Innovative and committed labs of all kinds currently spring up like mushrooms worldwide. Keeping up with the rapid development in the lab scene can be tough so we decided to collect ten labs that are passionate about openness, mobility or sustainability. Of course, this is by no means a complete list and we will continue to keep our eyes open for more allies. For now, this is what we have found, so here goes:

1. Open Mobility Foundation

The Open Mobility Foundation (OMF) is an open-source software foundation that creates a governance structure around open-source mobility tools, beginning with a focus on the Mobility Data Specification (MDS). By creating an open source foundation, OMF is able to offer a safe, efficient environment for stakeholders including municipalities, companies, technical, privacy, and policy experts, and the public to shape urban mobility management tools that help public agencies to accomplish their mobility policy goals.

If you are interested in their work, you can check out there website here.

2. TravelSpirit Foundation

You may have heard of the TravelSpirit Foundation before, as we have had great collaborations with them. The TravelSpirit Foundation is a not-for-profit community and organisation that helps people working in the field of voluntary, public and private transportation to work together and improve the future of mobility. The Foundation connects coders, planners, activists, and policy-makers through a global network. They provide research, advocacy, event organisation and business support. Their activities are aligned with “The Open Internet of Mobility”, a global digital commons that enables the full benefits of new transport modes, software and information streams to be locked-in for the public good.

For further information on their work and vision, find there website here.

3. La Fabrique des Mobilités

La Fabrique des Mobilités, or short FabMob, is another company we are very fond of. The FabMob is a French company helping stakeholders open their data to connect them with others and encourage a more open ecosystem of data. Furthermore, they are running a Wiki as a hands-on approach to let companies and partners decide how much of their data they would like to make accessible for everyone. Creation of Commons – resources that are made and managed by communities that share the same vision or goal.

FabMob also have an open-source app that allows its user to track their mobility-related CO2 emissions.

You can find more information on there website.

4. CityLAB Berlin

CityLAB combines a couple of different aspects in one. They are an experimental space to do research on projects that are relevant for ‘cities of the future’ but also offer coworking-spaces for everyone to create the opportunity to connect different backgrounds and benefit from each other. CityLAB view digitalization as a chance to re-think current standards, reduce social barriers and increase participation in society for everyone. Consequently, they encourage everyone to propose their own ideas for new projects, meet ups or events. 

CityLab only recently opened in Berlin but have a website that provides more information on their vision. You can find it here.

5. Open Data Institute

The Open Data Institute (ODI) is another company we have met with before. The ODI is a company that consists of data experts. They are  firm believers of the advantages that open data can hold and encourage industry players, businesses and governments to open their data to the benefit of everyone. Due to their experience in data management they are able to advise companies to control their data responsibly and open it safely and strive to make a sustainable change in companies and governments.

Although mobility is only one of the topics they are interested in, we admire their dedication to open data. Check out their website here.

6. SideWalk Labs

Sidewalk Labs are a big team of people with diverse backgrounds in technology and urbanism. By combining these different skills, they aim to transform the urban environment and accelerate innovation. Sidewalk Labs sees mobility as a means to tackle challenges which growing cities face and combat climate change. They are currently re-designing a district in Toronto in cooperation with the local community and government; they aim to make Toronto the global hub for urban innovation. Although they have been highly criticized for this project, we believe that it holds great potential and are keen to see its development in the future. 

You can learn more about SideWalk Labs on their website.

7. moovel

Moovel, that recently joined Reachnow, is a company that aspires to enable transportation that is free of traffic jams. They consider themselves as friends to cities, companies and their customers. In order to achieve their vision of ideal urban mobility they cooperate with cities and offer different tools to encourage people to make use of sharing options. They have developed different apps which make sustainable mobility easier to access and understand; their apps each target different audiences, be it businesses, transportation companies or individuals. 

For further information, you can click here.

8. NewCities

NewCities is cooperating with city leaders and influencers to debate the most pressing urban issues. They view cities as key drivers in sustainable urbanism. They try to connect businesses, governments and civil societies to make the transition to more sustainable cities and consider collaboration, knowledge and technology as means for global change. They have hosted the wellbeing cities forum, an event dedicated to the discussion of challenges and benefits of cities and initiated the Wellbeing City Award, an award for cities with categories like Public Health, Sustainable Environment, Economy & Opportunity and Community.

If you want to learn more about NewCities, you can find their website here.

9. Mobility Lab

Mobility Lab is a research center and news source for transportation behaviour and policy. Their research focusses on Arlington County, Virginia, USA, which is also one of their funders. Thus, their primary role is to measure impacts of transportation demand management strategies in Arlington. Transportation demand management is the flip side of infrastructure – trying to understand how people make their transport decisions and help them use infrastructure to naturally encourage transport alternatives to cars. Although their research is rather local, we are sure that everyone can learn something from their findings. 

For further info, click here.

10. Future Urban Mobility

Future Open Mobility is a research center located in Singapore. They envision a new era of mobility that is characterized by new innovations and accessibility for everyone. Their primary focus is on public transport in Singapore and less attention is given to private services; Future Urban Mobility has partnered with multiple universities and institutions, however, they believe that their vision and methods are globally adaptable. Their partnerships allow them to profit from a big set of different skills.

Check out their website to learn more about their projects.