Operational LCA of a street with active mobility strategies in northern México

Abstract

Active mobility (AM) is a fundamental part of a sustainable mobility system that generates environmental and social advantages; however, its use and operation are understudied using quantitative tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA), especially in the Latin American context. This study aimed to analyze the use stage of a street located in Northern Mexico. Two real scenarios were compared, one conventional (CO-SC-2020) and another sustainable (SU-SC-2022), which incorporated the concept of “complete streets” through a bicycle lane and the improvement of pedestrian spaces. Available data from the “Vía Libre” project and PIMUS, as well as SIMAPRO and Ecoinvent, were used for the LCA. The results indicated that the environmental impacts derived from transportation could be reduced through strategies such as active mobility (6.55%) and carpooling (77%), favoring the conversion of cities that consider the automobile as the guiding axis to more sustainable, inclusive, and safe cities.