Third Cultures of Mobilities: Exploring and Stimulating Alternative Mobility Futures and Research Methodologies

CALL FOR PAPERS

Third Cultures of Mobilities: Exploring and Stimulating Alternative Mobility Futures and Research Methodologies

Journal: Journal of Urban Mobility

Publisher: Elsevier

Submission Deadline: 15 August 2026

Introduction

This Special Issue brings the academic debate on creative and pragmatic ways of dealing with cultural diversity and diverse methodologies deeper into mobilities research. It invites contributions that connect various aspects of "Third Cultures of Mobility" — those imaginaries and practices that emerge from contact between different ways of doing and thinking — and explores creative ways forward for mobilities research and practice.

The concept of "Third Cultures of Mobilities" captures the generative spaces that arise at the intersection of different cultural traditions, planning approaches, and mobility practices — spaces that may produce novel imaginaries, hybrid methodologies, and alternative visions for sustainable urban movement.

Scope & Significance

This Special Issue deepens scholarly engagement with cultural diversity and methodological innovation in mobilities research. It welcomes theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented contributions that explore how diverse cultural contexts shape — and are shaped by — mobility planning, practices, and futures.

The editors particularly encourage submissions that think "otherwise" — challenging dominant paradigms and offering alternative frameworks for understanding and researching urban and social mobilities.

List of Topic Areas

Manuscripts are invited on themes including, but not limited to:

1. Culturally diverse practices and/or planning for future mobilities

2. Cultural diversity in (im-)mobility planning and practices

3. Alternative methodologies for studying (im-)mobility planning and practices

4. Theoretical reflections on cultural diversity and "thinking otherwise" — preferably with an angle towards mobilities research

5. Cross-cultural communication and vocabularies of mobility

6. Third cultures of mobility — imaginaries and practices emerging from contact between different ways of doing and thinking

7. Participatory planning approaches to culturally diverse mobility futures

8. Creative and arts-based methods in mobilities research

9. Governance and spatial analysis of culturally diverse mobility systems

10. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to mobility planning

11. Sustainable mobility in diverse cultural and institutional contexts

12. Learning from cross-cultural mobility experiences and knowledge exchange

13. Alternative and future-oriented mobility narratives and visions

14. Immobility, displacement, and exclusion across cultural contexts

Guest Editors

Dr. Kim Carlotta Von Schönfeld (Contact for Topic Inquiries) Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway & University of Porto, Portugal Areas of expertise: Participatory planning; Learning; Multidisciplinary Email: Kim.Carlotta.Von.Schoenfeld@hvl.no

Prof. Dr. ir. Wendy Guan Zhen Tan Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway & Wageningen University, Netherlands Areas of expertise: Sustainable mobility; Governance; Spatial analysis

Key Deadlines

Manuscript Submission Opens: 1 January 2026
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 15 August 2026

Submission Guidelines

Submit your manuscript via Editorial Manager, the official online submission system for the Journal of Urban Mobility. When submitting, select Article Type:

"VSI: Third Cultures of Mobilities"

All submissions deemed suitable will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. Upon editorial acceptance, articles will be published in the latest regular issue and simultaneously presented on the Special Issue webpage.

For any inquiries about the appropriateness of contribution topics, contact Dr. Kim Carlotta Von Schönfeld at Kim.Carlotta.Von.Schoenfeld@hvl.no.

Both the Guide for Authors and the submission portal can be found at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-urban-mobility

All submissions must be original and must not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission.

Why Publish in This Special Issue?

• Special Issue articles are downloaded twice as often within the first 24 months compared to regular issue articles

• Special Issue articles attract 20% more citations in the first 24 months

• Articles are published together on ScienceDirect — easy for researchers to discover your work

• All articles reviewed by no fewer than two independent experts

About the Journal

The Journal of Urban Mobility, published by Elsevier, is a fully open access peer-reviewed journal with a CiteScore of 7.2 and Impact Factor of 6.1. It is dedicated to advancing research on urban mobility systems — providing an international platform for interdisciplinary scholarship exploring transport planning, mobility futures, sustainable urban movement, and the social, cultural, and spatial dimensions of how people move within and between cities.

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