Jan 24, 2021

Low-Carbon Transport, Individual Wellbeing & Planetary Health in the Era of Smart Cities & New Mobilities

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Carbon emission is one of the key factors contributing to global warming and transport accounts for a higher percentage of carbon sources than other sectors. Reducing the impact of transport emissions on climate change and the environment as a whole has become a pressing concern in many countries.

As we enter the era of smart cities, it is timely to inquire whether and how the uptake of alternative mobilities enabled by new technologies (e.g. electric vehicles and bike-sharing) can improve individual health and wellbeing and planetary health. Are we traveling for good? Or are we producing more carbon than before?

This project seeks to understand the link between new mobilities and health and wellbeing at the individual and urban/regional levels with a view to informing urban policymakers and planners on designing and implementing programmes to incentivise people to adopt more sustainable travel behaviours. It will synthesise and evaluate successful and less successful practices around the world, identify the common contributing factors and consequences, and establish a conceptual framework to test the hypothetic link between new mobilities and health and wellbeing.

In the long run, the team also aims to produce an impact case study and undertake empirical research to investigate the influence of various geographical, social, and cultural factors on new mobilities.

The scientific knowledge and research capacity generated will be valuable in informing policymaking, planning and technological innovation to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG #13), and achieve sustainable cities and communities (SDG #11) and good health and wellbeing (SDG #3).

Who's involved

Professor Mei-Po Kwan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Shelly Tse, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Harry Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr Subeh Chowdhury, The University of Auckland

Professor WANG Yiming, University of Bristol

Professor Susan Grant-Muller, University of Leeds

Professor John Thøgersen, Aarhus University

Associate Professor Sandip Chakrabarti, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Assistant Professor WANG Xize, National University of Singapore

Professor Kelly Clifton, Portland State University

Professor Chinh Ho, The University of Sydney

Professor Giancarlos Troncoso Parady, The University of Tokyo

Dr Andy Hong,University of Oxford

Professor Eric Miller, University of Toronto

Professor Dick Ettema, Utrecht University