In our latest POLIS Just Transition Webinar, POLIS gathered four communication experts to explore how language, narrative, and community engagement can shape more inclusive urban mobility transitions.

Featuring Maite Peris (Q4A/former Communications Advisor, Barcelona City Council), Andrea Rosso (LINKS Foundation/JUST STREETS), Mathias Schmid (Nachhaltige Mobilität für Baden-Württemberg), and Reena Mahajan – Studio Divercity/StreetSmart, the report unpacks what it really takes to build public trust and participation around sustainable mobility, especially in a time of growing polarisation and backlash.

If you wish to watch the full webinar, click here.

What’s in the report?

This in-depth, 35-page report includes Q&A sections and detailed case studies, exploring four lenses of communication:

• Tactical framing: Peris shares how Barcelona managed backlash during the rollout of its Superblocks and Low Emission Zone. From pausing external messaging during heated moments, to using advocacy partnerships with health experts, her team embedded tactical communication throughout the project cycle.
• People-first language: Rosso reveals how everyday words and messages like ‘road closed’ or 'Lycra yobs' encode values, shape perceptions, and reinforce barriers. Drawing on EU-wide research from the JUST STREETS project and popular campaigns, he believes that cities can truly reframe mobility through the use of people-first language and inclusive signage.
• Empathic narration and ‘personification’: Schmid explores how the German State of Baden-Württemberg, known for its car culture, is shifting the narrative; by creating fictional characters like ‘Tina’, a single mother navigating trade-offs, the state humanised policy discussions and trained local officials to think beyond abstract benefits.
• Visual storytelling: Mahajan's experience began with a stroller blocked by cars and evolved into a viral visual campaign and civic tech app. Through drawings, emojis, and street-level data, she has reframed small injustices as systemic issues, using humour and honesty to build coalitions for change.

Key takeaways

1. Communications must be embedded from day one, not as a crisis response but as core planning.
2. Words shape norms: changing how we speak about streets and measures can change how we design and plan them.
3. Different audiences need different messages: what works for parents will not work for teens or older adults.
4. Framing trade-offs with honesty and fairness can transform resistance into dialogue.
5. Tools like personas, sketches, and street data help bring abstract policy into everyday life.

Read the full report here.