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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 79927

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tommi Inkinen

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Guest Editor

Centre for Maritime Studies, Brahea Centre, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland
Interests: economic geography; innovation systems; urban technology; maritime studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Tan Yigitcanlar

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Guest Editor

School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Interests: smart technologies, communities, cities and urbanism; knowledge-based development of cities and innovation districts; sustainable and resilient cities; communities and urban ecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mark Wilson

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Guest Editor

School of Planning, Design and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Interests: urban events; urban planning; planning geography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue (SI) aims to increase understanding of the impacts and effects of mobility and transport in sustainability. In particular, we are seeking papers focused on the challenges and obstacles on a system-level decision making of clean mobility and indirect effects caused by these changes. The proposed papers should have an international context and they should contribute cutting-edge studies in the relevant fields. These include but are not limited to sustainability, transport geography, mobility studies, transport research, and social scientific technology studies. The SI welcomes both theoretical as well as empirical papers on these topics. In addition, public sector analysis and transport planning papers are most welcome. The articles should be targeted to the academic community as well as to practitioners, such as developers, planners, and officers in order to increase understanding of the dynamics of sustainable mobility and transport.

The identified broad research themes may be addressed through potent case studies or international comparisons. The SI explores academic, conceptual, methodological, or application-based research work conducted across the globe, with a strong connection to technological development and/or the analysis of mobility/transportation projects.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

* Integration of spatial analysis and sustainability in transport and mobility

* Regional and urban case studies of transport

* Epistemological considerations for transferable information in mobility

* Economics of transport and mobility

* Cities as hubs of connectivity: ports, terminals, hot-spots

* Urban-rural dichotomies and digitalization

* Experimental analyses of eco-efficient transport

* Comparative studies of transport emissions

* Transport geography

* Local lessons of smart mobility

* Policy studies of mobility and transport

* Social aspects of movement with respect to digitalization

Prof. Dr. Tommi Inkinen
Prof. Tan Yigitcanlar
Prof. Mark Wilson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Mobility
Transport
Environment
Clean Tech
Urban and Regional Planning

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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72 pages, 27163 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deep Journalism and DeepJournal V1.0: A Data-Driven Deep Learning Approach to Discover Parameters for Transportation

by Istiak Ahmad, Fahad Alqurashi, Ehab Abozinadah and Rashid Mehmood

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5711; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095711 - 9 May 2022

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6229

Abstract

We live in a complex world characterised by complex people, complex times, and complex social, technological, economic, and ecological environments. The broad aim of our work is to investigate the use of ICT technologies for solving pressing problems in smart cities and societies. Specifically, in this paper, we introduce the concept of deep journalism, a data-driven deep learning-based approach, to discover and analyse cross-sectional multi-perspective information to enable better decision making and develop better instruments for academic, corporate, national, and international governance. We build three datasets (a newspaper, a technology magazine, and a Web of Science dataset) and discover the academic, industrial, public, governance, and political parameters for the transportation sector as a case study to introduce deep journalism and our tool, DeepJournal (Version 1.0), that implements our proposed approach. We elaborate on 89 transportation parameters and hundreds of dimensions, reviewing 400 technical, academic, and news articles. The findings related to the multi-perspective view of transportation reported in this paper show that there are many important problems that industry and academia seem to ignore. In contrast, academia produces much broader and deeper knowledge on subjects such as pollution that are not sufficiently explored in industry. Our deep journalism approach could find the gaps in information and highlight them to the public and other stakeholders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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10 pages, 706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Future Policy and Technological Advancement Recommendations for Enhanced Adoption of Electric Vehicles in South Africa: A Survey and Review

by Mokhele Edmond Moeletsi

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12535; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212535 - 13 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4121

