How can we talk about mobility that does not yet exist? How can we shape ideas for tomorrow in such a way that different stakeholders – from politics, planning, industry, associations, and design – can work together on them? These questions were the focus of two panels organized by the Offenbach University of Art and Design on November 12, 2025, at the 12th German Mobility Congress. Both discussions shared a common core: visions of the future as a tool, as an attitude, and as a common language.
Perspectives, images, and shared spaces of thought
Visions of the future are becoming increasingly important, especially in times of social uncertainty. They help to make complex developments comprehensible, bring together different disciplines, and enable participation. It quickly became clear that visions of the future are not simply illustrations. They are designed spaces of possibility that deliberately open up freedom or, if they are too concrete, can unintentionally limit room for interpretation. The discussion showed how sensitive the balance between openness and specificity is. Visions of the future can inspire, activate, and create a common orientation—but they can also be perceived as codifying a single possible future. This is precisely why professional methods and creative expertise are needed in their development. Creating images in the mind is a creative, strategic, and design-oriented process that – as was emphasized several times – is rooted in design, architecture, scenario planning, and other disciplines that shape the future.
In this context, Prof. Dr. Eileen Mandir introduced the logic and strategies of design futuring, while designer and future shaper Stefan Karp reported on his everyday professional life. He made it clear how much our imagination is shaped by path dependencies: we often do what the existing system rewards us for, rather than what would be necessary for tomorrow. The pluralistic concept of futures – in the plural – thus became the leitmotif of the panel. Various practical insights also demonstrated how visions of the future are being applied in concrete terms today. Matthias Fischer demonstrated how his agency Neomind develops walk-in 3D models in which materials, atmospheres, and spatial relationships can be experienced directly. Annika Storch supplemented this perspective with VR simulations that make mobility scenarios accessible and thus enable new forms of exchange.
These discussions formed a natural bridge to the second panel, which was dedicated to the future of bicycle mobility. Here, perspectives from the bicycle industry were presented by Anke Schäffner (ZIV), Janet Weidemann (BMV), and Anja Zeller (VCD) and, following Daniel Rese, who first provided an insight into design research and research projects on the topic of bicycle mobility, were then discussed. Particularly impressive was the introduction of visually presented images of the future from research projects—a deliberate framework that made it clear that debates about mobility are always also debates about images of mobility. During the exchange, it became clear how much images of the future can help to bring different levels together:
- the technical innovation logic of industry,
- the social requirements of associations,
- the political framework conditions of administration,
- and the planning and design perspective on living spaces.
Both panels made it clear:
Futures must become visible before they can be developed together.
Whether through words, images, or immersive spaces, only when the future can be experienced does a common point of reference for dialogue, understanding, and design emerge. Visions of the future create such spaces: open enough for participation, concrete enough for decisions. This gives them the potential to become a crucial tool for the mobility transition—and a common language for everyone working on the mobility of tomorrow.
