Open AccessA novel global urban typology framework for sustainable mobility futures
Author(s) -
Jimi Oke,
Youssef M. Aboutaleb,
Arun Akkinepally,
Carlos Lima Azevedo,
Yafei Han,
P. Christopher Zegras,
Joseph Ferreira,
Moshe BenAkiva
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ab22c7
Subject(s) - typology , scope (computer science) , sustainability , futures contract , urban density , sample (material) , population , environmental economics , urban planning , environmental planning , environmental resource management , economic geography , business , computer science , geography , environmental science , economics , civil engineering , engineering , ecology , chemistry , demography , archaeology , finance , chromatography , sociology , biology , programming language
Urban mobility significantly contributes to global carbon dioxide emissions. Given the rapid expansion and growth in urban areas, cities thus require innovative policies to ensure efficient and sustainable mobility. Urban typologies can serve as a vehicle for understanding dynamics of cities, which exhibit high variability in form, economic output, mobility behavior, among others. Yet, typologies relevant for sustainable urban mobility analyses are few, outdated and not large enough in scope. In this paper, we present a new typologization spanning 331 cities in 124 countries. Our sample represents 40% of the global urban population and contains the most recent data from 2008 to date. Using a factor analytic and agglomerative clustering approach, we identify 9 urban factors and 12 typologies. We discuss the implications of this new framework for researchers and planners and investigate the relationships between mobility and environmental sustainability indicators. Notably, we show an immediate application of the urban typologies to better understanding travel behavior and also describe their usage for detailed large-scale simulation in representative prototype cities for insights into sustainable future mobility policy pathways. Our data and results are publicly available for further exploration and will serve as a foundation for future analyses toward desirable urban and environmental outcomes.