Author: Anastasia Soukhov

A call for abstracts for the joint workshop of NECTAR Cluster 4 (Urban Mobility Transitions) and Cluster 8 (ICT) which will be held at the University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, 25–26 March 2026.

With the increasing use of smartphones and e-bikes, digital infrastructure and digital applications, researchers, industry, and policy makers are also increasingly interested in developing smart cycling systems to make cycling safer, more reliable, easier to use, and more desirable by improving the cycling experience. As an umbrella term, “smart cycling systems” can refer to intelligent and cooperative systems (ITS and C-ITS), digital applications, digital services, and products (e.g., wearables, cameras, sensors, etc.) that are developed based on cycling-relevant data and technologies.

The workshop focuses on methodological developments and new knowledge on cycling, smart cycling, and cycling safety. Topics of interest include (but not limited to):

• Potential of new digital active mobility data to increase cycling use and cycling safety
• Smart cycling systems that have potential to improve safety and comfort of cyclists with different socio-demographic characteristics and capabilities
• Measurements of the impacts of smart cycling (cycling ITS, digital applications and technologies, etc.) on user experiences, including perceived safety, ease of use and comfort.
• Evaluation of impacts of smart cycling on riding behaviour and actual traffic safety
• Analysis of cycling accessibility utilising new data sources
• The role of smart cycling in cycling policies
• Evaluation of the impact of smart cycling planning and mobility policies
• Critical discussions on the role of cycling and smart cycling in urban mobility transitions
• AI based solutions to measure (un)safety of intersection, improved prediction of crashes
• Simulation and crash prediction based on real-time data sources
• Simulation and prediction for decision support systems, such as agent-based simulation and dashboards.
• Real-time detection and prevention of conflicts involving cyclists
• Tactical planning and operations for cycling: safe crossings, avoiding conflicts, and real-time warnings including AI applications.
• Strategic planning for cycling and impacts such as finding better routes for new cycle lanes or collecting large scale data for AI models

If you are interested to participate in this workshop, please send along an abstract of your presentation (about 500 words) including author names and affiliations and keywords, to Baran Ulak before November 1, 2025 November 15, 2025 (**EXTENSION**).

See the full details of the workshop and call in the following pdf:

Cluster 3 (Logistics and Freight) is organising a workshop on the topic of “Green Innovations in Transport and Logistics Systems: Transforming Supply Chains for Sustainable Development”. The workshop will be hosted by the University of South Africa, Pretoria (South Africa) and organised in collaboration with the Sprott School of Business, Ottawa (Canada) and the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, 4-6 November, 2025. 

We invite papers for the upcoming workshop that will focus on green innovations, emphasising how technologies and processes can help create sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chains. This workshop aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss and explore cutting-edge innovations and strategies for enhancing the sustainability of transport and logistics systems. We encourage submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Green supply chain management: Strategies and practices for reducing the environmental impact of supply chains.
• Eco-friendly logistics solutions: Green warehousing, packaging, and distribution practices.
• Smart and connected logistics: The role of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and big data in optimising logistics for sustainability.
• Policy and regulation: Impact of governmental policies and regulations on promoting green logistics.
• Urban logistics and last-mile delivery: Sustainable approaches to urban freight and last mile delivery challenges.
• Renewable energy in logistics: Integration of solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources in transport and logistics operations.
• Circular economy and reverse logistics: Implementing circular economy principles in logistics and supply chains.
• Collaborative logistics networks: Partnerships and collaborations for shared sustainable logistics solutions.
• Case studies and best practices: Real-world examples of successful green logistics implementations.

We seek an open discussion about each presentation. Young researchers and students are encouraged to submit.

Submitting an Abstract
Researchers interested in presenting their papers are kindly invited to send their long abstracts of a maximum of 700 words by email to Dr Frank R. Matenda and cc Prof Marcia Mkansi by June 02, 2025. Please also indicate the title, author(s), affiliation(s), corresponding author contact, and three keywords. A maximum of three bibliographic references is allowed.

See full details in the call:

Call for papers for a workshop of Cluster 5: Leisure, Recreation and Tourism to be held at Campus Plaza Kyoto, Kyoto Japan, October 7-8, 2025

Mobility and transport – and hence also tourism – are often affected by various shocks. The global spread of COVID-19 has led to significant behavioral changes in people’s mobility and activity patterns in urban areas. The impact of the pandemic is not limited to those changes in urban activities, but has the potential to bring about structural changes in the local socio-economic environment of tourist destinations in the long term, as well as changes in attitudes toward tourism and travel behavior at home and abroad, as well as changes in the number of tourists and their choice of destinations and travel patterns over time.

