Project: Public transport as public space in European cities: Narrating, experiencing, contesting

Acronym	PUTSPACE
Duration	01/05/2019 - 30/11/2022
Project Topic	Public transport (PT) is an intense and intimate site for encountering social diversity and negotiating public space. PT is central to public space experience in European cities. However, scholars and policy-makers have hardly as yet addressed and problematised this nexus. This humanities-focused project contributes to the theme of the call by conceptualising PT as public space: one which confronts citizens with social diversity, speaks of different types of ownership, disciplining and surveillance, subversion, interaction and remaking of social norms. This conceptualisation is articulated through four objectives: (1) to critically conceptualise and analyse what kind of public space PT is; (2) to understand urban transformations—the increasing social diversity and polarisation, liberalisation, privatisation and securitisation—of public space in European cities by attending to PT as one of the most intense and contentious public spaces; (3) to offer a located and historicised perspective on the transformation of public space by examining narratives, experiences and contestations over PT in different European cities; and (4) to contribute to PT-related research, as well as interventions in civic mobilising, planning and policy by a humanities-led analysis and conceptualisation of PT. The project brings researchers from across Europe together with practitioners and enthusiasts, and profits from a strong involvement of Associated Partners at all stages. This structure is essential in producing the desired academic and societal impact: to humanise public transport research and practice, and to support the work of citizen organisations in order to deepen European integration at micro- and macro levels.
Website	visit project website
Network	HERA-JRP-PS
Call	HERA Joint Research Programme “Public Spaces: Culture and Intergration in Europe”

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Talinn University	Coordinator	Estonia
2	Åbo Akademi University	Partner	Finland
3	Université libre de Bruxelles	Partner	belguim
4	Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography	Partner	germary