms in order to better combine, in the name of the public interest, the historic, the current and the new?

This session welcomes researchers, professionals and policy-makers interested in rethinking the limits and benefits of innovation and promoting a more diverse, creative and resilient transport future.

 

António Ferreira is a Principal Researcher at CITTA – Centre for Research on Territory, Transports and Environment of the University of Porto, Portugal. He is a researcher with great curiosity for new topics and who has published on a variety of fields, ranging from urban and transport governance to planning education, from emotions in the workplace to mindfulness, from planning theory to economic appraisal. At the moment, his key research interests are focused on child-friendly futures and post-growth planning, the governance of the digital transition and of “smart” technologies. He is the Member n. 218 of the Portuguese Association of Urbanists.

 

Kim von Schönfeld is a researcher in the field of planning, and currently works as Marie Sklodowska‐Curie post‐doctoral research fellow at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), developing the MobileWorlds project about creative ways to reimagine mobilities of the future. She has worked mainly in the field of urban and regional planning, focusing on participatory and inclusive planning processes, and pathways towards inclusive and environmentally just planning outcomes. This has led her to study social learning, (social) innovation, degrowth/post-growth, cultural diversity, and several other subjects, often with special attention to contexts of transport and (im-)mobility planning. She is also a collaborating researcher at CITTA— Research Centre for Territory, Transports and Environment, University of Porto, Portugal.

 

 

Meeting #37 – Advancing Intermodal Mobility: Tools and Insights for a Sustainable Transport Future

GITMob meeting no. 37

This session will take place at FEUP, room L202A, on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In this session, we will welcome Thiago Sobral from Optimização e Planeamento de Transporte (OPT), along with João Teixeira and Luísa Bastos Leite from the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), for a deep dive into the increasingly relevant topic of intermodal mobility — a key enabler of more sustainable and seamless public transport systems. Professor Marta Campos Ferreira will moderate this session. The speakers will present ongoing research conducted within the scope of the Alliance for Energy Transition (ATE) Project, exploring the following areas:

  • Intermodal mobility behavior
  • Public transport planning and synchronization
  • The development of a Decision Support Platform for transport planners, operators, and authorities. This platform aims to optimize the synchronization of transport networks across Portugal, enhance the passenger experience, and advance the shift toward sustainable, green mobility.

The ATE Project aims to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of companies through decarbonization, digitization, and decentralization of the Energy sector in Portugal. The consortium operates in 6 areas covering the entire value chain: i) decarbonization of the energy sector, ii) reindustrialization and circular use of resources, iii) digitization of the energy sector, iv) decentralization and democratization of energy, v) sustainable mobility and industry, vi) capacity building and business acceleration. As a result of creating innovative and export-oriented solutions, Portugal aims to position itself as a leader in energy transition and leverage a collaborative ecosystem in the form of a competitiveness cluster in the energy sector. ATE is funded by the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR) under the EU framework. Website: https://www.aate.pt

 

 

Speakers’ short bio:

Thiago Sobral: Thiago is the Technical Coordinator for Research, Development, and Innovation at OPT and has been an Invited Assistant Professor from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at FEUP since 2014. His areas of interest focus on the intersection of Intelligent Transportation Systems, Information Visualization, and Ontology Engineering. He was a member of INESC between 2016 and 2021, at the Centers for Industrial Engineering and Management (CEGI) and Center for Enterprise Systems Engineering (CESE) in 2022, where he developed research activities in the field of Intelligent Transport Systems (Urban Mobility and Port Logistics), and the application of Information and Communication Technologies, namely Ontology Engineering and Data Visualization. During this period, he visited foreign institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna), where he actively participated in research projects in these areas. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2011), a Master’s Degree in Service Engineering and Management from FEUP, and a Ph.D. in Transport Systems from the same institution, within the scope of the MIT Portugal Program.

João Teixeira: João Teixeira holds a Ph.D. in Spatial Planning (Cum Laude) and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, with nearly 8 years of research experience in sustainable mobility. His career is focused on transport and spatial planning, with a particular emphasis on active and shared micromobility. João has authored 15 research papers (12 as 1st author) in high-impact journals, a book chapter, and 22 presentations in scientific conferences and workshops, resulting in over 1000 citations and a h-index of 14. João is currently working on the ATE Project, funded by European Funds NextGeneration EU, studying the travel behaviour of intermodal users, namely through marketing segmentation techniques. He also teaches in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s and Master’s programs at FEUP, including supervising Master’s theses.

Luísa Bastos Leite: Born in 2002 in Porto, she graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management from FEUP in 2023, having been distinguished as the student with the best average in the course. During her academic career, she was actively involved in extracurricular initiatives, having joined the administration of JuniFEUP, FEUP’s Junior Enterprise, where she developed leadership and project management skills. She has also supplemented her training with several internships at consulting firms, including a recent experience at McKinsey & Company. Last semester, she completed an Erasmus mobility program in Munich at the Technische Universität München (TUM), one of Europe’s most prestigious technical universities. She is pursuing an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management at FEUP and conducting research within the scope of the ATE project. Her recent work focuses on synchronization techniques in public transport, including developing a literature review article in this research domain.

