Sustainable Mobility Policies Research Articles

“It’s just politics”: an exploration of people’s frames of the politics of mobility in Germany and their consequences

BackgroundThe decarbonization of the mobility sector is one of the main challenges in the context of climate mitigation. In Germany, as in many other countries, policy measures aiming to make the mobility system greener frequently fail to produce substantial results, not least due to a lack of support by large sections of the general public. Policy measures directed at reducing car traffic in particular are often met with indifference and resistance. The question thus arises: what basis do citizens use to form their (often negative) opinions about sustainable mobility policies? As a conceptual starting point for our empirical analysis, we draw on the frame concept and focus on people’s frames of the politics of mobility. With “politics of mobility” we refer to everything people could consider as political with regard to mobility. We understand frames as culturally mediated patterns of interpretation that ultimately motivate and guide actions.ResultsBased on interviews and focus group data gathered in the region of the city of Stuttgart (Germany), we identify two dominant frames as well as combinations of these frames by which people make sense of the activities of political actors in the field of mobility. In one frame, which we labeled “politics-as-actor”, mobility politics are interpreted with reference to politics as some kind of monolithic abstract actor. In the other, which we labeled as “politics-as-staged-process”, mobility politics are portrayed as an interest-driven, opaque process that only purport to being democratic.ConclusionsIn terms of policy recommendations, we use our findings to derive suggestions for how to increase support for green mobility policies: transparent implementation of policy measures, pragmatic policy styles and the involvement of intermediaries.

Evaluating Attitudes and Preferences towards Walking in Two European Cities

Evaluating Attitudes and Preferences towards Walking in Two European Cities

Contouring the mobile risk society

ABSTRACT The contours of the “mobile risk society” are becoming increasingly visible. Contemporary discourses on climate change have gained in intensity and represent a significant semantic shift. The modern idea of the controllability and domestication of natural processes and the anthropogenic impacts of modern lifestyles, consumption and production patterns are being deconstructed and their side effects can be experienced on a daily basis. Multiple warnings seem to lack the impact necessary to stop the dystopian consequences of human activities in the Anthropocene. The “climate crisis” is pushing societies to their limits and revealing the limits of the problemsolving capacities of national and transnational institutions. Against this background, social science research on mobility is challenged in the same way as all other sciences. Without being able to provide comprehensive answers, it has certainly contributed to analyzing, understanding and sometimes solving some of the most pressing and risky problems in a turbulent world. The article takes these observations as a starting point to reflect on some aspects of the risky nature of mobilities and the consequences for the sustainability of lifestyles based on cultures of multiple mobilities. It elaborates on the conceptual differences between linear and reflexive modernization and on what it means to find ways of acting under conditions of ambivalence, uncertainty and insecurity. It also focuses on aspects of sustainable mobility policies and the future of communities and social integration. The article concludes with some conceptual considerations and an outlook on the future of mobilities in the age of climate change.

IDENTIFICATION OF MOBILITY STRATEGIES FOR SMALL AND URBANIZED BRAZILIAN MUNICIPALITIES

Due to intense urbanization and inadequate planning, various mobility problems have emerged in small Brazilian municipalities. To reverse this scenario, it is necessary to adopt sustainable mobility policies. Thus, this article aims to identify mobility strategies for small and urbanized Brazilian municipalities. Firstly, based on the literature, twenty strategies were identified. Then, experts and managers evaluated these strategies to identify the most suitable ones for small municipalities. Next, the data was analyzed to measure the reliability of the responses, the correlation, and the ranking of the strategies. Finally, the most appropriate strategies were identified using Categorical Principal Component Analysis. The results indicated that the most relevant strategies to be implemented in small Brazilian municipalities are related to policy issues, promoting active transportation, and encouraging public transportation. The findings can improve public policies and transportation planning, with implications for quality of life and sustainable development in small Brazilian municipalities.

