Ranking sustainable urban mobility indicators and their matching transport policies to support liveable city Futures: A MICMAC approach. (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chatziioannou, Ioannis; Nikitas, Alexandros; Tzouras, Panagiotis G.; Bakogiannis, Efthimios; Alvarez-Icaza, Luis; Chias-Becerril, Luis; Karolemeas, Christos; Tsigdinos, Stefanos; Wallgren, Pontus; Rexfelt, Oskar
• Is Part Of: Transportation research interdisciplinary perspectives. Volume 18(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: Sustainable mobility -- Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans -- MICMAC -- Structural analysis -- Transport policy and planning; Transportation -- Periodicals; 388.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2023.100788
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2590-1982

Abstract

Highlights: A Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) is a toolkit for decarbonising city transport. We employ a MICMAC to assess and rank the key Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators (SUMIs). This process involves a narrative literature review and three workshops with 28 elites. Traffic congestion, affordability of public transport, energy efficiency, access and multimodality are the most vital SUMIs. Transit Oriented Development, public and active transport enhancement, stick policies, telecommuting and shared mobility are the most impactful matching practices. Abstract: Understanding, promoting and managing sustainable urban mobility better is very critical in the midst of an unprecedented climate crisis. Identifying, evaluating, benchmarking and prioritising its key indicators is a way to ensure that policy-makers will develop those transport strategies and measures necessary to facilitate a more effective transition to liveable futures. After identifying from the literature and the European Commission (EC) directives the indicators that are underpinning the powerful scheme of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) that each municipality in Europe may implement to elevate the wellbeing of its population, we adopt a Cross Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) approach to assess, contextualise and rank them. Through conducting a qualitative study that involved a narrative literature review and more importantly in-depth discussions with 28 elite participants, each of them with expertise in sustainable development, we are able to designate the Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators (SUMIs) that are the most (and least) impactful. According to our analysis the most powerful indicator is traffic congestion, followed by affordability of public transport for the poorest, energy efficiency, access to mobility service and multimodal integration. This analysis allows us to then match them with the most applicable strategies that may ensure a holistic approach towards supporting in practical terms sustainable mobility in the city level. These are in ranking order: Transit Oriented Development (TOD); public and active transport enhancement; parking policies, vehicle circulation and ownership measures; telecommuting and car-pooling.