Upcoming Event: NextGen Research Forum - The Missing Mile: Informality, Access, and Urban Mobility Finance
The Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF), invites you to the second VREF "NextGen Research Forum" of 2026 on June 10th, 2026 at 12:00 - 14:00 UTC (7:00 - 9:00 EST).
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 7:00 AM EST | 12:00 PM UTC
Location: Zoom
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/v3yPnF5SShyOjuQDxOdX8w#/
This session will focus on Informal and Shared Mobility, specifically: "The Missing Mile: Informality, Access, and Urban Mobility Finance". The Forum will be held over Zoom (register in the link above).
The workshop foregrounds how mobility inequalities are shaped by the intersection of infrastructure, lived experience, and socio-spatial context, discussing the following questions:
- What structural factors drive time poverty and unequal access in urban transport systems?
- How do gendered experiences and informal practices shape everyday mobility?
- Can frameworks like 15-minute city translate meaningfully into contexts where most mobility is informal?
The workshop will consist of an introduction from VREF and the VREF Next Generation Initiative, followed by three presentations, and a plenary discussion.
Presentations:
- “Do public transport service quality attributes contribute to people being transport-related time poor? A preliminary finding from Zamboanga City”
Presenter: Junievin Ramillano, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Philippines
Discussant: Samuel Akintomide Ajayi, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, Nigeria - “Exploring the Every Day Practices Involved in Negotiating ‘Informal’ Transport in The Global South Through A Gender Lens”
Presenter: Nour Gazarin, London, UK
Discussant: Dominic Edem Hotor, Department of Geography & Resource Development, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana - ”Mobility and Access in Nairobi in the Lens of the 15-Minute City”
Presenter: John Omwamba, IUSS Pavia and University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Discussant: Tom Courtright, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Learn more about the forum and see the detailed program here: https://vref.se/vref-nextgen-initiative/2026/nextgen-research-forum-10-june-12-00-pm-utc/
