Sustainable Transport and Mobility Policies
Code: 45787Credits: 5
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability | OP | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Oriol Marquet Sarda
- Email :
- oriol.marquet@uab.cat
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites. The course is open to students from all specializations within the master's program. However, a basic familiarity with debates on urban planning, sustainability, urban geography, or public policy is recommended. As the course is taught in English, students must be able to read academic texts and participate in discussions in this language
Objectives
- Distinguish the concepts of mobility and transport, and understand the political nature of decisions regarding infrastructure, public space, and everyday accessibility.
- Analyze how spatial, socioeconomic, and socio-psychological factors condition mobility patterns and modal choice.
- Evaluate the environmental, social, economic, and health consequences of transport systems, with a special focus on spatial justice, urban sustainability, and the unequal distribution of mobility's impacts, risks, and benefits.
- Examine policies and strategies that seek to reduce car dependency and promote more active, inclusive, and sustainable forms of mobility, situating them within debates on ecological transition, urban conflict, and the transformation of city models.
- Understand the factors that explain both the acceptance of and opposition to transformative urban policies, including perceptions of justice, impact, responsibility, and changes in habits.
Learning outcomes
- (CA36) Evaluate the environmental and social impacts of transport systems to support proposals for sustainable mobility management.
- (CA37) Communicate the conclusions on transport and mobility policies to expert and amateur audiences, clearly and unambiguously, adapting the message to the context.
- (CA38) Propose measures to reduce social inequalities in access to and use of transport.
- (KA36) Differentiate the concepts of mobility and transport, as well as the factors that influence them, and their implication in urban sustainability.
- (KA37) Explain the environmental externalities and social consequences of the transport system, including spatial justice, social exclusion in access to mobility, impacts on economic development, and public health and well-being.
- (KA38) Identify emerging technologies and their impact on urban mobility, as well as the acceptance of and opposition to transformative urban policies.
- (SA35) Analyse specific mobility problems to identify strategies to reduce dependence on cars.
- (SA36) Select key actors in the design and implementation of sustainable mobility policies.
Contents
- Introduction: the politics of mobility. Distinction between mobility and transport; everyday mobility; who plans, for whom planning is done, and how mobility problems are defined.
- Spatial determinants of mobility. Density, diversity, design, accessibility, the 15-minute city, proximity environments, transit-oriented development (TOD), and the relationship between land use and modal choice.
- Socioeconomic and socio-psychological determinants. Age, gender, income, household composition, vehicle availability, trip purpose, time, cost, information, habits, symbolic values, and motonormativity.
- Environmental externalities of transport systems. Energy, emissions, fleet renewal, the rebound effect, Jevons paradox, increasing vehicle size, and the limits of technological solutions.
- Social and economic externalities. Accessibility, social exclusion, spatial justice, infrastructure impacts, time poverty, commerce, real estate value, and the relationship between housing, mobility, and inequality.
- Health and road safety impacts. Air pollution, noise, physical activity, the urban heat island effect, accident rates, unequal distribution of risk, and Vision Zero approaches.
- Car dependency and strategies for change. Induced demand, traffic evaporation, traffic calming, public transport, active mobility, tolls/congestion pricing, superblocks, pedestrianization, and the redistribution of road space.
- Future mobilities. Electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, micromobility, MaaS (Mobility as a Service), data governance, privacy, logistics, risks of induced demand, and equity implications.
- Acceptance, opposition, and political conflict. Perceptions of impact and justice, responsibility, values, social norms, public communication, and case studies of transformative urban policies, with a focus on the case of Barcelona.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Readings, preparation for class sessions and completion of assignments | 77 | 3.08 | CA36, CA37, CA38, KA36, KA37, KA38, SA35, SA36 |
| Type: Guided | |||
| Lectures, debates, case analysis and applied classroom exercises | 28 | 1.12 | CA36, CA37, CA38, KA36, KA37, KA38, SA35, SA36 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervision, guidance and feedback on assignments and course activities | 16 | 0.64 | CA36, CA37, CA38, SA35, SA36 |
The methodology combines lectures, discussion seminars, problem-based learning, case studies, applied exercises, and the preparation of short reports. The course emphasizes the connection between theory, empirical evidence, and political conflict: students will work with academic readings, public policy reports, audiovisual materials, local and international examples, and practical exercises such as personal mobility tracking, the representation of activity spaces, and the critical analysis of a mobility policy
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active participation in seminars, debates and classroom activities | 10% | 0 | 0 | CA37, KA36, KA37, KA38, SA36 |
| Assignment 1 | 15% | 0 | 0 | CA36, CA38, KA36, SA35 |
| Assignment 2 | 15% | 0 | 0 | CA36, CA38, KA36, SA35 |
| Written synthesis test I: concepts, theoretical frameworks and determinants of mobility | 30% | 2 | 0.08 | CA36, KA36, KA37, SA35 |
| Written synthesis test II: externalities, transport policies and applied cases | 30% | 2 | 0.08 | CA36, CA38, KA37, KA38, SA35 |
The continuous assessment of the course is based on three main components: two written synthesis tests, two short applied assignments, and active participation in class sessions.
