JUST STREETS in Practice: The role of School Streets in fostering Mobility Justice in Braga

Urban mobility justice has been a growing concern worldwide due to the car-dominant planning process of urban areas, which has excluded certain groups, especially vulnerable ones, from safe and accessible urban streets. One of the most marginalized groups among these is children, whose limited autonomy and physical fragility make them highly susceptible to mobility-related risks. In this regard, designing streets that prioritize children’s needs inherently benefits other vulnerable users, including people with reduced mobility, the elderly, and caregivers with strollers, by ensuring safe, accessible, and inclusive infrastructure for all. In this context, promoting active mobility is crucial for equitable urban development, which benefits everyone. One of the emerging strategies is the implementation of the school street initiatives to restrict car dominance around schools, which has the potential not only to address environmental and safety concerns but also to advance mobility justice. When aligned with the mobility justice framework, school streets can enhance redistribution of urban space, foster inclusive participation, and recognize the specific needs and voices of vulnerable users. In this regard, Horizon Europe JUST STREETS Project is actively working in eight pilot and four follower cities in Europe and beyond. Contributing to its research, this thesis investigates the relationship between school street initiatives and mobility justice to promote safer, more inclusive, and accessible urban areas for vulnerable groups while encouraging active mobility. This thesis focuses on the Portuguese city of Braga, which is a car-centric city, infrastructurally deficient for active mobility, especially for school environments, and is also among the eight pilot cities of the JUST STREETS Project. The main case study of the Project is the area surrounding EB 2/3 André Soares School, where this research employed a mixed-method approach, including qualitative, quantitative, and geospatial GIS-based mapping, as well as policy document analysis. The findings revealed that while Braga’s planning documents increasingly emphasize active and inclusive mobility, real-world implementation is hindered by car-dominance, insufficient participatory and inclusive planning, and a lack of recognition for the everyday experiences of its vulnerable users. The study concluded by proposing context-sensitive design measures inspired by the lived experiences of local users gathered through interviews. The study demonstrated that school streets, when framed within a comprehensive mobility justice perspective, can become powerful tools for transforming car-centric streets into people-centered public spaces that uphold accessibility, safety, and inclusion.