Exploring the modal integration of bike-sharing and urban rail transit: Multi-Criteria Evaluation in GIS for the city of Salvador (Bahia – Brazil)

Bike-sharing systems (BSS) have become increasingly popular in developing countries. However, few papers have investigated their use in these socioeconomic contexts, mainly as first/last mile connections to urban rail transit. Thus, this paper investigates the potential of implementing and operating BSS in urban rail transit from a developing country to propose strategies and policies for sustainable mobility. The methodology is based on Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) in Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify the suitability of urban rail stations for integration with BSS. Seven key factors were considered: sex, age, travel purposes, public security, land use, terrain slope, and qualification of the road network for cycling. It already delineates the potential users upon adopting the BSS integrated with urban rail transit. Additionally, each urban rail station is individually analyzed, considering the influence of predominant demand and environmental factors in its surroundings.

Effects of multilevel governance on the design and implementation of sustainable mobility plans

Objectives: The polycentric nature of multilevel governance structures with multiple actors interacting at different levels can facilitate sustainability transitions. This study aims to explore the impact of multilevel governance on the design and implementation of sustainable urban mobility plans within the two-tiered government structure of Sweden. Methodology: The study is based on qualitative review of the academic literature, secondary sources including review of national policy documents and empirical insights drawn from the case study of Umeå, a medium-sized Swedish city which takes part in several national, local, and transnational initiatives to accelerate sustainability transitions. The empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with policy experts, policymakers, transport, and urban planners who are responsible for formulation and implementation of transport policies within national and local institutions. Results: The multilevel governance of transport and sustainable urban mobility policies in Sweden produces several positive effects for design and implementation of policies. These include clear division of responsibilities among public authorities at national, regional, and local government level which helps to overcome the problems such as lack of accountability and responsibility. Conclusions: Multilevel governance of sustainable urban mobility policies in Sweden enables local authorities to have access additional resources and knowledge exchange through networks consisting of various public and private actors.

Sustainable mobility policies at Universities: What after the pandemic?

Universities are increasingly paying attention to the topic of sustainability, pursuing since many years mobility management policies to reduce commuting by private transport modes in favour of public and active ones. The ongoing covid-19 pandemic heavily jeopardised many aspects of everyday life, including transport behaviour: this paper aims to understand how mobility management policies in universities can be reshaped by targeting different groups of users, considering the case study of Politecnico di Milano, one of the largest universities in Italy. Two surveys were conducted among its staff and students: before the pandemic (June 2019 – 10 000 answers) and during the pandemic (July 2020 – 7600 answers). Three logit models, two multinomial and one binomial, are built to investigate the characteristics of users with respect to actual and stated mobility habits, considering a set of variables common to both surveys. The designed models aim to identify the factors that motivate individuals to switch between different modes of transportation, in the pre-pandemic and during-pandemic situation. From these results, several conclusions to inform mobility management policies in the post-pandemic period are drawn: notably, the distance at which both actual car usage and willingness to use is higher shows a parabolic trend, suggesting policies should be targeted differently according to trip and users’ characteristics.

Scenarios for a National Household Travel Survey in the Province of Quebec

In 2018, the Quebec government adopted a national Sustainable Mobility Policy requiring that a national travel survey be implemented to allow monitoring key travel indicators over time at the Quebec-wide level. This paper presents the main findings of a research project aiming to propose scenarios for the implementation of a national survey in Quebec. It presents the main findings from the literature and the examination of various national surveys implemented across the world, presents their main features, discussed the challenges faced by existing regional surveys of the target area and formulates scenarios able to meet the expectations for strategic monitoring of nationwide strategies.

