Visions 2050: an educational resource for exploring, experimenting with and simulating the future

Abstract

This article presents a new educational resource called Visions 2050 (2050 Visions: explore, experiment with and simulate the future), describes its features and provides strategies for using it in the classroom. This resource promotes forward-looking study offering students the chance to carry out virtual experiments on the extent to which population development, the economy, technology and changes in social values in Europe can help to achieve the EU target of reducing transport-generated CO2 emissions by 2050. (When the study was conducted, this was considered the minimum target, but now the aim is to eliminate carbon emissions almost completely by this date). Visions 2050 employs interactive simulators based on forecast models produced by the European Commission (Directorate-General for Energy and Transport) in the TRANSvisions study. Visions 2050 also presents students with the views of world-famous experts on the future of transport in European cities. It has been designed for secondary school students and teachers, and was produced in 2009 by Fundació Ersília with the support of the Department of the Environment and Housing of the Catalan autonomous government. The TRANSvisions study was carried out by Tetraplan (Copenhagen), Mcrit (Barcelona), ISIS (Rome) and the University of Leeds between 2005 and 2009 at the request of the European Union (Directorate-General for Energy and Transport) as part of the review of the EU White Paper on transport, under the supervision of Vicenç Pedret i Cuscó, advisor to the European Commission’s Director-General for Mobility and Transport.