Call for Evidence: ICT and Physical Mobility

Call for Evidence: ICT and Physical Mobility

The Institute for Mobility Research (ifmo, www.ifmo.de), a research facility of the BMW Group, and the Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College London (www.imperial.ac.uk/cts) are undertaking a study into the impact of developments in information and communication technology (ICT) on the physical mobility of individuals.

As part of this study, we are inviting interested parties (e.g., academics, practitioners, public-sector organisations, think tanks) to submit written evidence they wish to bring to our attention.

Background
Few areas of life have been untouched by the growth of ICT products and services. The impacts on contemporary lifestyles encompass domains as diverse as shopping, work, leisure, socialising and healthcare, as well as physical mobility. A defining characteristic of ICT is that it relaxes physical constraints on human behaviour, thereby enabling new forms of interaction and exchange. The interest of this study is in evidence regarding the relationship between developments in ICT and the demand for personal mobility; we are not focusing on the supply-side impacts of applications of ICT in transport network management, operations and control.

We are particularly interested in evidence and experience from outside the mainstream peer-reviewed transport literature. Motivating issues include:

• Instances where innovations in ICT have led, directly or indirectly, to impacts on physical mobility
• Theoretical exposition of the multiple dimensions of ICT/physical travel relationships
• Novel data collection techniques, drawing on the links between travel behaviour and the digital world
• Mechanisms operating at short-, mid- and long-term timescales
• Patterns of ICT engagement – and impacts – amongst various demographic groups
• Differential use of ICT in low-, medium-, and high-income societies

Instructions for authors
Submissions, preferably no more than 3000 words in length, should be sent to ICT.Travel.Study@imperial.ac.uk  by 15 May 2014.

Any individual or organisation submitting evidence will be acknowledged in the final report, and any use made of the evidence will be fully credited. Responses may cite work by others, providing there is appropriate referencing.

Selected submitting authors will be invited to take part in an Expert Workshop, to be held in London on 16 July 2014 (Please note the day has been revised from the previously planned 15th July). Travel expenses will be paid up to a pre-specified maximum, with allowance for attendees requiring long-distance travel.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ICT.Travel.Study@imperial.ac.uk.

Study team members
Johanna Kopp (Institute for Mobility Research)

Scott Le Vine, Jacek Pawlak, John Polak, Aruna Sivakumar (Centre for Transport Studies, Imperial College London)