 

Meeting #36 – Bibliometric Network Analysis for Systematic Literature Reviews [Workshop]

GITMob meeting no. 36

This workshop will be presented by Thyago Nepomuceno, from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. The workshop will take place at FEUP, room L202A, on Tuesday, March 25th 2025, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Description:

Conducting a systematic literature review is a crucial step in consolidating knowledge and exploring any scientific domain. This short course provides an introduction to the principles and techniques of systematic reviews and bibliometric network analysis to map and analyze the relationships between academic publications. Participants will explore essential concepts related to co-citations, co-authorships, co-occurrences, and bibliographic coupling, gaining practical insights into how these networks can reveal patterns and connections within the academic landscape. We will have the opportunity to understand how to define the most appropriate query strings and eligibility criteria for bibliographic searches, methods for filtering the number of relevant papers to review and how to assess the validity of the findings of the included studies. We will discuss practical case studies extracting relevant bibliographic data from SCOPUS, Web of Science and other sources, with examples published in international journals, to demonstrate the application of these concepts in building a robust and comprehensive review with graph-based, distance-based and timeline visualizations from the main software in the area (Vosviewer, Citenet Explorer and Bibliometrix (R)). In the end, we will have insights to construct research agendas based on the coverage of concepts, attractiveness, or research gaps and how bibliometric network tools can be useful in other domains of scientific research beyond systematic reviews.

Short Bio:

Prof. Dr. Thyago Nepomuceno is an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil. He teaches and coordinates master’s and doctoral programs in Statistics at UFPE, supervising dissertations and theses in the fields of applied statistics and operations research. He has experience in coordinating 21 projects in Brazil and has authored many papers in the field of operations research, data analytics, and quantitative methods applied to socioeconomic problems, most of them in the field of Data Envelopment Analysis, Bibliometric Investigations, Time Series and Geographic Information Systems. He is the leader of the Research Group on Efficiency and Data Analysis (GEDAI). His main research interests are in Productivity and Efficiency Analysis, Econometrics, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Spatial Statistics and Bibliometric Network Analysis.

Meeting #35 – 3DTrans: Explorando o Triplo Desafio do Sistema de Transportes e sua Relação com a Infraestrutura Viária Urbana

Aproveitando a visita da Prof.ª Verônica Castelo Branco, Profª. Associada da Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brasil, a próxima sessão terá como título “3DTrans: Explorando o Triplo Desafio do Sistema de Transportes e sua Relação com a Infraestrutura Viária Urbana”. A sessão decorrerá no próximo dia 18 de março de 2025, das 11h30 às 12h30, na sala Prof. Joaquim Sarmento (G129) e será moderada pela Prof.ª Sara Ferreira.

 

Resumo da apresentação

Este projeto propõe uma abordagem inovadora e abrangente para enfrentar os desafios do sistema de transportes urbanos, com foco em três frentes principais: emissões de poluentes atmosféricos, sinistro de trânsito e vulnerabilidade social. O Projeto 3DTrans investiga como os níveis de emissão de poluentes veiculares, parâmetros de superfície e geometria viária e a disponibilidade de infraestrutura urbana podem confluir para mitigação de problemas ambientais, de saúde pública e socias por meio proposição de Rotas Verdes. Esta proposta, incluída nos objetivos 9, 11 e 13 da Agenda 2030 da ONU, visa investigar: (i) a relação entre o estado de conservação das vias, medido principalmente pelo Índice de Irregularidade Longitudinal de Pavimentos – IRI (do inglês, International Roughness Index), e os níveis de emissão em corredores de Transporte, particularmente aqueles compartilhados por transporte público e veículos de carga; (ii) a relação entre o estado de conservação das vias, medido por características geométricas de projeto e superfície (coeficiente de atrito e textura de superfície), além da associação com o padrão de condução veicular, podem promover a segurança viária; (iii) a relação entre o estado de conservação das vias e os impactos gerados nas comunidades, especialmente as mais vulneráveis em centros urbanos.

 

Oradora convidada

Verônica Castelo Branco. Prof.ª Associada, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brasil. Coordenadora do Grupo de Pesquisa TRAMA: Transportes & Meio Ambiente.

Verônica Castelo Branco possui graduação em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Ceará (2002), mestrado em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2004) e doutorado (Ph.D.) em Engenharia Civil pela Texas A&M University (2008). Desde 2009, é Professora do Departamento de Engenharia de Transportes da Universidade Federal do Ceará (DET/UFC), atualmente Professora Associada IV, e docente permanente do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Transportes (PETRAN/UFC). Tem experiência na área de Engenharia Civil, com ênfase em Infraestrutura de Transportes, especialmente voltada para a caracterização de materiais para pavimentos: rodoviários, ferroviários e aeroportuários, redução de impacto ambiental em Transportes e funcionalização de estruturas. Tem especial interesse por Educação em Engenharia, Engenharia Social e Equidade de Gêneros nas áreas de STEM.