U-Shift is a mobility research lab based at Instituto Superior Técnico, the engineering school of the University of Lisbon, in Lisbon, Portugal. Its stated mission is to address urban mobility and transport problems through academic research, partnership with industry, and applied methods that can be translated into real-world solutions. The lab’s work is explicitly framed around changing travel behaviour and supporting a shift toward more sustainable urban transport.
The group’s research spans several connected areas: walking and cycling, shared mobility and transit, and technology and urban mobility. On its website, U-Shift presents itself as focused on identifying transport problems and testing interventions that can influence how people move through cities. Its researchers study travel behaviour, transport demand, and the interaction between mobility and the built environment, with a particular interest in active modes and autonomy in mobility.
U-Shift’s public-facing activity suggests a strong emphasis on evidence-based urban policy. It publishes media coverage, interviews, and research outputs linked to issues such as cycling safety, public transport use, parking policy, and the regulation of mobility innovation. Among its more visible projects is “Cyclands,” a curated dataset collection on cycling crashes, designed to support objective cycling research by lowering the barrier to data access. Another recurring theme in its work is the use of data tools to understand how streets are being used for transport and leisure, often in the context of projects such as Streets4All.
The lab is led by academic staff from the University of Lisbon ecosystem, including Filipe Moura, an Associate Professor in Transportation Systems. Other researchers featured on the site include Gabriel Valença and Rosa Félix. U-Shift’s geographic focus is primarily Portugal, though its topics and outputs connect to wider European debates on urban mobility.