The MSUMP-LMA was a metropolitan mobility planning exercise with a strong participatory component. It promoted the active participation of stakeholders and the general public throughout three planning phases, with direct impact on the future of sustainable mobility in the region.
Problems and Purpose
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) Metropolitan Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (MSUMP) aimed to analyse and propose measures to respond to the emerging challenges of intense commuting dynamics, socio-territorial inequalities, and growing environmental pressures in the region. Its main objective was to plan mobility on a metropolitan scale in line with the population's needs, while also achieving sustainability, safety, and efficiency goals. The MSUMP included a Participation Plan across the various planning phases, in order to involve not only the stakeholders, who are often mobilised in this type of process, but also the general public, who are usually excluded from decision-making, even though they are directly impacted by it.
Background History and Context
The Lisbon metropolitan area comprises the 18 municipalities of the Greater Lisbon and Setúbal Peninsula regions: Alcochete, Almada, Amadora, Barreiro, Cascais, Lisbon, Loures, Mafra, Moita, Montijo, Odivelas, Oeiras, Palmela, Sesimbra, Setúbal, Sintra and Vila Franca de Xira. Due to its territorial, social and economic complexity, the LMA presents demanding challenges in terms of mobility and transport.
It is Portugal's largest demographic and economic centre, with a population of approximately 2,870,000 inhabitants [1] (27% of the country's total) in 2021, and growing. Mobility patterns in the region are strongly marked by the large number of commuters, especially to Lisbon, and by dependence on private motorised transport. Public transport accounts for only around 25% of the modal share [2].
It is in this context that the MSUMP-LMA began to be drawn up in 2024, in order to respond to current and future changes in the region. The Plan aimed to improve accessibility in the metropolitan and urban context, promoting sustainable, safe, and efficient mobility for people and goods, while boosting the region's economic development. The Plan had a horizon of 2030 and 2035, in line with the strategic territorial development objectives defined by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
The MSUMP's methodology follows the European Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/550 of 8 March and the respective European Commission Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan [3], as well as the recommendations of the ‘Guide for the Preparation of Mobility and Transport Plans’.
Public participation was one of the main components in the development of the MSUMP. As such, a Participation Plan was drawn up covering various stages of the Plan's development, namely: Stage 1, Framework and Diagnosis; Stage 2, Definition of the Strategic Vision; and Stage 3, Development of the Programme of Measures and Actions. The aim was to welcome diverse voices from people who live, work and travel in the LMA, in order to build a solid base of shared knowledge, potentially legitimised by the multiple parties involved.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The MSUMP was an initiative of TML - Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (Lisbon Metropolitan Transport) and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, a public association covering the territory comprising the 18 municipalities in the region. This complex planning exercise was conducted by TML with the support of Way2Go, involving an investment of approximately €390,000.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The MSUMP participation process was developed over the first three of four planning phases. Different methodologies were adopted in each phase, which also involved different recruitment and selection methods. In Phase 1, a broad range of stakeholders was invited to participate, representing municipal, regional or national entities of different natures and interests, with recognised importance in the areas of mobility, transport, urban planning and/or the environment. In Phase 2, a survey was made available - online and on paper - to the general population, i.e. to all those who live, work, study or travel in the LMA. Finally, in Phase 3, recruitment was carried out through voluntary registration, with participants subsequently divided into five groups of up to 25 members according to their municipality of residence, through a stratified random draw. This took into account gender, age, academic qualifications and professional status.
Methods and Tools Used
Phase 1 involved stakeholders in producing contributions relating to the characterisation and diagnosis of the LMA mobility system. To this end, the World Café methodology was applied, establishing three tables composed of subgroups of 6 or 7 participants and a facilitator. Each table addressed a previously defined issue, namely: i) the challenges of the current LMA mobility system; ii) the opportunities of the current LMA mobility system; iii) the role that the represented entity has played in the LMA mobility system. Additionally and complementarily, in order to give voice to a larger and more diverse number of entities, an online survey was shared. This survey sought to consult entities that did not attend the face-to-face sessions and focused on the same topics.
The methodology adopted in Phase 2 was based on the application of a single survey to the general population in two formats: i) online, in Portuguese and English, on the MSUMP website; and ii) on paper, at key locations in the 18 municipalities of the LMA, in order to minimise phenomena of info-exclusion arising from access limitations and digital literacy. The survey consisted of four questions and its main objective was to collect qualitative and quantitative information to construct a desired scenario for the future of sustainable urban mobility in the LMA in 2035. The survey was developed using the ‘scenario backcasting’ approach, which reverses traditional causal logic, beginning with the unrestricted construction of a vision of the future and only then identifying the conditions necessary for its materialisation in the present.
