Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans: a catalyst for transformative urban practices?

Abstract

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) are strategic planning tools to govern the urban mobility system for a better quality of life. However, their capacity in bringing about effective changes is limited, also due to the governance system in which they are embedded. This paper comparatively examines the multilevel governance framework of sustainable urban mobility planning in eight case studies across Europe, considering SUMPs as part of their spatial governance and planning system. First, it analyses the interaction between the urban legal framework and the SUMP. Then, it analyses practices in one case study from the JUST STREETS project. The paper sheds light on the possibility of SUMPs as catalysts for transformative practices contributing to mobility justice, and identifies opportunities for improving their effectiveness in this respect.