Pursuing cycling equity? A mixed-methods analysis of cycling plans in European cities

Although equity issues are emphasised in sustainable mobility policy worldwide, there is evidence that cycling planning often prioritises advantaged areas and central zones of cities. To overcome such an inequitable scenario, scholars have called for greater attention towards disadvantaged representatives within the planning and decision-making processes.This study contributes to this debate by exploring the equity impacts of cycling plans and infrastructure allocation in three European cities using a mixed-methods approach. First, through GIS and statistical analysis, we quantitively assessed the equity gap of each cycling plan, measuring the distribution of infrastructure and accessibility gains across socio-economic advantaged and disadvantaged groups. In addition, this study performed an inductive content analysis of each plan to investigate to what extent equity issues are addressed and prioritised in planning practice.The main results suggest the most equitable scenario in a city with a long tradition of cycling planning, which has been providing denser cycling infrastructure to connect important activities and neighbourhoods within central zones and outskirts. Conversely, the implementation of the cycling plan in central areas is likely to overlook disadvantaged socio-economic zones. Despite increasing attention towards accessibility, social inclusion and safety issues within the planning guidelines, findings suggest that the evaluated plans did not prioritise or appraise equity in cycling planning practice.

Understanding the Policy Integration Challenges of Sustainable Urban Mobility in the Context of Rapid Decarbonisation

AbstractGiven the state of the climate emergency, European Union (EU) cities must find innovative ways to achieve a sustainable and decarbonised urban mobility trajectory. This requires integrated and cross-sectoral approaches that enable all sectors influencing such mobility to contribute to this goal. Building on the concept of the climate-connected city and drawing on an extensive empirical investigation of two Dutch cities (Rotterdam and Maastricht), this study reflects on how decarbonisation targets are integrated with other sustainability objectives across all policies and levels involved in reconfiguring mobility towards an environmentally sustainable model. The study finds that spatial development tools and processes, in combination with regulatory instruments imposing strict limits on emissions, can strengthen cross-sectoral support for the behavioural changes needed to decarbonise urban mobility. However, this integrative dynamic may be countered by local economic actors and by national and EU economic and fiscal instruments, whose narrow focus on reducing vehicle emissions and expanding road capacity forces cities to dilute their sustainable mobility policies. This suggests that in order to accelerate the decarbonisation of urban mobility, these instruments should be aligned with a broader set of sustainability goals and solutions and be combined with greater attention being given to the urban dimension into national and European transport policies.

Using system dynamics to understand long-term impact of new mobility services and sustainable mobility policies: an analysis pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABSTRACT Sustainable transport policies are fundamental to adapt transport capacity to existing and future travel demand. In this context, this study aims to develop a System Dynamics (SD), to verify the effects of these policies, focusing on congestion and air pollution. Combined with the SD, the discrete choice utility approach was used to predict the modal share in different policy spaces. In addition, it is carried out a case study in Rio de Janeiro in two realities: pre- and post-pandemic. The results show how mitigation policies can reduce transport externalities (congestion and pollution). The encouragement of high-capacity public transport and car ownership control are the best measures, obtaining high simulation scores. The post-pandemic scenario shows that reducing travel demand is the key to achieving better results. All scores obtained in this scenario are better than in pre-pandemic scenario. Finally, results point out that ride-hailing should be used in a conscious way.

Towards sustainable passenger transport: Carbon emission reduction scenarios for a medium-sized city

The sustainability of transportation systems is frequently linked to human preferences, hence it is pertinent to align quotidian commuting choices with sustainable development goals. The main goal of the present research was to simulate eight scenarios designed to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of passenger transport in a Colombian medium-sized city, taking into account the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of public and private vehicles, obtained by means of Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). In this work we compared the environmental efficiency of the scenarios in order to make a contribution to the scientific discussion on sustainable mobility policies. Measures such as reducing the number of the most polluting vehicles, optimising the modal shares of public and private transportation systems, integrating electric vehicles, increasing the use of bicycles, and reducing mobility, have been tested. The results show that the current annual emissions from passenger transport in the selected city (263.98 kt CO2-eq) could be decreased by up to 64.28% by implementing a 50% reduction in individual Trips per Day (TpD) and distances travelled by private and public vehicles. In addition, increasing the public bus fleet by 50% could yield a 56.92% reduction in the carbon dioxide released, while using an average occupancy of 30 passengers in buses could decrease the total emissions by 25.73%. Augmenting the occupancy ratio of private vehicles was shown to yield a 22.71% reduction in carbon dioxide released. Also, increasing the electric vehicle fleets by 50% can produce carbon emission reductions of 17.96% for the current energy mix and 20.08% for a 100% renewable energy mix; while boosting the use of bicycles and increasing the diesel car fleet yielded reductions of 9.24% and 5.06%, respectively. This article concludes that managing mobility and restricting commuting could be the most sustainable measure for life-cycle carbon emission reduction.