Abstract

There are major concerns globally on the increasing population of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and their environmental impact. The initiatives for the advancement of alternative propulsion systems, such as electric motors, have great opportunities, but are marked by a number of challenges that require major changes in policies and serious investment on the technologies in order to make them viable alternative mobility sources around the world. South Africa has struggled a lot in adopting electric vehicles among all the emerging countries. This is mostly attributed to a non-conducive environment for electric vehicle adoption. This study administered a survey consisting of Likert-scale questions in the Gauteng Province to gather information on people’s views on some of the major concerns around electric vehicle technology. The survey results demonstrated that Gauteng residents perceive electric vehicle price as the main constraint towards adoption of the technology and introduction of government policy towards addressing this challenge would be helpful. Some of the suggested interventions, such as the rollout of purchasing subsidies and tax rebates, received a high level of satisfaction among the respondents. Future initiatives that tackle issues of charging infrastructure network also received high satisfaction. Thus, there is a need for all stakeholders in the South African automotive industry to improve the enabling environment for the adoption of electric vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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32 pages, 5243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Life Cycle Environmental Impact Comparison between Traditional, Hybrid, and Electric Vehicles in the European Context

by Emiliano Pipitone, Salvatore Caltabellotta and Leonardo Occhipinti

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10992; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910992 - 3 Oct 2021

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 25895

Abstract

Global warming (GW) and urban pollution focused a great interest on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as cleaner alternatives to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The environmental impact related to the use of both ICEV and HEV mainly depends on the fossil fuel used by the thermal engines, while, in the case of the BEV, depends on the energy sources employed to produce electricity. Moreover, the production phase of each vehicle may also have a relevant environmental impact, due to the manufacturing processes and the materials employed. Starting from these considerations, the authors carried out a fair comparison of the environmental impact generated by three different vehicles characterized by different propulsion technology, i.e., an ICEV, an HEV, and a BEV, following the life cycle analysis methodology, i.e., taking into account five different environmental impact categories generated during all phases of the entire life of the vehicles, from raw material collection and parts production, to vehicle assembly and on-road use, finishing hence with the disposal phase. An extensive scenario analysis was also performed considering different electricity mixes and vehicle lifetime mileages. The results of this study confirmed the importance of the life cycle approach for the correct determination of the real impact related to the use of passenger cars and showed that the GW impact of a BEV during its entire life amounts to roughly 60% of an equivalent ICEV, while acidifying emissions and particulate matter were doubled. The HEV confirmed an excellent alternative to ICEV, showing good compromise between GW impact (85% with respect to the ICEV), terrestrial acidification, and particulate formation (similar to the ICEV). In regard to the mineral source deployment, a serious concern derives from the lithium-ion battery production for BEV. The results of the scenario analysis highlight how the environmental impact of a BEV may be altered by the lifetime mileage of the vehicle, and how the carbon footprint of the electricity used may nullify the ecological advantage of the BEV. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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24 pages, 4822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Possibility of a Solution of the Sustainability of Transport and Mobility with the Application of Discrete Computer Simulation—A Case Study

by Nikoleta Mikušová, Gabriel Fedorko, Vieroslav Molnár, Martina Hlatká, Rudolf Kampf and Veronika Sirková

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9816; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179816 - 1 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2560

Abstract

The paper is focused on an example of a solution for the sustainability of transport and mobility with the application of discrete computer simulation. The obtained results from the realized simulation were complemented with the selected multi-criteria decision-making method, namely the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The paper describes the use of the simulation model for obtaining characteristics of alternative solutions that were designed for the needs of transport sustainability. The aim is to address the problem of traffic congestion in urban agglomerations. The simulation model serves as a means to provide information for the needs of their analysis by multi-criteria evaluation by the AHP. The methodology is based on a combination of computer simulation and multi-criteria decision-making and presents a useful tool that can be used in the field of transport sustainability. The paper notes methods to implement analysis of alternative solutions in transport. However, this procedure can also be used to solve other problems in the field of logistics systems. The paper compares five possible solutions for the organization of transport at intersections. Multi-criteria decision-making was realized based on 12 criteria. The result was the solution that reduced the length of congestion in almost all directions, with a maximum shortening of 69 m and a shortening of the average delay by 26 s compared to the current state. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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31 pages, 3941 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transport Mode Choice for Residents in a Tourist Destination: The Long Road to Sustainability (the Case of Mallorca, Spain)

by Maurici Ruiz-Pérez and Joana Maria Seguí-Pons

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9480; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229480 - 14 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4700

