đź’Ż. Shared mobility and cycling: the experience of Cascais w/ VP Miguel Pinto Luz

Productized
4 min readMay 13, 2022

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In this episode, André was talking with Miguel Pinto Luz. Miguel is the current Deputy Mayor of Cascais, a municipality west of Lisbon with over 200 thousand inhabitants. Since 2005 he has held various public positions, both in central government as Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications during Portugal’s XX Constitutional Government, and in his hometown of Cascais.

Miguel holds an MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior TĂ©cnico from Lisbon and is currently teaching at the Nova School of Business and Economics. Miguel also has an MBA from AESE / IESE Business School (University of Navarra) and is currently developing a PhD in Leadership at the Rotterdam School of Management. His research interests include public service motivation, public servant leadership and public sector governance.

Miguel is a resident columnist in one of the largest Portuguese daily newspapers. And every week he signs a rubric on a national radio station, TSF, called NĂŁo Alinhados (Non-Aligned). He is frequently invited to comment on the main national media and national television networks. He has been developing a new vision for the future of cities and with successful cases already implemented in Cascais. He is internationally recognized for this work, being invited as a keynote speaker around the world on the topic of Smart Cities and the future of democracy.

Main topics covered:

🤝🏼 What is the image of the politician?

🚌 Interaction of Cascais citizens with Mobi Cascais

🏖 Why is Cascais a good place for digital nomads?

Time notes:

Introduction of the guest [1:00]

What was Miguel's first computer and did he play Sim City? [3:00]

It was not a dream. It was somehow embedded in my DNA.

Why did Miguel decide to dedicate his life to public service [6:40]

There’s something within myself that keeps telling me that I need to give something back to society.

What is the most stressful about Miguel’s work [10:00]

At the end of the day [as a politician], you have to be aware that it’s impossible to solve all the issues.

What is the image of the politician? [12:20]

The clearest picture that I have as a politician is to see myself as a curator.

What were Miguel’s top priorities for the last two terms [14:10]

Democratic societies need mobility.

The most important factor of success is school.

What does the day of the busy VP of Cascais look like? [19:30]

Sometimes it starts at 5 or 6 in the morning and ends at 1 AM the next morning. It’s quite intensive, but I’m completely fulfilled with joy.

Book by Miguel Pinto Luz and examples from the Netherlands[25:50]

The Netherlands only have public schools.

What led Miguel to believe in politics [31:50]

Engineering background and politics [33:30]

Being a good politician is being a good curator. To be a good curator you need good common sense and sensibility.

Competition between cities and talents. Why is Cascais a good place for digital nomads? [38:00]

Which competencies should cities have? [41:20]

How is the VP of Cascais using technology to improve people’s lives [47:00]

History about Cascais being a smart city in the XVI century [51:30]

What new technology would Miguel learn if he had 3 months [53:40]

RAPTOR programme on mobility [55:00]

Interaction of Cascais citizens with Mobi Cascais [1:02:00]

Bike-sharing system process in Cascais [1:03:00]

We must work on the demand side. Otherwise, these projects will fail.

Cascais and Metropolitan Area of Lisbon [1:07:00]

Managing the introduction of new mobility technology [1:10:00]

Fix Cascais app. What’s Miguel’s strategy to improve the digital ecosystem of the city? [1:15:30]

Is it the time for Cascais to have the CPO? [1:18:30]

What would Miguel change in government policy on the national level if he had a superpower to do so? [1:24:00]

Words of advice for younger self [1:24:30]

Recommendations in Cascais — Top of Pedra Amarela [1:26:30]

PRODUCTION

This podcast was hosted by André Marquet, with research done by Evelina Bogdiun and sound edited by Miguel Sousa.

The Productized Podcast is a series of interviews with product innovators, successful makers, and entrepreneurs. We hope to inspire the listeners of this show to be courageous and productize!

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