Enhancing urban public space through appropriate sustainable mobility policies. A multi-criteria analysis approach

Decision-making in the context of urban sustainability is a challenging problem for policy-makers, given its complex nature, demanding the compromise between different and, often, conflicting social, economic and environmental criteria. This multi-factor problem needs to be addressed in a holistic way, on the basis of an integrated transport and urban planning approach, through ad hoc planning for each different area. Land use and mobility policies are characterized by a high level of interaction, a fact that needs to be taken into account in urban and transport planning within the framework of sustainability. Effective land use policies may have a positive impact on sustainable mobility and vice versa: effective mobility policies may have a positive impact on sustainable land use in urban areas. Aiming at developing and testing via a case study a decision-support tool for policy-makers and decision-analysts to promote sustainable urban and transport planning, the application of two hybrid multi-criteria analysis models is proposed in this research work, in order to rank land use and transportation policies in the framework of urban sustainability, especially in terms of public space. The center of Thessaloniki (Greece), an urban area suffering from sustainable mobility and public space problems, is selected as a case study.

Effects of the Covid-19 travel restrictions on metropolises mobility: empirical evidence from the Tricity metropolis (Poland)

This paper aims to assess changes in mobility and modal shift caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions among the residents of Gdańsk Bay Metropolis (Poland). Measurement’s moments were assumed in periods differing in the level of restrictions. The computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) was carried out in November and December 2020. The results did not confirm the expected modal shift. However, significant changes in the number of trips between periods were observed. Restrictions in the first period of the pandemic resulted in a greater decrease in mobility than the restrictions at the end of the year. Moreover, significant associations were found between transport behaviour and place of residence. Nevertheless, possible negative changes in the modal split after the pandemic ends should be counteracted by improving the quality of public transport services. As the most important attributes of public transport attracting passengers after the pandemic respondents recognized: high frequency of vehicles, low cost of travel, not overcrowded vehicles. However, some residents declared they will not use public transport regardless of service improvements. Consequently, to meet the objectives of sustainable mobility policy, it can be necessary to increase the share in the modal split of other sustainable modes of travel.

Scooter Stories: User and Non-User Experiences of a Shared E-Scooter Trial

E-scooters are the fastest-growing form of micro-mobility, riding a wave of popularity in recent years; in may cities, they have sparked something akin to an urban personal mobility revolution. Despite their popularity, e-scooters raise several challenges for policymakers and transport providers, and are a divisive mode on the streets. Reports of conflict and tension around e-scooters' safety are common. In addition, there are questions about what mode trips e-scooters are substituting. However, to date there remain few academic studies into user and non-user experiences. This study focused on a UK e-scooter trial, using a mixed methods approach to collect data from 222 participants. The focus of this paper's analysis is on participants' qualitative "scooter stories", supported by quantitative data that provides broader insight into the scooters' use and demographic patterns. We find that on the positive side, e-scooters are useful, affordable, enjoyable and flexible; they provide a viable alternative to some urban car trips and can be linked to active travel. However, whist scooters are sometimes replacing car trips, they are more often substituting walking or cycling, a challenging finding from a health and sustainability perspective. E-scooters exacerbate conflicts between users of urban space: we explore legality, safety of riders and non-riders, impacts on pavement and road space, intoxicated riding, and more. We present our findings in the context of sustainable urban mobility policy, making recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders seeking to mitigate the impacts of e-scooters, and harness the sustainable mobility benefits of this popular new mode.

