Special Sessions
Bridging Safety, Inclusivity, and Diversity: Enhancing Vulnerable Road Users’ Mobility, Safety and Security
This interactive session at CSuM2026 delves into the intersection of safety, inclusivity, and diversity for Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) within the context of active, shared, and inclusive mobility. Drawing from the SINFONICA, Diversify-CCAM, Roads4All, and Cultural Road European projects, the session will explore how participatory approaches and inclusive design can address safety concerns while promoting equitable mobility solutions. The discussion will highlight the importance of considering diverse cultural, geographical, and policy contexts in the development of mobility systems that are safe and accessible for all.
Session Moderator:
- Giulia Renzi, doctor, Senior Project Manager, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Topics and Presenters:
The session will be structured to encourage active participation and dialogue among attendees. It will include brief presentations from each speaker, followed by facilitated discussions and Q&A sessions. Interactive activities will be incorporated to engage participants in exploring solutions to enhance VRU safety through inclusive and diverse mobility practices. This session invites all conference participants to contribute to the conversation on creating safer, more inclusive, and diverse mobility systems. By sharing experiences, insights, and ideas, we can collectively work towards a future where all road users, especially the most vulnerable, can move freely and safely within our urban landscapes.
Within this section the following topics will be presented:
Putting People at the Centre of CCAM
- Giulia Renzi, doctor, Senior Project Manager, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
SINFONICA: Understanding Human Behaviour, Trust and Social Acceptance in CCAM at City Level
- Georgios Gorgogetas, Senior Project Manager, e-Trikala
Roads4All: Sustainable and inclusive road safety culture for all users.
- Leonidas Parodos, doctor, Senior Project Manager, Q-Plan International
DiversifyCCAM: Mobility Without Barriers: Bridging Safety and Societal Readiness
- Evangelos Bekiaris, Chair of the Board of Directors, CERTH
CulturalRoad: Integrating Culture and Diversity in CCAM
- Miranda Quijano Monzón, Project Support Manager ERTICO
Diversity, Usability, and Equal Opportunities in Autonomous Mobility
The deployment of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) offers significant opportunities to reshape transport systems in more sustainable, accessible, and inclusive ways. However, ensuring that these solutions effectively respond to the needs of diverse user groups requires addressing barriers related to age, gender, income, disability, and digital literacy.
This session explores how diversity, usability, and equal opportunities can be systematically embedded into the design and implementation of CCAM solutions.
Through the use of relatable user personas and participatory methods, participants will engage with the emotional, practical, and systemic challenges faced by different citizens, while jointly identifying key enablers of adoption, trust, and acceptance.
The session is designed as an interactive and participatory activity, structured in the following phases:
- Welcome and Introduction: Speakers and moderators briefly introduce themselves and their experience with inclusive and user-centred CCAM.
- Kick-off Interactive Question: A live audience poll to capture perceptions on key factors influencing CCAM acceptance (e.g. safety, affordability, inclusivity, trust).
- Group Simulation Activity: Participants work in small groups, each focusing on a fictional yet realistic user persona and discussing mobility challenges and interactions with CCAM solutions. Each speaker acts as a group moderator.
- Group Reporting and Discussion: Each group presents a short synthesis of identified barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions, followed by a collective discussion.
Session Moderator:
- Giacomo Cantini, ICOOR-UNIMORE
Topics and Presenters:
From Technology to People: Building Inclusive and Trustworthy CCAM
- Giulia Renzi, Doctor, Senior Project Manager, UNIMORE-ICOOR
Advancing Inclusive Transportation through CCAM: The Role of Knowledge-driven innovation tools
- Anna Antonakopoulou, Smart Mobility Research Division leader, Senior Researcher, I-SENSE Group of ICCS, NTUA
From diversity to deployment: inclusive and usable Human-Technology Interaction (HTI)
- Michela Apruzzese, Senior Innovation Consultant, PNO Innovation s.r.l.
Is CCAM Ready for Everyone? Towards Fair and Equitable Automated Mobility
- Stella Nikolaou, Senior Project Manager, CERTH/HIT
Co-designing inclusive and sustainable urban mobility through collaboration and innovation
This special session showcases how collaborative innovation and inclusive design can accelerate the transition toward sustainable and equitable urban mobility in Europe. Drawing on insights and tools from the Horizon Europe project ELABORATOR, the session highlights how digital technologies, participatory planning, and evidence-based experimentation foster real change in cities.
Contributions will explore how gender-sensitive mobility planning in Trikala addresses inequities and safety concerns among vulnerable groups; how the Superbarrio gamification tool enables citizens to co-design accessible public spaces; and how the Zaragoza Living Lab applies participatory toolkits and data analytics to guide tactical urbanism. The session will further emphasize the role of stakeholder collaboration in implementing sustainable mobility interventions and present lessons from the Trikala pilot and the simulation of mobility measures across six European cities.
Together, these examples demonstrate how digital co-creation, intersectional inclusion, and policy experimentation can generate scalable solutions for resilient, data-driven, and climate-neutral transport systems — aligning with CSUM tracks on Active, Shared and Inclusive Mobility, Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Mobility, and Policy Innovation and Collective Governance.
Session Moderator:
- Jason Sioutis, project manager, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS)
Topics and Presenters:
Gender-Inclusive Urban Mobility: Insights from Trikala
- Eva Grigoriadou, Executive Director & Research Lead, URBANA
- Evelina Faliagka, Urban Planner – Project Manager, URBANA
Co-design public space through digital gamified tool to achieve safe, sustainable and accessible mobility: Superbarrio case study
- Andrea Conserva, European projects Senior Expert & Researcher, IAAC
Toolkits to Boost Street Experiments: insights from Zaragoza
- Felipe Del Busto, PhD student, Project Manager, CIRCE technology center
Collaboration as a key to successful improvement of sustainable urban transport
- Merja Penttinen, Principal Scientist, Technical Research Centre of Finland
Safe and Inclusive Streets in Trikala: ELABORATOR’s Smart Solutions
- George Gorgogetas, ICT Electrical Engineer, e-Trikala
Simulating and upscaling the interventions in 6 different European cities
- Alexandros Liazos, Project manager – PhD candidate, ICCS