Abstract

Sustainable mobility policies may encounter social, economic, and cultural barriers to successful implementation that need to be assessed. In this sense, knowledge of the population’s mobility habits and their relationship with transport modes is particularly essential. Along these lines, a study was carried out of the patterns of transport modes chosen concerning various social and territorial variables on the island of Mallorca based on the most recent mobility surveys. The study shows that the choice of mode is influenced by a wide range of factors, such as gender, age group, motive for the trip, occupation, region of residence, duration of the trip, and proximity to Palma, the capital of the island. The results indicate that private vehicles are the most often chosen mode of transport. Private vehicles are mainly used by working men between 30 and 44 years old for journeys between home and work, which do not exceed 30 min and are preferably in areas close to Palma. Sustainable modes are little used, although they are mainly used by women, young people, and retired people for work purposes and for access to educational and health centers. The demand for transport generated by the resident population and tourist activity and the negative externalities generated by mobility in private vehicles are closely related on a municipal level (Pearson’s coefficient 0.84, p = 0.00). However, the modal distribution does not seem to be directly related to these factors. Instead, it develops a more conditioned distribution by access to rail transport infrastructures and other geographical factors. In recent years, the Balearic Islands’ public administration launched the Balearic Islands Sectorial Mobility Plan 2019–2026, which aims to promote sustainable modes and reduce the use of private vehicles. This plan represents a considerable economic investment, but will also require great institutional coordination and cultural changes in the population’s perception of mobility. The study shows that the implementation of sustainable modes on the island requires a global vision of mobility issues that integrates urban planning and tourism planning to make the land-use model more sustainable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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14 pages, 927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does High-Speed Railway Influence Convergence of Urban-Rural Income Gap in China?

by Weidong Li, Xuefang Wang and Olli-Pekka Hilmola

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4236; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104236 - 21 May 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4081

Abstract

Transportation is an important factor affecting the balance of regional economic pattern. The construction of high-speed railway enhances the mobility of population, capital, technology and information resources between urban and rural areas. Will it further affect the income gap between urban and rural areas? Based on the nonlinear time-varying factor model, this paper analyzes the convergence of urban-rural income gap with the angle of high-speed railway. After rejecting the assumption of overall convergence in the traditional four economic regions, three convergence clubs of urban-rural income gap were found. For these ordered logit regression model is used to explore the initial factors that may affect the formation of “convergence club”. Empirical results show that the construction of High-speed railway has effectively narrows the urban-rural income gap in China, but it is not the cause of the formation of the three convergence clubs. The convergence effect of High-speed railway on the urban-rural income gap in China is still relatively weak. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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18 pages, 2471 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Business Models Amid Changes in Regulation and Environment: The Case of Finland–Russia

by Oskari Lähdeaho and Olli-Pekka Hilmola

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3393; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083393 - 21 Apr 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4421

Abstract

Changes in regulation are affecting the international business environment. In this study the impact of regulation changes and ways to benefit from those in Finland and Russia are examined. Logistics and manufacturing companies are studied using the case study approach including ten semi-structured interviews (Finland and Russia) and a survey (Southeast Finland), further supported by an additional survey for logistics sector companies (Southeast Finland). The changes in the business environment have created a fragmented market with a growing number of actors. Three business models (blockchain-based, platform-based and innovative subcontracting-based), capitalizing on the growing number of actors, were incepted in the interview phase and evaluated in the survey phase with companies. These models are integrable with the circular economy, a relevant practice according to the studied companies. Blockchain was perceived as a still immature technology. Further study revealed that the companies are not well prepared for environmental demands in logistics, and the overall volumes and business climate between the analyzed countries have not improved. Additionally, those companies do not actively pursue the possibilities of new technologies. The impact of regulatory changes in this region has not been examined closely with a case study approach. This study helps to explain the current trends in an established market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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16 pages, 3703 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Micro-Mobility Based on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting for Smart City Applications

by Chaiyan Jettanasen, Panapong Songsukthawan and Atthapol Ngaopitakkul

Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2933; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072933 - 7 Apr 2020

