Sustainable mobility governance in smart cities for urban policy development – a scoping review and conceptual model

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to propose a governance model and key performance indicators on how policymakers can contribute to a more accessible, inclusive and sustainable mobility within and across smart cities to examine sustainable urban mobility grounded on the rational management of public transportation infrastructure.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed desk research methodology grounded on secondary data from existing documents and previous research to develop a sustainable mobility governance model that explores key factors that influence future urban policy development. The collected secondary data was descriptively analyzed to provide initiatives and elements needed to achieve sustainable mobility services in smart cities.FindingsFindings from this study provide evidence on how cities can benefit from the application of data from different sources to provide value-added services to promote integrated and sustainable mobility. Additionally, findings from this study discuss the role of smart mobility for sustainable services and the application for data-driven initiatives toward sustainable smart cities to enhance mobility interconnectivity, accessibility and multimodality. Findings from this study identify technical and non-technical factors that impact the sustainable mobility transition.Practical implicationsPractically, this study advocates for the use of smart mobility and data-driven services in smart cities to improve commuters' behavior aimed at long-term behavior change toward sustainable mobility by creating awareness on the society and supporting policymakers for informed decisions. Implications from this study provide information that supports policymakers and municipalities to implement data-driven mobility services.Social implicationsThis study provides implications toward behavioral change of individuals to adopt a more sustainable mode of travels, increase citizens’ quality of life, improve economic viability of business involved in providing mobility-related services and support decision-making for municipalities and policymakers during urban planning and design by incorporating the sustainability dimension into their present and future developments.Originality/valueThis paper explores how urban transportation can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provides implications for cities to improve accessibility and sustainability of public transportation, while simultaneously promoting the adoption of more environmentally friendly means of mobility within and across cities. Besides, this study provides a detailed discussion focusing on the potential opportunities and challenges faced in urban environment in achieving sustainable mobility. The governance model developed in this study can also be utilized by technology startups and transportation companies to assess the factors that they need to put in place or improve for the provision of sustainable mobility services.

Exploring the Roles, Future Impacts, and Strategic Integration of Artificial Intelligence in the Optimization of Smart City—From Systematic Literature Review to Conceptual Model

“…A Scopus database search revealed more than fifty documents on smart cities with either a conceptual framework or a model between 2015 and 2023. However, only two extant studies considered the relevance of developing conceptual frameworks from the perspective of the literature review [62,63]. In the extant studies, while one concentrated on sustainable mobility governance, the other research focused on the challenges of smart city development.…”

“…In another study [63], the authors proposed a conceptual framework to address barriers confronting government and non-governmental institutions with a pilot survey among Pakistani respondents. Furthermore, in their sustainable mobility governance model [62], the authors proposed selected key performance indicators for sustainable assessment. In contrast to these existing studies, the conceptual model proposed in this study is not channeled to transportation governance and nor does it address selected smart cities challenges in certain parts of the world.…”