This workshop aims at (i) addressing the overtourism problem from the viewpoint of sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism destination management, and (ii) exploring evidence based answers to quality of life questions in host cities and DMOs, such as “what kind of tourism does a city want to achieve in the tourist destination in the post-pandemic era?” and “how should or can a city properly manage the number of visitors to the tourism destinations and the degree of acceptance of their behaviors?”

The workshop will be structured according to four main topics:

• Reviewing city-tourism impacts of COVID-19 / Insights into overtourism and touristification in the post-pandemic era from sustainable tourism destinations management.
• Case studies: Data-based analysis of overtourism problem / Tourism Carrying Capacity, and Sustainable tourism planning.
• Sustainable urban tourism management in the post-pandemic era / Advanced studies on sustainable tourism destinations management (covering a broad range of topics).
• Perspectives: Pathways to more sustainable solutions to the overtourism problem / Policy studies on sustainable tourism in the post-pandemic.

  Papers about the following and related topics are therefore welcome:

• The long-term impact of the pandemic on tourists’ behaviors and their visiting destinations
• Understanding disparities in tourism related travel behaviors in the post-pandemic time
• Rethinking of overtourism in the post-pandemic era
• Advanced studies on the TCC: Conceptual and Quantitative approaches
• Current case studies on overtourism and countermeasures
• Understanding sustainable tourism and sustainable development in tourism destinations
• Sustainable tourism planning and management
• Advanced studies on tourism destinations management and DMO
• Understanding tourism related travel behaviors: Insights, Theories, and Methods
• Relevant topics related to sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism destination management
• Studies on the nexus of locals-residents and tourists

If you are interested to participate in this workshop, please send an abstract of your presentation (about 300-500 words) including author names and affiliations and keywords, and your CV (Curriculum Vitae 2-4 pages) in PDF format to Dr. Kazuo Nishii and Dr. Luca Zamparini before May 11, 2025. The abstracts will be reviewed by the organizing committee. The notification of abstract acceptance will be distributed by May 31, 2025.

Organizing committee:

Kazuo Nishii, Professor Emeritus, Yamanashi University, Japan (local organizer)
Kuniaki Sasaki, Professor, Waseda University, Japan (local co-organizer and secretariat)
Naohiko Hibino, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan (local co-organizer)
Takeshi Kurihara, Professor, Toyo University at Tokyo, Japan (local co-organizer)
Jan-Dirk Schmöcker, Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Japan (local co-organizer)
Peter Nijkamp, Iasi University, Romania (Cluster 5 co-chair)
Luca Zamparini, Associate Professor, University of Salento, Italy (Cluster 5 co-chair)

Cluster 8 (Information and Communication Technologies) organized workshop in Trondheim (Norway) on 1-2 September 2025.

The digitalization and its developments are advancing fast. The advancement in technologies related to for example connectivity, cloud computing and AI provides all kind of opportunities to improve the mobility system with measures like Intelligent Transport Systems, Connected and Cooperative Automated Mobility, Mobility as a Service and advanced travel information systems. In addition, the system produces an enormous amount of data which, next to its primary purpose, can be valuable to better understand the mobility system providing decision support information for strategic decisions on how to design the physical infrastructure or where to locate specific facilities as well as operational decision feeding other decisions and measures.

Therefore, topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Organization and willingness to share data
• Federated data sharing and data analysis
• Data sharing architecture
• Data ownership
• Data ecosystem governance
• Dataspace design and use cases
• Digital twin development and deployment
• Digital twin visualization and decision support
• Balancing user privacy with need for data integrity, integration and accuracy twinning
• Interdomain modelling
• Privacy and ethical issues

We seek an open discussion about each presentation. Young starting researchers are encouraged to deliver a presentation.

Colleagues interested in presenting a paper are kindly invited to send an extended abstract of a maximum 250 words by email to Mahgol Afshari and Agnar Johansen by 15 May (EXTENDED) 30 May 2025 at the latest. Please indicate the title, author(s), affiliations, corresponding contact, and three keywords. A maximum of three bibliographic references is allowed.

Full call details:

It is our pleasure to invite you to the workshop organized by NECTAR Cluster 5 (Leisure, Recreation and Tourism) joint with the Department of Human Sciences and Innovation for the Territory (DiSUIT) and the Department of Law, Economics and Cultures (DiDEC) which will be held at the University of Insubria, Como (Italy), on September 10-11, 2025.

Aimed at creating more responsible, equitable, and eco-friendly tourism models, tourism degrowth is both a social theory and social movement advocating for a reduction in tourism impacts, especially in contexts where overtourism has emerged as a global concern and a source of social discontent. As such, tourism degrowth claims emphasize shifting away from mass tourism, encouraging slower and localized travel, and minimizing carbon footprints caused, in particular, by tourists’ transport choices.