Finally, in Phase 3, five participatory assemblies were held with the aim of promoting informed citizen participation in the co-creation of concrete measures to realise the strategic vision defined in the previous phase. These assemblies adopted a “mini” format, with characteristics distinct from those normally associated with initiatives of this kind, particularly with regard to the number of participants and the duration [4]. Each assembly had a maximum of 25 participants and lasted 3.5 hours. They were divided into three parts: i) learning, where key information about the MSUMP was shared; ii) deliberation, a time for discussion and co-construction of measures; and iii) decision, where the various measures were agreed upon.
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The participatory moments developed throughout the three planning phases yielded, without exception, important contributions to the development of the MSUMP. In Phase 1, the 77 participants representing 56 entities identified a wide range of challenges and opportunities for the future of sustainable urban mobility in the LMA. Topics such as public transport, individual transport, active modes, flexible transport, spatial planning, housing and logistics were addressed.
In Phase 2, the scenario survey received 429 responses, allowing the desired scenario for the Plan to be outlined. From the participants' responses, four central dimensions were determined: (i) a green transition based on reducing individual transport and strengthening public transport, intermodality and active mobility; (ii) robust and equitable territorial connectivity; (iii) the transformation of rules, behaviours and lifestyles, supported by digital solutions and integrated planning; and (iv) the strengthening of connections between banks as a condition for a more cohesive metropolitan identity. Taken together, the results reveal a vision of the future based on a green transition founded on public transport and active modes, favouring coordinated, collective and territorially integrated solutions for mobility in the LMA [5][6].
The work carried out in the five participatory assemblies of Phase 3 resulted in the definition of 74 concrete measures with an impact on the future of sustainable urban mobility in the amL. These were drawn up by a total of 97 participants, fewer than the 125 initially expected. The measures focused on each of the five strategic axes of the MSUMP: Axis A - Better Public Transport; Axis B - Greater Sustainability; Axis C - Greater Accessibility; Axis D - Greater Metropolitan Cohesion; Axis E - Greater Technological Innovation.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
From the outset, the MSUMP was defined as a planning process that aimed to be collaborative and inclusive. The active involvement of stakeholders and the general public at all stages was understood to be vital for an inclusive Plan, aligned with the real needs of the population. Thus, the contributions obtained throughout the various participatory moments were decisive for the development of the MSUMP, giving shape to it in its various phases. The contributions in Phase 1 helped to strengthen the Diagnosis. In Phase 2, they formed the Desired Future, from whose articulation with the Trend Future emerged the Base Scenario, on which the strategic vision of the Plan was based. Finally, the measures co-constructed in Phase 3 were included in the Programme of Measures and Actions, contributing to the direct incorporation in the final document of the citizens' priorities.
All the results of the participatory sessions were shared with the participants, and the reports were made available online on the MSUMP website.
References
[1] INE. (2022). Recenseamento da população e habitação - Censos 2021. Lisboa, Portugal: INE, Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Available at https://tabulador.ine.pt/indicador/?id=0011609
[2]W2G. (2024). Plano Metropolitano de Mobilidade Urbana Sustentável da área metropolitana de Lisboa: Relatório de Caracterização e Diagnóstico. Available at: https://pmmus.tmlmobilidade.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PMMUS-amL_Relatorio-P3-Relatorio-de-Caracterizacao-e-Diagnostico.pdf
[3] Rupprecht, S., Brand, L., Böhler-Baedeker, S., & Brunner, L. M. (2019). Guidelines for Developing and Implementing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (Second Edition).
[4] Escobar, O., & Elstub, S. (2017), “Forms of mini-publics: An introduction to deliberative innovations in democratic practice”. (Research and Development Notes). newDemocracyFoundation. Available at https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/docs/researchnotes/2017_May/nDF_RN_
20170508_FormsOfMiniPublics.pdf
[5] W2G. (2024). Plano Metropolitano de Mobilidade Urbana Sustentável da área metropolitana de Lisboa: Anexo A: Relatório de Participação Pública no âmbito da Fase II. Available at: https://pmmus.tmlmobilidade.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PMMUS-amL_Relatorio-P4-Anexo-A-Participacao-Publica-no-Ambito-da-Fase-II.pdf
[6] Silva D, Falanga R (2026) “Imaginando a mobilidade de amanhã: cenarização participada na área metropolitana de Lisboa” Mobilidades Geográficas InforGeo, 83-88
External Links
https://pmmus.tmlmobilidade.pt/momentos-de-participacao/
https://pmmus.tmlmobilidade.pt/resultados_pmmus/
