Strategies for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Analysis of Best Practices

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the approved strategies for sustainable mobility (sustainable transport) in the world’s leading cities. It is shown that most strategic documents contain similar principles and goals that determine the transformation vectors for cities. The fundamental principles include hierarchy of priorities (not only financial, but also in terms of equitable distribution of urban space, starting from pedestrian and bicycle mobility and public transport and ending with parking); increasing ecomobility, involving the “80:20” principle (fixing the goal of bringing the share of sustainable modes of mobility to 80% and decreasing the share of cars to 20% by 2030); “healthy streets, healthy people” and “complete streets” (reformatting car-oriented streets into bicycle and pedestrian spaces, administrative restrictions for cars, internalization of externalities); development of environmentally friendly high-speed rail public transport and the creation of preferential access rights for public transport; Vision Zero (zero tolerance for road accidents); compactness, polycentricity, and transit-oriented development; smart transport and multimodality; consideration of the transport system as one of the integral parts of the city’s stability (holistic view), etc. It is determined that the analyzed mobility strategies organically integrate into the general trajectory of sustainable long-term development and promotion of real human wellbeing. Most strategies focus on personal experience of their beneficiaries, which lies at the heart of any reform (people-centered approach). An additional benefit resulting from the implementation of sustainable mobility strategies is lower density and safer distancing within cities, which is highly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reduced freight prices and development of a more just and secure city environment.