Social inclusion in sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs): The case of shared mobility in Utrecht, the Netherlands

Abstract

This article explores the social inclusiveness of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), a policy tool introduced by the European Commission to inspire local governments in developing long-term sustainable visions to address the mobility needs of everyone. The aim of SUMPs is to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility and achieve the complete decarbonisation of European Mobility by 2050. While the rationale behind SUMPs is that local governments understand the needs of their inhabitants and visitors, concerns have arisen regarding their capacity to recognise socially disadvantaged groups, potentially exacerbating social inequalities. Socially disadvantaged groups are prone to transport poverty, limiting their access to essential services and societal participation. Using a mixed-method approach, we analyse the social inclusiveness of SUMPs, focusing on Utrecht, the Netherlands. We conduct a qualitative analysis of policy documents to provide contextual understanding and assess the inclusion of socially disadvantaged groups within SUMPs. Our findings indicate that SUMPs recognise diverse social groups, including individuals with disabilities, children, older adults, and low-income groups, and acknowledge shared mobility as a tool to reduce transport poverty. We then develop a social indicator based on the identified socially disadvantaged groups to compare their distribution with the availability of shared mobility services. These are mapped for both 2019 and 2023, drawing on the municipality of Utrecht's 2020 action plan for shared mobility, which explicitly emphasises the role of shared mobility in reducing transport poverty by improving their availability for socially disadvantaged groups. Our study highlights that neighbourhoods with low social indicators are concentrated in the outskirts of the city, whereas shared mobility services are predominantly available in the city centre. Consequently, the ambition outlined in the documents regarding shared mobility's potential to reduce transport poverty has not yet materialized in the real world. This study provides insight into the capacity of SUMPs to address social inclusion issues, offering valuable guidance for the development of effective and socially inclusive sustainable mobility policies in European cities.