Local Governance of Sustainable Urban Mobility Transitions: Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusive Action
As climate change intensifies, cities find themselves at a crossroads. Gülfem Cevheribucak highlights how urban areas can become champions of sustainability by rethinking mobility and governance. What changes are needed to make this vision a reality?
Multilevel climate change governance necessitates public and private actors to take action to reduce GHG emissions. Countries demonstrate their commitment to the objectives of the Paris Agreement through nationally determined contributions. Many developed countries in the Global North acknowledge their greater responsibility and capability to reduce their emissions. At the regional scale, the European Union with its Green Deal agenda is leading action to promote net-zero transitions in European member states by 2050.
To deliver on these pledges, cities emerge as significant actors at the local level.
In the face of escalating climate challenges, cities worldwide are leading climate action by formulating and implementing local action plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This is especially important as cities are responsible for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. Consequently, local authorities are mobilising their resources to contribute to the global objective of reducing global temperature rise to 1.5 °C as stated in the Paris Agreement. Among the frontrunners in this movement are major European cities such as London, Paris, Milan, and Barcelona. These urban powerhouses have adopted ambitious climate action plans that address pressing challenges of climate action in different policy areas from energy to waste management.
Sustainable Urban Mobility: Balancing Emissions Reduction and Livability
One sector that stands out as particularly difficult to decarbonise is transport.
Urban transport systems that rely on fossil fuels make up the majority of a city’s emissions. The heavy reliance on fossil fuels for road transport poses a significant hurdle in sustainability. In response, cities are increasingly turning to sustainable urban mobility as an alternative to conventional transport planning. This approach combines emission reduction targets with the objectives of enhancing human well-being and liveability in cities.
Cities are not only key in emission reduction but are also greatly impacted by climate change effects. More frequent and extreme weather events, sea level rise, flood risks, heat waves, increased air pollution, and socioeconomic inequalities are already occurring worldwide. The 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report highlights the vulnerability of cities, urban populations, and their infrastructure to climate change-related risks. In addition to their key role in cutting emission reductions, cities are being greatly impacted by the effects of climate change. More frequent and extreme weather events, sea level rise and flood risks, heatwaves, increased air pollution and socioeconomic inequalities are some of the consequences of climate change that are already taking place around the world. According to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report cities, urban populations, and their infrastructure are vulnerable to great risks in the face of climate change-related disasters.
From Policy to Practice: How Cities Drive Sustainable Mobility
Local authorities can accelerate sectoral sustainability transitions in their administrative areas and incorporate local needs into their action plans. They can foster urban transformation and community-based sustainable urban mobility transitions with important policy responsibilities in land use, urban design, and transport planning. For example, integrated land use, housing, and transport planning can facilitate the use of different modes of urban transport (cycling, walking, e-mobility, public transport) and promote sustainable urban development in line with projected population increases.
Nevertheless, as opposed to their critical role, local authorities are often constrained in terms of capacity. Local capacity indicates the existence of fiscal resources, technical staff, and know-how to implement policies. Local authorities in most countries don’t obtain extensive local competencies in policymaking which translates into political, financial, and administrative limitations.
The barriers to sustainable urban mobility transitions can be overcome through local governance. Local authorities have a critical role in fostering bottom-up action which complements global, national, and regional scale action. Trans-local networks such as the EU Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities, and NetZeroCities can provide spaces to exchange best practices and foster partnerships. Addressing the intertwined problems associated with the existing urban mobility systems action requires a comprehensive approach to transform how we live and plan our cities. In highly populated and sprawled-out cities, car dependence and congestion have become the new norm.
To achieve the objectives of sustainable urban mobility transitions, the mobility needs of different user groups such as the elderly, children, women and people that are socioeconomically disadvantaged should be considered during different stages of policymaking. This means engaging with citizens, systematically collecting local data, and monitoring progress with indicators that measure the safety and accessibility of urban mobility (such as Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans).
A Path to Urban Resilience and Emission Reduction
Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to achieve the adaptation and mitigation objectives, which will effectively reduce emissions and advance urban resilience. Sustainable urban mobility transitions put humans at the centre of societal and technical transitions addressing SDGs related to health, clean energy, and sustainable communities. Given the policymaking restrictions of local authorities and limited local capacity, there is a need for a local governance model that builds on polycentric action, cross-sectoral collaboration, and participatory mechanisms. As noted in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, overcoming barriers to urban climate adaptation requires addressing historical roots in legislative and political frameworks through coordinated action among various stakeholders.
