Mobility Trends before and after the Pandemic Outbreak: Analyzing the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona through the Lens of Equality and Sustainability

Abstract

The spatial arrangement of a metropolis is of utmost importance to carry out daily activities, which are constrained by space and time. Accessibility is not only shaped by the spatial and temporal dimension, but it is also defined by individual characteristics, such as gender, impairments, or socioeconomic characteristics of the citizens living or commuting in this area. This study analyzes mobility trends and patterns in the metropolitan area of Barcelona before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with special emphasis on gender and equality. The study draws on multiple sources of information; however, two main datasets are analyzed: two traditional travel surveys from the transport metropolitan area of Barcelona and two coming from smartphone data. The results show that gender plays a relevant role when analyzing mobility patterns, as already highlighted in other studies, but, after the pandemic outbreak, some population groups were more likely to change their mobility patterns, for example, highly educated population groups and those with higher income. This study also highlights that e-activities may shape new mobility patterns and living conditions for some population segments, but some activities cannot be replaced by IT technologies. For all these reasons, city and transport planning should foster sustainable development policies, which will provide the maximum benefit for society.

Unique times, unequal mobilities: Daily mobility during the de‐escalation of the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The daily movement of women was significantly different from that of men in all types of mobility except for self‐realization. In general, women tended to move less and to stay at home more than men, similar to what has been previously described by Bulteau et al (2022), Mejía‐Dorantes et al (2021) and Politis et al (2021). These decisions were not based on rational logic as the direct risks of the disease were greater for male patients (Peckham et al, 2020).…”

“…They also saw larger decreases in their mobility after school closures (Caselli et al, 2022), and regained more mobility after schools reopened (Bulteau et al, 2022). Further, during periods of lockdown, men took more out‐of‐household trips than women (Bulteau et al, 2022; Mejía‐Dorantes et al, 2021; Politis et al, 2021). Similarly, the effect of NPIs on mobility differed across age groups.…”

Sustainability of Regional Factors on the Gendered Division of Housework in China

“…Therefore, boosting economic development is a priority for social sustainable development. In addition, not only in some of the literature [1, [63][64][65][66], but also in our own work, we have found that regulating social policies to transform gender norms-such as improving women's political participation status, promoting women to enter the core position of society, and correcting the traditional gender norms through concept education, training, propaganda etc.-plays a positive role in gender equality, and benefits the development of social sustainability. Moreover, these research results further indicate that promoting economic development, the governance of the sex ratio imbalance, the improvement of government-provided childcare services, and setting up the elderly care system could also create favorable conditions for gender equality and sustainable social development.…”

Impact on Public Transport

“…It is increasingly recognized that the traditional prioritization of private car mobility in urban transport planning comes with substantial equity effects as car ownership tends to be highest among middle-aged, males, and people with high income. In line with the heightened focus on sustainability issues, equity considerations have been receiving increased attention in transport planning (e.g., Lyons, 2021;Mejía-Dorantes et al, 2021). Expanding public transport is highlighted in Target 11.2 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a primary way of providing safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport for all, in particular those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons (UN, 2015).…”

“…The propensity to continue using public transport has been higher among people in lower social groups in terms of income, employment rate, education, etc. (Almlöf et al, 2021;Hu and Chen, 2021;Mejía-Dorantes et al, 2021;Palm et al, 2021). These effects likely arise from a combination of factors, including a lesser ability to work from home and lower access to private car options (Hasselwander et al, 2021).…”