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 12016

Abstract

This study investigates the use of an alternative energy source in the production of electric energy to meet the increasing energy requirements, encourage the use of clean energy, and thus reduce the effects of global warming. The alternative energy source used is a mechanical energy by piezoelectric material, which can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, that can convert mechanical energy from pressure forces and vibrations during activities such as walking and traveling into electrical energy. Herein, a pilot device is designed, involving the modification of a bicycle into a stationary exercise bike with a piezoelectric generator, to study energy conversion and storage generated from using the bike. Secondly, the piezoelectric energy harvesting system is used on bicycles as a micro-mobility, light electric utility vehicle with smart operation, providing a novel approach to smart city design. The results show that the energy harvested from the piezoelectric devices can be stored in a 3200 mAh, 5 V battery and power sensors on the bicycle. Moreover, 13.6 mW power can be generated at regular cycling speed, outputting 11.5 V and 1.2 mA. Therefore, the piezoelectric energy harvesting system has sufficient potential for application as a renewable energy source that can be used with low power equipment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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Review

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11 pages, 243 KiB

Open AccessReview

Reviewing Truck Logistics: Solutions for Achieving Low Emission Road Freight Transport

by Tommi Inkinen and Esa Hämäläinen

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6714; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176714 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 8398

Abstract

Low emission logistics have become an expected and desired goal in all fields of transportation, particularly in the European Union. Heavy-duty trucks (HDTs) are significant producers of emissions and pollution in inland transports. Their role is significant, as in multimodal transport chains truck transportation is, in most cases, the only viable solution to connect hinterlands with ports. Diesel engines are the main power source of trucks and their emission efficiency is the key challenge in environmentally sound freight transportation. This review paper addresses the academic literature focusing on truck emissions. The paper relies on the preliminary hypothesis that simple single solutions are nonexistent and that there will be a collection of suggestions and solutions for improving the emission efficiency in trucks. The paper focuses on the technical properties, emission types, and fuel solutions used in freight logistics. Truck manufacturing, maintenance, and other indirect emissions like construction of road infrastructure have been excluded from this review. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

Other

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16 pages, 1045 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Mobile-Energy-as-a-Service (MEaaS): Sustainable Electromobility via Integrated Energy–Transport–Urban Infrastructure

by Mahinda Vilathgamuwa, Yateendra Mishra, Tan Yigitcanlar, Ashish Bhaskar and Clevo Wilson

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2796; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052796 - 27 Feb 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3773

Abstract

The transport sector is one of the leading contributors of anthropogenic climate change. Particularly, internal combustion engine (ICE) dominancy coupled with heavy private motor vehicle dependency are among the main issues that need to be addressed immediately to mitigate climate change and to avoid consequential catastrophes. As a potential solution to this issue, electric vehicle (EV) technology has been put forward and is expected to replace a sizable portion of ICE vehicles in the coming decades. Provided that the source of electricity is renewable energy resources, it is expected that the wider uptake of EVs will positively contribute to the efforts in climate change mitigation. Nonetheless, wider EV uptake also comes with important issues that could challenge urban power systems. This perspective paper advocates system-level thinking to pinpoint and address the undesired externalities of EVs on our power grids. Given that it is possible to mobilize EV batteries to act as a source of mobile-energy supporting the power grid and the paper coins, and conceptualize a novel concept of Mobile-Energy-as-a-Service (MEaaS) for system-wide integration of energy, transport, and urban infrastructures for sustainable electromobility in cities. The results of this perspective include a discussion around the issues of measuring optimal real-time power grid operability for MEaaS, transport, power, and urban engineering aspects of MEaaS, flexible incentive-based price mechanisms for MEaaS, gauging the public acceptability of MEaaS based on its desired attributes, and directions for prospective research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Mobility and Transport)

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