Best practices in greening transportation at Wageningen University & Research

Key words for the sustainable mobility policy of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) are: safe, healthy, sustainable, accessible, emission reduction and future-focused. WUR mobility policy has three key elements, in the following order of importance: 1) less travel, 2) transition to sustainable modes of transport, and 3) efficient, clean transport. The objective is to further decrease our annual carbon emissions by at least 2%. WUR’s long-term mobility policy is outlined in the Mobility Plan 2030. Measures are focused on encouraging cycling and use of public transport, and discouraging use of fossil fuels for business travel and commuting. Alternatives to air travel and sustainable transport options are facilitated. Examples of promoting sustainable transport are offering e-bike test drives for employees and the introduction of an app for business trips with electric cars, bicycles and public transport. A stricter policy on business travel by train within Europe was implemented, with a Travel Check for staff to find alternatives for air travel. In addition, due to the corona pandemic, WUR drew up a policy on remote working and aims to maximise sustainability benefits of remote work.Keyword: Sustainable transport, sustainable mobility, low-emission vehicles, remote working

Methodologies to evaluate the quality of pedestrian infrastructure on the University campus: Systematic Review

Walking is understood as a sustainable and economical means of transport, it promotes benefits such as improving people's health, but this option is chosen especially when adequate conditions are offered. As it contributes to the adoption of a sustainable urban mobility policy, walking should be encouraged in internal displacements carried out by users of higher education institutions. To support the analysis of mobility in this type of institution, this paper sought to identify the main methods and techniques that can be used to evaluate the quality of walking spaces, internal and external, to University campuses, through a systematic review of literature. For this, Scopus, MDPI, ScienceDirect and Sage Journals platforms were adopted to screen articles published between 2005 and 2021, with the following keywords “walkability, campuses, university” and “pedestrian, “campuses, university”. The analysis of 26 papers, which were part of the sample size, made it possible to identify: i) objective, ii) methodology and iii) technique used among the researchers, and showed that predominantly the research carried out in these environments incorporates not only the spaces within the campus, but its surroundings, or users' access to the campus. Thus, several aspects associated with walkability are evaluated, such as the existing infrastructure itself, the most used mode of transport in displacements within the campus, in addition to some scenario in a certain route carried out by the user.

Accessibility and sustainable mobility transitions in Africa: Insights from Freetown

In the context of still-low-but-rising levels of motorization and economic growth, increasing social and spatial inequalities, and growing concerns about air pollution and climate change, the formulation and implementation of policies, practices and partnerships that can support an accelerated implementation of sustainable mobility policies is an urgent concern for rapidly developing cities. This paper seeks to contribute to reframing some of the knowledge and methodologies produced in and about cities of Sub-Saharan Africa, through a comprehensive assessment of mobility patterns and accessibility needs within a larger debate about mobility transitions and sustainable development. By deploying a mixed-methods approach that builds upon case-study focus groups and city-wide accessibility and mobility analysis in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, the paper maps travel patterns and their links with structural factors such as urban form, poverty, informality and social identities at the macro, meso and micro levels. The paper also presents evidence from a variety of methods that illustrate the significance of accessibility-centred information and analysis for establishing policy priorities for improving urban mobility and accessibility in the local, African and global contexts.

Machine Learning and Sustainable Mobility: The Case of the University of Foggia (Italy)

Thanks to the development of increasingly sophisticated machine-learning techniques, it is possible to improve predictions of a particular phenomenon. In this paper, after analyzing data relating to the mobility habits of University of Foggia (UniFG) community members, we apply logistic regression and cross validation to determine the information that is missing in the dataset (so-called imputation process). Our goal is to make it possible to obtain the missing information that can be useful for calculating sustainability indicators and that allow the UniFG Rectorate to improve its sustainable mobility policies by encouraging methods that are as appropriate as possible to the users’ needs.

