Sustainable Urban Mobility in Poznan and Oslo-Actual State and Development Perspectives
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sustainability Article Sustainable Urban Mobility in Poznan and Oslo-Actual State and Development Perspectives Joanna Ole´sków-Szłapka 1,* , Irena Pawłyszyn 1 and Joanna Przybylska 2 1 Institute of Logistics, Department of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology, 60965 Poznan, Poland; [email protected] 2 Institute of Finance, Department of Public Finance, Poznan University of Economics and Business, 61875 Poznan, Poland; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 31 May 2020; Accepted: 7 August 2020; Published: 12 August 2020 Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to present and analyze approaches for sustainable urban mobility in Poznan and Oslo. The topic of sustainable urban transport as well as green mobility is currently important from formal perspectives, due to European regulations, and because of ecological conditions and resulting climate changes. The research methodology implemented includes analysis of the literature on the research subject; analysis of EU documents and national policies with respect to financing and development of sustainable urban transport (SUT); development of a questionnaire on SUT in Oslo and Poznan, using the questionnaire to collect opinions on SUTs in Oslo and Poznan, and analyzing respondents’ answers, defining recommendations concerning future activities for urban sustainability in the surveyed cities. The authors provide a review of the actual sustainable urban mobility situations in Oslo and Poznan, compare government support and sources of funding, identify gaps in terms of EU requirements, and try to compare the residents’ expectations with the city’s activities in the field of sustainable transport development. The research group includes students residing in both cities. The group constitutes 10–20% of the total number of inhabitants in cities being the subject of research. The empirical part investigates what their preferences are regarding the use of public transport in the context of sustainable development. On the basis of the conducted research, it can be stated that a sustainable urban mobility is one of the key development directions in Poland and Norway. The respondents see opportunities for developing green mobility in their cities as well as municipalities and the national government encouraging a sustainable urban transport. The implementation of the principles of sustainable development and reconstruction of city development strategy can be achieved by the cooperation of all stakeholders (namely: national government, municipalities, public transport providers, city residents). Keywords: sustainable transport; urban transportation; green mobility; sustainability 1. Introduction Industrialization impacts on the quality of human life and damages the natural environment. There is growing recognition of environmental sustainability issues in the literature. Industrialization increases human vulnerabilities and results in an increasing demand for waste utilization, renewable energy resources, water infrastructure development, decreasing greenhouse gases emissions, recycling and waste management, provision of health and safety, access to education, reducing inequalities and child labor, and improving quality of life of the community. Governing interfirm relationships for social sustainability is the relationship between governance mechanisms, sustainable collaboration, and cultural intelligence [1]. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6510; doi:10.3390/su12166510 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2020, 12, 6510 2 of 37 Making existing cities and new urban development more ecological and livable is an urgent priority in the global push for sustainability. The challenges of sustainable development are already recognizable—lack of affordable housing, pressure on reducing resources use, gridlocked urban transport systems, air pollution, lack of access to clean water, and others. Ensuring sustainable development is a multilateral process, when, on the one hand, the sustainability of the city directly depends on the sustainability of socioeconomic systems of a higher level (region, state), and on the other hand, the sustainability of the city depends on the stability of all components of the socioeconomic system of the city (business entities, non-governmental institutions, numerous associations of various forms of ownership and organizational form). Today, experts emphasize that the city is a central factor in the social and economic development of mankind, the center of social life and the national economy, and the custodian of culture, heritage, and traditions. Cities play a key role in the processes of population change, production and consumption patterns, spatial structure of settlement, and location of production. The city is responsible for the environmental problems of mankind and the destruction of natural capital. At the same time, the city level is the smallest scale in which a constructive integrated holistic solution to these problems is possible [2]. The development of sustainable mobility systems is, thus, not limited to reducing transport-related negative externalities, as it is also aligned with the larger goal of supporting human and economic development [3–5]. Metropolitan cities and regions depend on good internal mobility. Establishing efficient, environmentally friendly transport systems is a key issue for the future development of European metropolitan regions. Financing public transport is probably the most crucial factor in increasing its attractiveness and use. Developing policy for financing public transport in metropolitan regions requires it to be comprehensive and consistent with city strategy approach [6]. The mobility of goods and people is one of the essential elements of urban development, characterizing urban space and how it functions. As the world population continues to concentrate in cities, the negative impacts associated with transporting people and goods are being exacerbated. Substantial efforts are still required to increase satisfaction with public transport across Europe [7]. In the hereby paper, two European cities have been selected as research objects—Poznan (Poland) and Oslo (Norway). The subject of the research is the analysis of aspects related to sustainable urban mobility in the given cities from three perspectives: strategic plans and perspectives, financial support and investments, and the actual situation based on survey analysis. The main purpose of this work is to present and analyze actions taken for a sustainable urban mobility in Poznan and Oslo. The authors believe that the implementation of the set goal will allow the drawing of conclusions about the current situation in both cities, as well as provide tips on further directions of actions in the field of urban mobility and sustainable urban transport. Research among students, a selected group of people using public transport, is also an added value. Identifying the level of satisfaction of buyers with municipal public transport services and learning about the barriers will enable a better adjustment of the offering of these services to the expectations of buyers. This approach is a reference to the issues raised by Awan, Khattak, Rabbani, and Dhir, who described buyer-driven knowledge transfer activities in manufacturing firms [8]. Moreover, the effective implementation of solutions favoring sustainable development requires the involvement of both—buyers and suppliers [9]. The paper’s structure reflects the research process presented in the Methods section. To comprehensively present research results, the paper is organized as follows: The second section introduces the methodology implemented, presenting the methods and research tools used in the predesigned sequence. The third contains a literature review related to topics discussed in the article. The fourth section provides a framework of urban policy, sources of financing for urban transport as well as plans and prospects for sustainable development in Poznan and Oslo. Section five presents the results, including a validation procedure. The last two sections contain the discussion on the research results and authors’ conclusions. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6510 3 of 37 2. Methods The European Commission strongly recommends that European towns and cities of all sizes should embrace its concept of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. The urban population is rapidly increasing and this is accompanied by rises in air pollution, traffic congestion, and vehicle fleet. Due to the inevitability and intractability of such effects, much scholarly attention has been directed towards identifying the influencing factors behind urban transport. Having noticed the dynamic increase in sustainable perception of urban transport represented by a growing number of research and publications on the subject and identifying the EU priorities that require moving towards cities with sustainable and more environmentally friendly transport, the authors came with the following research questions: 1. What are key priorities and sources of financing for the development of sustainable urban transport? 2. What are the students’ preferences regarding the use of public transport in the context of sustainable development? To answer these questions, the authors decided to structure the methodology into the following stages: (a) Literature analysis on the research subject; (b) Analysis of EU documents and national policies with respect to financing for the development of sustainable