Constrained sustainable urban mobility: the possible contribution of research by design in two Palestinian cities

In this paper, we try to ascertain what the term ‘sustainable urban mobility’ can mean in the Palestinian society, which is strongly constrained in its development by a latent conflict. The article is situated in a tradition of phronetic planning research in which the authors take on the role of a participant observer, while the graphical products of the process (plans, views, sketches) are also considered an important data source and mediation tool. Throughout the process of research by design, we discuss the concepts of urban sustainability and livability in a conflictual context dominated by segregation and physical isolation. We do this by confronting supposedly orthodox conceptions from the literature, which is dominated by authors from the Global North, with the vision of students, professors and policy makers who live and work in a particular study area in Palestine. Then we define the possible contribution of a short term and constrained research by design process as an effective method in such a context, in order to both develop new knowledge, to produce tools for mediation and defend a vision for the future in a conflict situation. We conclude that, even if limited by specific constraints of time, data scarcity, access to sources, and problematic fieldwork conditions, research by design can serve as a platform for the development of context-sensitive and solution-oriented knowledge that transcends traditional, often paternalistic, ways of policy transfer.