Call for abstracts (DL Dec. 29, 2025): Inequalities in Urban Walkability
As part of the upcoming RC21 Conference on Urban and Regional Development “Inequalities and the City: Old Issues, New Challenges” (Vienna, Austria, 20–22 July 2026), we invite to submit abstracts for:
Panel #13 “Inequalities in Urban Walkability: Vulnerabilities, Policies, and Mobilizations”
Key issues:
- Factors contributing to vulnerability when walking in cities.
Recent studies have challenged traditional approaches to “walkability,” which focus too heavily on infrastructure, and have highlighted the wide range of factors that hinder walking and increase the vulnerability of certain population groups (Battista & Manaugh, 2018; Middleton, 2022). This theme seeks to foster dialogue around the diverse and intersecting factors that create vulnerability in walking practices. It focuses in particular on the issue of intersectionality (Jirón et al., 2023) and the articulation of different aspects of urban production (social, material, symbolic) in the creation of socio-spatial inequalities.
- New methodologies for understanding experienced inequalities.
Recent approaches to mobility inequalities have emphasized the lived of experience of urban dwellers (Avilés, 2020; Martínez, 2019). Understanding inequalities through the embodied experience of walking requires the development of new methodologies: approaches such as the go-along (Kusenbach, 2003), sombreo (Jirón, 2012), travel diaries (Lazo Corvalán et al., 2024), mental maps created in focus groups (Ducharme, 2025), and many others have emerged in recent years. This theme calls on authors to present their methodological innovations and related questions.
- Public policies and citizen mobilization
Issues related to walking for the most vulnerable city dwellers are beginning to give rise to public policies, some of which are innovative. One example is the “Senderos seguros: camina libre, camina segura” project, which was implemented in the municipality of Iztapalapa (Mexico City) and subsequently extended to the rest of the metropolis. We invite contributions that critically analyze such emerging policies. Civil society is also beginning to address the issue of inequalities related to walking. Numerous NGOs are developing around this issue, and mobilizations are springing up. We are interested in work analyzing these mobilizations, their actors, and their modes of action.
You will find the full call and instructions for submitting abstracts via this link.
Please take into consideration that this panel is only in-person. You will therefore have to cover your travel fees, accommodation in Vienna, as well as the conference registration costs.
Abstracts should not exceed 300 words, and have to be sent by December 29, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by January 29, 2026.
Please feel free to contact us for any questions:
– Martha de Alba (Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa) – mdealba.uami@gmail.com
– Eliott Ducharme (Université Gustave Eiffel) – eliott.ducharme@gmail.com
– Jérôme Monnet (Université Gustave Eiffel) – jerome.monnet@univ-eiffel.fr