Feature

Where movement becomes belonging

part of Same same but different: mobility and spatial justice in Tallinn and Bangkok

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Feature

Where movement becomes belonging

Mobility spaces are not just corridors for movement – they are places where social life unfolds.

Shimin Huang, Chloe Pottinger-Glass / Published on 16 March 2026

The Same same but different series explores mobility and spatial justice in Tallinn and Bangkok and is part of SEI’s research program on sustainable transport. This chapter explores how cities infuse their transport and mobility spaces with multifunctionality.

Even when designed for transit, mobility spaces generate interaction, connection and a sense of belonging – or exclusion.

We asked:

What social life emerges in mobility spaces?
Who is welcomed, and who is left out?

Bangkok: street life and the mall-city

Busy intersections become vibrant urban stages filled with street vendors, motorcycle taxis and spontaneous social encounters. Yet this vibrancy reduces pedestrian space and increases navigation challenges.

“Along a narrow street there is a row of street-food stalls. On the other side of the street, many scooters are parked. In the space between, people are walking and scooters are driving past. Above, advertising posters and tangled electrical wires can be seen — Narrow Bangkok streets must fit economic activity, leisure and different modes of transport.

Photo: Johanna Lehtmets / SEI

Outside major parks, a lack of non-commercial “third spaces” limits opportunities for social interaction. Instead, shopping malls integrated into transit systems provide comfortable air-conditioned environments, but reinforce a consumer-oriented urban space that can exclude the poorest residents.

People walk along a pavement of an overpass, surrounded by green plants. The path leads to a Dior store. — Paths above the noise and pollution are reserved for the well-off.

Photo: Johanna Lehtmets / SEI

Tallinn: quiet corridors, multiple roles

Tallinn’s mobility spaces are calmer yet multifunctional. Visual documentation reveals several roles embedded in everyday movement:

Economic: sidewalks and cycling paths support delivery workers and service economies.
Environmental and aesthetic: green tram corridors and landscaped routes cool the city and support pollinators.
Shared habitat: dogs at bus stops and promenades reveal multispecies mobility space.
Social: shared waiting and travel foster subtle social interaction and care.
Informal learning: transit screens teaching Estonian phrases help newcomers practice belonging.
Recreational and play: swings, chess tables and children sledging to school show movement corridors as spaces of joy. In Bangkok, outdoor gym equipment is a common feature of parks.