Context-Adapted Urban Planning for Rapid Transitioning of Personal Mobility towards Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review

Varvara Nikulina,David Simon,Henrikke Baumann,Henrik Ny

doi:10.3390/su11041007

Varvara Nikulina, David Simon + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041007

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Abstract

Sustainability related challenges in mobility planning have been recognised at the international level, and the urgency for change has been widely discussed among scholars. However, there seems to be no general agreement on the best ways to pursue such change. To seek answers to the question of how to pursue change, this study analysed the development of the broad research fields of mobility, urban planning and transitions, and the overlap of these bodies of literature. Both academic and non-academic literatures were covered. By means of a systematic literature review, as well as bibliometric studies, several prominent research themes that address change from planning and transition perspectives were identified. Moreover, these themes describe different viewpoints and challenges in mobility planning. These include planning and policy for sustainable mobility and accessibility, backcasting and scenario planning, indicators in planning, modes of transport, decision-making, studies of global North and global South, as well as overarching themes of equity, equality and justice, roles of institutions, and co-production of knowledge. Strategies for staying up to date with these fields were also identified. In the literature covered, the temporal dimension in mobility planning was described in four different ways, but little was found about how accelerated transitions towards sustainable mobility can be achieved. Further knowledge gaps were identified in relation to behavioural change, policy development, institutionalisation of planning capacity, and social sustainability in mobility planning. This created an outline for possible future studies.

Highlights

The transport sector significantly contributes to the sustainability challenges of today
The year 2008 was selected due to Banister’s publication “The Sustainable Mobility Paradigm” [30] that became a reference point for many future studies around sustainable mobility, suggesting that conventional planning should be reconsidered based on the sustainability perspective
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Summary

Introduction

The transport sector significantly contributes to the sustainability challenges of today. Newman and Kenworthy [3] have suggested that we are entering a new age of more sustainable mobility that could be called ‘a new golden age of rail’. This could be true, but it is debatable to what extent it will be rail and/or new integrated multimodal solutions that could overtake the private car. Decisions and plans for future development are largely affected by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. The New Urban Agenda serves as a vision for a sustainable future and connects to the SDG11 [5] (see: http://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/). It seems clear that incremental steps in planning are not enough and that a more radical approach is necessary

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