The workshop will focus on the following specific topics:

1. Tourism degrowth and sustainability of transport systems in urban vs. extra-urban destinations
2. The effects of tourism degrowth on public transports, accessibility and customers’ satisfaction
3. The interplay between tourism degrowth and transportation from a sociological perspective
4. Tourism degrowth and business models for destination management
5. Tourism degrowth and transport-based sustainable services for the hospitality industry
6. Experimental and behavioural approaches for tourism degrowth
7. Tourism degrowth and regenerative tourism planning and management
8. Tourism degrowth and community-based tourism
9. Tourism degrowth and transport solutions for mass tourist routes and destinations
10. The impact of tourism degrowth on the competition in the transport industry
11. Quantitative methods and measurement of tourism degrowth

The organizing committee may also consider contributions focused on other aspects of the relation between tourism degrowth and transportation systems. Yet, priority will be given to works addressing the specific transport-related challenges of tourism degrowth.

If interested in participating in the workshop, please send an abstract of your presentation
(about 500 words), including author names, affiliations, keywords, in pdf format by April 15, 2025. See complete details in the full Call for Papers:

Organizing committee

• Daniele Crotti, University of Insubria, Department of Human Sciences and Innovation for the Territory
• Roberta Minazzi, University of Insubria, Department of Laws, Economics and Cultures
• Peter Nijkamp, Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam (NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair)
• Janika Raun, University of Tartu (NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair)
• João Romão, Yasuda Women’s University (NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair)
• Luca Zamparini, University of Salento (NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair)

NECTAR Cluster 5 (Leisure, Recreation and Tourism) will be hosting an international workshop on the topic of Sustainable Local Transport in Tourism Destinations. The workshop will be organized in conjunction with the International Conference on Sustainable Local Transport in Tourism Destination Cities to be held on 5-6 June 2025 at the new SRH Campus, Berlin, Germany.

Continuous growth in tourism creates new economic prospects and business and employment opportunities. Tourism offers opportunities to re-invigorate locations previously left behind. At the same time, rapid growth in tourism is often associated with undesirable impacts, such as congestion, demand and price increases, environmental impacts, deteriorating local air quality, loss of authenticity, or other negative aspects. This workshop will provide a forum to discuss the following pertinent trends and issues :

• New applications for digital technologies in transport and tourism
• Strategies and regulation towards greater sustainability in local transport
• Decision making in tourism in the private and public sectors and transport policies
• Perspectives for cooperation and partnerships of public and private sectors
• The role of walking, cycling and local public transport in sustainable tourism
• Electric mobility and new mobility options
• New technical solutions in waterborne transport for tourism and local commuters
• Deepening cooperation between researchers and practitioners

If you are interested to participate in this workshop, please send an abstract of your proposed presentation (maximum 500 words) including author names and affiliations and keywords to Frank Wolter (frank.wolter@srh.de) and Luca Zamparini (luca.zamparini@unisalento.it) by March 10th 2025. The notification of abstract acceptance will be distributed by 24 March 2025.

Please see full details of the call below:

The Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment (DECivil) of Insituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, through the research centre CERIS is organizing a joint workshop with Cluster 8 (Information and Communication Technologies) and Cluster 6 (Accessibility) of NECTAR (Network of European Communications and Transportation Academic Researchers).

The meeting will take place in Lisbon, Portugal (18-19-June 2025). This meeting will bring together researchers from different disciplines and countries in a friendly environment to debate recent developments in the study of digital connectivity as one of the three pillars of accessibility (along with (physical) proximity and mobility).

Therefore, topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
• Telework’s impact on travel behaviour
• Telework’s impact on residential and firm location
• E-commerce, last mile delivery and retail accessibility
• The role of socioeconomic and built environment variables in ICT adoption; spatial heterogeneity and social imbalances
• Accessibility indicators integrating digital (e.g. telework, e-shopping, telemedicine, banking services, e-government) and physical accessibility
• New mobility services, shared mobility hubs, and their inclusion on accessibility indicators
• Network connectivity and accessibility
• Modelling digital and physical accessibility
• Impacts of digital accessibility in land use/transport planning and its integration into planning policy
• Avoidance of physical mobility due to digital solutions and integration with physical proximity in the 15-minute city.

We seek an open discussion about each presentation. Young starting researchers are encouraged to deliver a presentation. Colleagues interested in presenting a paper are kindly invited to send an extended abstract of a maximum 700 words by email to João de Abreu e Silva (jabreu@tecnico.ulisboa.pt) and Rui Colaço (r.colaco@tecnico.ulisboa.pt) by 31 January 2025 15 February 2025 at the latest. Please indicate the title, author(s), affiliations, corresponding contact, and three keywords. A maximum of three bibliographic references is allowed.

Please see the updated call for abstracts below: