Transition Pathways for Urban Provisioning Systems Toward 15-minute Cities

Start date: 1 March 2026
End date: 1 March 2029
Value: 1,023.605.19 euro
Partners and collaborators: This project has been funded by UKRI (UK), FWO (Belgium), FFG (Austria), and ARIS (Slovenia) under the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership, which has been co-funded by the European Commission. Partners and collaborators include: Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, TU Wien, Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia
Primary investigator: Dr Richard Bärnthaler
Co-investigators: Professor Paul Chatterton, Prof. Sara González
External co-investigators: University of Leeds other faculties: Katy Wright - School of Sociology and Social Policy, Tom Haines-Doran, Economics Division, LUBS, Other External co-investigators: Kobe Boussauw, Marjolein Hantson, Margaret Haderer, Barbara Laa, Rosie McEachan, Kate Lightfoot, Chris Cartwright, Tom Emily Nix, Tom Rye, Luka Mladenovič

Everyday life depends on access to essential goods and services such as housing, education, work, care, and leisure. These are provided through essential provisioning systems – the ways in which societies organise, govern, and deliver what people need to live well. For young people in particular, access to these systems is often uneven and fragile, and they are frequently excluded from planning and decision making processes.

T PATH UP15 explores the relationship between mobility and access to essential provisioning systems from the perspective of young people aged 18–25. Rather than treating mobility as an end in itself, the project understands it as a crucial link between everyday needs and their satisfaction, shaping how young people access opportunities and participate in social life.

The project uses a Systems of Provision approach to explore which essential provisioning systems matter most to young people, how they access them in everyday life, how these systems are organised and governed, how young people experience and make sense of them, and how they work together to shape mobility and access to essential services.

We combine surveys, interviews, and workshops with young people to capture lived experiences, alongside analysis of how relevant systems and policies currently operate. The research is conducted across different regions in Europe – Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia. Regional stakeholder forums will be established as long term partners in the research, bringing together civic, public, private, and research actors. These forums will work closely with young people in co producing an understanding of current barriers, identifying policy improvements, and developing both practical “next best steps” and more radical visions for the future. This co-productive approach is also a form of capacity building, supporting young people and stakeholders to learn how to work with one another, share knowledge, and jointly shape more just, inclusive, and sustainable provisioning systems.