Digital mobility or digital exclusion? Participatory scenario building for digitally inclusive transport planning in Barcelona

Despite the widespread digitalisation of services, approximately 15% of residents in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area still lack the skills and confidence to use digital mobility services, limiting their access to transport and risking new forms of structural exclusion, even when transport infrastructure is available. This study explores how digitally vulnerable groups are considered in metropolitan transport planning by applying a participatory scenario building process involving 21 key stakeholders from the Barcelona Metropolitan Area mobility ecosystem. The study uses three future scenarios: “Continuity”, a business-as-usual continuation of current digitalisation trends; “Lost Opportunity”, a market-driven future in which innovation accelerates but equity is neglected; and “World of Contradictions”, in which ambitious digital projects coexist with persistent access and skills gaps, as heuristic devices to examine how they can inform policies and strategies for digitally inclusive mobility. The findings suggest that incorporating diverse stakeholder input early in decision-making helps build shared understanding of complex challenges such as the digital divide in mobility. While the process fostered dialogue, mutual learning, and a sense of community among participants, it generated no formal agreements, follow-up activities, or binding commitments, reflecting both the research‑oriented framing of the exercise and fragmented local competences. The study highlights the need to embed participatory foresight within formal governance cycles if scenario insights are to inform implementation and monitoring, rather than remaining at the level of one‑off workshops. Finally, it proposes policy recommendations and strategies derived from the participatory process, providing guidance for designing policies that promote more inclusive and sustainable mobility.