Co-creative networks

The Technical University of Munich has been an active participant in regional, national and international networks for the design and development of sustainable mobility for many years.

Under the Inzell Initiative, the city of Munich and BMW are working with around 150 regional actors to develop solutions for local traffic problems and strategies to shape the future of mobility. TUM’s partners were involved in creating a mobility vision for the Munich region for 2050 and in the model city for 2030. Now it is time to join forces with partners working in the field to act on these ideas and realize the proposals made in the form of a regional strategic mobility concept. The city’s new mobility department will be an ideal strategic partner starting in 2021.

Despite its success in research, it is also a priority for TUM to make a substantial contribution to the future of sustainable mobility “on its own doorstep”.

Building on the experiences gained through the mobility management concept created for the Weihenstephan/Freising campus, TUM also plans to improve the conditions at Campus Garching, for example with improved connections to the surrounding region and the airport with flexible public transport systems, at the main campus (where priorities include the quality of the surroundings in the museum district, traffic safety, and convenient and secure bicycle parking) and at many other locations in Bavaria, in Heilbronn and abroad.

The European metropolitan region of Munich has already maintained its own mobility working group for many years. The group also supports scientific innovation projects such as the TUM Accessibility Atlas and the study “Residence – Work – Mobility”. Many partners from this extensive region – from Kaufbeuren to Kelheim and from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Donau-Ries – have also contributed to the TUM-designed networking study through best practice projects, demonstrating that innovative ideas are finding imitators further afield.

Over the coming years, the city of Munich plans to act as a role model for putting exemplary solutions into action by hosting an International Building Exhibition (IBA) dedicated to the theme “Mobility Spaces”. Over a period extending until around 2030, outstanding projects will be honored and included in the exhibition of experimental implementations. This creative framework will offer unique opportunities to bring innovative ideas to life in the Munich region, allow researchers to study them in action, and invite public debate.

The International Motor Show (IAA) will also take place in Munich in 2021, in its first-ever visit to the Bavarian capital. In this edition, TUM will have a larger presence in the global spotlight offered by the IAA than in past years. It will advocate a shift away from the event’s traditional character as a celebration of the German car industry toward a role as an innovation hub driving the rise of sustainable mobility.

TUM is already well positioned to support the creation of a German center for the future of mobility in the Munich region. Together with its strategic partners in this setting – the city of Munich, the BMW Group and UnternehmerTUM – TUM has already presented a draft concept to the German Ministry of Transport, which will provide guidance as the center develops.