Making Concepts Matter: Sustainable Mobility and Indicator Systems in Transport Policy
Author(s)
Gudmundsson, Henrik
Abstract
Strategies for sustainable mobility and transport have, in recent years, been launched in many countries and also on the international level: so far, limited success has been recorded. However, the questions arise how the sustainability of transport systems and policies can in fact be measured, and how these measurements can be used in transport planning. This article focuses on indicators and monitoring frameworks applied in the transport sector. It explores a limited number of indicator systems presently in use, discussing if and how they contribute to making the concepts of sustainability operational for the governance of mobility. There are four major issues which need considering if the aims of sustainability are to be incorporated more adequately: how to manage environmental comprehensiveness; how to bring causal factors into the systems; how to incorporate sustainability and policy targets, and how to link indicator systems and policy making.
