MOBILOOS project: A partnership with the town of Loos-en-Gohelle to promote sustainable mobility

The municipality of Loos-en-Gohelle, located on the outskirts of Lens in the heart of the former mining basin, has opted for an ecological and democratic transition for its development. One of the challenges of this transition is transportation. In an area built around the "all-car" model, the transition to soft mobility is fraught with difficulties.

To meet these challenges, a partnership has been taking place since 2017 on the issue between the commune and the university, which has taken different forms throughout the project. Initially, researchers from the university conducted a survey of all residents to obtain concrete data on the mobility of Loos-en-Gohelle's inhabitants. The results of this survey were used to identify, quantify and qualify mobility conditions in Loos-en-Gohelle, travel habits according to activities, the sociology of respondents, and mobility difficulties and desires.

Based on this diagnosis, the project focuses on three main areas: reducing the use of private cars, developing active modes of transport and supporting changes in user behavior towards more environmentally-friendly mobility.

This action-research project has enabled the municipal team to become acculturated to the challenges of mobility. These issues have been integrated into the city's ecological and social transition project for the 2020-2026 term.

The MOBILOOS project, a new stage in the partnership between Gustave Eiffel University and the Loos-en-Gohelle commune

Launched in 2023, the second phase of the partnership is being carried out as part of the CityFAB project funded by ANR's PIA 4 program. Entitled MOBILOOS, the project aims to respond to the diagnosis made above through experiments involving researchers, citizens and public authorities.

A two-phase experiment is planned, involving some sixty volunteers from April to June 2024 and from September to November 2024. From initial awareness-raising to the anchoring of new travel habits, the project aims to use coaching techniques combined with a smartphone application to facilitate behavior change.

In this way, the MOBILOOS project anchors research in society. The Gustave Eiffel University helps public decision-making and local democratic life through action research and participatory science.