Once a year in September, the University Conference on Transport Systems (UTA) connects transport planning departments across the German-speaking region. The primary focus is professional exchange and the presentation of doctoral projects – ranging from initial concept sketches to finished theses.

This year’s conference took place in the historic St. Afra Monastery in Meißen near Dresden, coinciding with the Saxon Wine Festival. MOVE (research unit for Transport System Planning at TU Wien) was represented by Magdalena Bürbaumer and Gunnar Grandel. Gunnar Grandel presented insights from his dissertation on the role of street experiments in mobility transitions. His research is based on a comparative analysis of seven pilot projects from the Trans|formator:in research project, which supported Austrian municipalities over four years in redesigning their transport spaces. The presentation contrasted high expectations of street experiments – such as low-cost, reversible test runs for permanent redesigns – with a nuanced empirical analysis. Using the pilot projects in Vienna (Supergrätzl Favoriten) and Graz (Kaiserfeldgasse/Neutorviertel) as examples, he illustrated how local contexts, operational logics, and actual implementations interconnect.

Magdalena Bürbaumer attended the conference as a second representative of MOVE, using the opportunity for professional exchange with colleagues in transport research. In addition to this central contribution, the conference featured workshops, poster presentations, and valuable networking opportunities.

We would like to thank the organization team from TU Dresden, especially Jens Borken-Kleefeld, for the invitation and the inspiring exchange. Next year's conference will be hosted in Dortmund.