The two written tests together account for 60% of the final grade. The first test, focusing on concepts, theoretical frameworks, and the determinants of mobility, will take place approximately halfway through the course during one of the regular class sessions. The second test, focusing on the analysis of externalities, transport policies, and applied cases, will take place at the end of the course, on the examination date established by the Faculty. Each test accounts for 30% of the final grade.
The two assignments together account for 30% of the final grade. The remaining 10% corresponds to active and documented participation in seminars, debates, and classroom activities. Participation will not be assessed solely on the basis of attendance, but also on informed contributions to discussions, preparation of readings or materials, and the ability to connect the course content with contemporary cases, evidence, and debates.
Reassessment. The reassessment date will be established by the degree programme coordination. Both written synthesis tests can be reassessed. The assignments and active participation cannot be reassessed.
Not assessable. Students will be considered not assessable when they have not submitted assessment evidence representing at least 40% of the final grade.
Copying and plagiarism. If a student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant change in the grade awarded for an assessment activity, that assessment activity will receive a grade of 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. If several irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred cannot be reassessed.
Use of AI. The use of artificial intelligence technologies is permitted in this course as an integral part of the development of assignments, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution by the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated or developed with the support of these technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how they have influenced the working process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in a penalty in the grade awarded for the activity or more serious sanctions in severe cases.
Bibliography
• Banister, D. (2008). The sustainable mobility paradigm. Transport Policy, 15(2), 73-80.
• Cervero, R. (1998). The Transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry. Island Press.
• Cresswell, T. (2010). Towards a politics of mobility. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28(1), 17-31.
• De Witte, A., Hollevoet, J., Dobruszkes, F., Hubert, M., & Macharis, C. (2013). Linking modal choice to motility: A comprehensive review. Transportation Research Part A, 49, 329-341.
• Freudendal-Pedersen, M. (2009). Mobility in Daily Life: Between Freedom and Unfreedom. Ashgate.
• Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for People. Island Press.
• Hickman, R., & Banister, D. (2014). Transport, Climate Change and the City. Routledge.
• Marquet, O., & Miralles-Guasch, C. (2014). Walking short distances. Transportation Research Part A, 70, 210-222.
• Marquet, O., & Miralles-Guasch, C. (2015). The Walkable city and the importance of proximity environments for Barcelona's everyday mobility. Cities, 42, 258-266.
• Marquet, O., & Miralles-Guasch, C. (2015). Neighbourhood vitality and physical activity among the elderly. Social Science & Medicine, 135, 24-30.
• Miner, P., Smith, B. M., Jani, A., McNeill, G., & Gathorne-Hardy, A. (2024). Car harm: A global review of automobility's harm to people and the environment. Journal of Transport Geography, 115, 103817.
• Norton, P. D. (2008). Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. MIT Press.
• Pereira, R. H. M., Schwanen, T., & Banister, D. (2017). Distributive justice and equity in transportation. Transport Reviews, 37(2), 170-191.
• Schuitema, G., Steg, L., & van Kruining, M. (2011). When are transport pricing policies fair and acceptable? Social Justice Research, 24(1), 66-84.
• Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A, 38(2), 207-226.
• Steg, L. (2005). Car use: Lust and must. Instrumental, symbolic and affective motives for car use. Transportation Research Part A, 39(2-3), 147-162.
• Teixeira, J. F., Silva, C., Seisenberger, S., Büttner, B., McCormick, B., Papa, E., & Cao, M. (2024). Classifying 15-minute Cities: A review of worldwide practices. Transportation Research Part A, 189, 104234.
• Walker, I., Tapp, A., & Davis, A. (2023). Motonormativity: How social norms hide a major public health hazard. International Journal of Environment and Health.
• World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. (2022). Walking and cycling: latest evidence to support policy-making and practice.
• Villar-Abeijón, P., Miralles-Guasch, C., & Marquet, O. (2025). Can pedestrianization trigger gentrification? Transportation Research Part D, 142, 104718.
• Villar-Abeijón, P., Miralles-Guasch, C., & Marquet, O. (2026). The effects of pedestrianization on commercial dynamics: a quasi-experimental study in Barcelona. Applied Geography, 189, 103947.
Software
none
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | English | second semester | afternoon |