A U-Turn to the Future: Sustainable Urban Mobility since 1850 ed. by Martin Emanuel et al. (review).

Reviewed by: A U-Turn to the Future: Sustainable Urban Mobility since 1850 ed. by Martin Emanuel et al. Hans-Liudger Dienel (bio) A U-Turn to the Future: Sustainable Urban Mobility since 1850 by Martin Emanuel, Frank Schipper, and Ruth Oldenziel. New York: Berghahn, 2020. Pp. 340. This anthology aims at nothing less than summing up many years of research on the history of sustainable urban mobility since 1850, within the T2M (International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility) and ToE (Tensions of Europe Network). It makes use of historical studies on the actual transformation toward more sustainable urban mobilities, thus breathing the spirit of the "Eindhoven School" into retrospective technology assessment (Johan Schot). The collected volume is divided into four sections, each with three chapters. A total of eighteen authors contribute, and the editors are involved in half of the chapters. Section 1 analyzes why and how urban and transport planning became a profession and academic discipline in Western Europe and the United States, driven by associations, which pushed imaginaries of individual motorized transport systems. They became dominant against narratives of [End Page 872] public transport systems and individual nonmotorized transport like walking and cycling in the twentieth century. This section does not acknowledge the strong visions for public transport systems in the late nineteenth century. It does show that throughout the twentieth century, a lively minority in Western cities continued to favor public transport and an urban atmosphere based on walking and cycling. City governments were often more positive about walking and cycling than transport experts. Swiss cities with a direct democracy culture kept their streetcars to ensure a majority at the ballot box. Thus, the section implicitly advocates more power for elected city governments. Section 2 looks at the history of twentieth-century sustainable urban mobility and presents fascinating case studies of how pedestrians and cyclists managed to scramble through urban transport infrastructures that gave them increasingly less room to maneuver. All three chapters underline that official transport statistics throughout the twentieth century more or less ignored nonmotorized urban transport. The authors recommend using other sources, like diaries and street photos, to verify the quantity and quality of cycling and walking in cities. Section 3 goes one step further and analyzes where and how urban public transport, walking, and cycling prevailed. Socialist cities maintained robust public transport because they could not afford the imaginaries of the West, while their transport planners had already switched to Western models of urban mobility. Frank Schipper interprets the strong movement toward urban parks as what Elizabeth Shove calls "pockets of persistence," though the park movement fits nicely into the separation of urban functions in a Charter-of-Athens city. Martin Emanuel demonstrates through a case study in Stockholm how the urban scenario combining pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport survived on many European cities' main roads, unlike in North America's urban sprawl. Section 4 harvests recommendations for future history projects and urban policies. It calls for new data collection of sustainable urban mobilities, including sources other than official statistics. Mimi Sheller highlights that a sustainable mobility policy can enlarge the inequality between rich and poor in the city. She suggests even more radical concepts to overcome this struggle for mobility justice. So far, mainly middle-class actors support her vision. The book breathes the social movement spirit of sustainable urban mobilities and sees history as an ally to support these movements. A UTurn to the Future examines individual mobility and competing imaginaries of driving, cycling, and walking, not focusing on public transport. It was published just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years on, the book's strong push toward further individualization of transport makes even more sense. Our cities need new infrastructures for individual [End Page 873] sustainable urban mobilities. I agree that this exploration of the past 170 years of cultural policies for sustainable urban mobilities serves as a good resource for the U-turn. Hans-Liudger Dienel Hans-Liudger Dienel is professor in Work, Technology, and Participation at Berlin University of Technology, where he chairs the Sustainable Mobility Management MBA program. Dienel was president of T2M (2008–14) and is editor...