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Special NECTAR session

Tracking Mobility Transitions Across the Activity Space Using ICT Data

Tartu, Estonia, 8th – 10th of June 2026

Call for papers

We are pleased to invite you to a special session, Tracking Mobility Transitions Across the Activity Space Using ICT Data, organised by Cluster 8 (ICT), and Cluster 5 (Leisure, Recreation and Tourism) of NECTAR at the Mobile Tartu international conference, Tartu, Estonia, 2026.

Main topic

Mobility is a key aspect of social life, shaped by long-term societal changes, policies (e.g. European Green Deal), as well as crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In today’s digital age, vast amounts of ICT-based data present new opportunities to monitor and understand changes and transitions in mobility.

This session invites contributions that explore changes in mobility across the entire activity space—covering activity locations, travel behaviour, teleworking, domestic and international tourism. We welcome conceptual, methodological, and empirical studies that use quantitative ICT-based data, including mobile big data, smartphone apps, connected vehicles, IoT devices, and transport infrastructure tools.

Topics of interest include:

  • Modal shift and sustainable transport behaviour
  • Behavioural, social, and digital shifts (e.g., teleworking)
  • Changes in leisure time activities and tourism
  • Social inequality and mobility transitions
  • Methodologies for tracking mobility using ICT data

We especially encourage submissions that address the challenges and opportunities of using ICT data to understand mobility in the context of social and environmental transitions.

Important dates

Abstract submissions: 31 January 2026
Abstract acceptance: 2 March 2026

Abstracts (max 400–600 words) should be submitted using the Mobile Tartu Conference website, and a copy of the abstract should be sent to Siiri Silm (siiri.silm@ut.ee) and Janika Raun (janika.raun@ut.ee). The abstract must follow the formatting and submission guidelines for abstracts as shown on the conference website. In the abstract submission form, the author must indicate that the abstract is submitted to the NECTAR special session.

Session organisers

Eran Ben-Elia, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, NECTAR Cluster 8 co-chair
Luc Wismans, University of Twente, the Netherlands, NECTAR Cluster 8 co-chair
Siiri Silm, University of Tartu, Estonia, NECTAR Cluster 8 co-chair
Marina Toger, University of Uppsala, Sweden, NECTAR Cluster 8 co-chair
João Romão, Yasuda Women’s University, Japan, NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair
Peter Nijkamp, VU University, Netherlands, NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair
Luca Zamparini, University of Salento, Italy, NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair
Janika Raun, University of Tartu, Estonia, NECTAR Cluster 5 co-chair

NECTAR is a European-based scientific association. The primary objective is to foster research collaboration and exchange of information between experts in the field of transport, communication and mobility from all European countries and the rest of the world. It is a multidisciplinary social science network bringing together a wide variety of perspectives on transport and communication problems and their impacts on society from an international perspective. For further information on NECTAR, use the link: http://www.nectar-eu.eu.

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