In Essen, as in many other cities in the Ruhr region, the expansion of car-oriented infrastructure has been the main focus in recent decades. Active forms of mobility such as cycling and walking have been neglected. As part of the BMBF's "MobiliätWerkStadt 2025" funding programme, the city of Essen aims to transform public spaces and traffic routes and sustainably design them for recreational quality and mobility for all. Particular focus is being placed on pedestrian traffic, which still receives far too little attention as an independent form of mobility. In the first phase of the project, the city of Essen, together with actors from the field of pedestrian traffic, identified various problem areas and developed strategies and measures for concrete weak points in the city area (see imobis project "MobilitätWerkStadt Essen 25").

Now the research project is entering the next round - and the second phase is all about implementation: In cooperation with the University Hospital Essen, Living Labs will be set up in two of Essen's neighbourhoods over the next three years, where different measures will be implemented experimentally over several months. Together with the residents, tests will be carried out to see how a change in street spaces, new access to means of transport or technological incentive systems affect local mobility. Special attention is paid to the acoustics of the street spaces - in what way does the urban sound quality influence the recreational quality, health and mobility behaviour?