New Mobility Services and sustainable urban development
Author: Nikolaos Gavanas
Affiliation: University of Thessaly
Abstract
The transport sector is one of the sectors that has been greatly influenced by the 4th Industrial Revolution through the development of New Mobility Services (NMS). NMS include innovative transport modes, such as autonomous road vehicles, and new concepts for serving mobility needs, such as Mobility as a Service, which are gradually being implemented in cities of Europe and worldwide. As part of the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal, the EU strategy for transportation and mobility sets specific ambitions and targets regarding NMS and their contribution to sustainable urban development. The core documents outlining the relevant EU strategy comprise the “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future” (COM(2020) 789 final) and “The New EU Urban Mobility Framework” (COM(2021) 811 final). In this context, the purpose of the current paper is the comprehensive description of the EU policy priorities for the implementation of NMS, deriving from the synthetic analysis of the information presented in the above-mentioned policy documents. The paper also aims at the discussion of challenges from the perspective of planning for urban mobility in Greek cities, such as the attachment to the private car for daily mobility, the necessity for data exchange and cooperation between stakeholders and the need for a long-term vision for sustainable urban development. Taking into account the overall policy objectives at the EU level and the challenges for pursuing these objectives to achieve the digital and green transition of Greek cities, the paper concludes with the suggestion of planning recommendations to integrate NMS into their urban transport system with a positive impact on their ongoing effort for the “sustainable mobility paradigm” shift. These recommendations mainly refer to the application of contemporary planning approaches, such as participatory planning, interdiscipl nary cooperation and
evidence-based planning, with focus on the issue of NMS implementation at the urban level. The issues discussed in the current paper directly concern planners and policy makers in urban areas of Greece, while they can be appropriately adjusted to the considerations of stakeholders in other cities. They can also provide the background to develop case- specific methodological processes to address the planning needs for the integration of NMS to a particular city.
Keywords: Autonomous road vehicles, City, Mobility as a Service, New Mobility Services, Sustainability
