Urban Mobility Cultures: Creative and Narrative Approaches to Moving in the City

Museo di Geografia, Salone degli Specchi - Palazzo Wollemborg, via del Santo 26 San Gaetano Cultural Centre - via Altinate 71

Dal 15.01.2026 al 16.01.2026

Urban mobility cultures: Creative and Narrative Approaches to Moving in the City is a scientific and public event taking place in Padua on January 15 and 16, 2026 as a result of a collaboration between various projects and institutions. Focusing on the diverse and ever-changing world of urban mobilities, it seeks to explore the impact of cultural, narrative, literary, and creative perspectives on such mobilities.

The event, organised by the Centre for Advanced Studies in Mobility and the Humanities (MoHu) in collaboration with the Progetto Giovani Office of the Municipality of Padua, is hosted by the Museum of Geography, with a public part held at the San Gaetano Cultural Centre as well as in the form of a walking experience along the streets of Padua.

It also marks the conclusion of the WALC (Walking Landscapes of Urban Cultures) project, funded by Next Generation EU (PRIN PNRR 2022, P2022X5L8B, CUP: J53D2301655001), whose Paduan research unit, led by Giada Peterle, has worked for two years on walking in urban spaces as an intangible cultural heritage of contemporary urban mobility in European cities.

The results of the MAR - Mobile Art Residency, including two context-specific artworks in the area of the Padua railway station by Daniele Costa and Caterina Morigi, will be showcased. Moreover, participants will have the opportunity to attend the opening of WALC!, the final exhibition of the WALC project, displaying the outputs also from the research units of the University of Milano-Bicocca and the University of Bologna. 

Scientific committee: Giada Peterle, Tania Rossetto, Giuseppe Tomasella (University of Padua)

Speakers: Charlotte Mathieson, Lena Mattheis, Gabriele Lazzari (University of Surrey), Lucia Quaquarelli, Adrien Frenay (Université Paris Nanterre), Patricia García García (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Tânia Alexandra Cardoso

Partner institutions: Mobilities in Literature and Culture Research Centre (University of Surrey); ALUS (Association for Literary Urban Studies); CRPM (Centre de recherches pluridisciplinaires et multilingues - Projet Espace, déplacement, mobilité (Université Paris Nanterre); FRINGE Urban Narratives research network.

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Photo: Marco Vezzaro