From its inception in 2020 as a media platform, and later an established NGO, Pedestrian Space has prioritized a focus on walkability including attention to accessible, affordable, safe public transportation as a key feature of walkable cities.
In June 2023, I was invited to give the ‘power keynote’ talk on social exclusion at the EU Funds & Transport Exclusion conference in Poland, organized by the Centrum Unijnych Projektów Transportowych.
It was the first significant public speaking experience in my life and would also be the first of several public speaking experiences in Poland. Read more at the link below:
In late 2023, I was commissioned to write an article for ITS International, where I wrote on ‘Mobility as a Value’ and discussed advocating for systemic infrastructural and service changes, awareness building and education as crucial to combat stigmas that these modes can carry in places that (in recent decades) have not prioritized them.
Read more at the link below:
In late 2023, I was invited by videographer Marcin Krasnowolski to participate in the production of a short video for EIT Urban Mobility. The video focused on the idea of the 15-minute city, with a focus on areas in the district of Ursynów in Warsaw.
In the video, we approach the area, discussing the idea of a 15-minute city with Ursynów as a living example, also spending some significant time pointing out the local metro connectivity and accessibility.
Read more at the following link:
For the Winter 2025 issue of INTERPLAN, a publication of the International Division of the American Planning Association, I wrote on Walkability, Urban Access & Rural Village Life in Bavaria, highlighting how a train station in the rural village we inhabited completely transformed access to local urban centers (and work opportunities), connectivity to amenities in the neighboring town and overall quality of life.
Read more:
In early 2025, I published my first Research Chapter and what would be the first of several research pieces on aspects of urban mobility and Warsaw.
Exploring Warsaw Metro: Subterranean Solutions for Walkability in Cities was published in the Springer Nature book ‘Underground Spaces for Climate Resilience and Sustainability’ and highlights numerous best practices of the subway (metro) system in Poland’s capital.
Read more here:
In late 2025, my commentary piece, ‘Toilet equity in transit: barriers and best practices from metro systems worldwide’ was published in Cities & Health journal. The commentary is based on preliminary research and personal observations on the issue of the prioritization (or lack thereof) of public toilets in metro systems globally, with commentary provided on the benefits that the maintenance of public toilets in metro systems can have and the role of urban governance.
Read more below:
Explore more on public transportation commentary and coverage at the following link: https://pedestrianspace.org/category/public-transportation/
My daughter snapped the above photo of me on board the tram yesterday, here in our current home city in northwestern Poland. As we were changing trams en route home I watched her lead the way in navigating the transfer and reflected on how my interest in accessible, affordable, safe public transportation has developed over the years in an interdependence of advocacy, research, and lived experience.
I have moved a lot in my life and in the past decade in particular, have regularly been documenting issues of car dependence, access to safe, convenient, and affordable public transportation, and availability of reliable pedestrian infrastructure. That lived experience and those observations emerge in my media content here at Pedestrian Space, in my project collaborations and also in my research inquiries and angles.
I look forward to continuing to spotlight and explore issues of public transportation as vital to sustainable urban development and also quality of life.
-Annika