ARCADIS
Executive Summary
Mobility systems are key to the everyday functioning of a city. Arcadis’ 2017 Sustainable Cities Mobility Index, compiled in partnership with research firm, Cebr, tracks the overall performance of the mobility systems in 100 cities around the world. The Index is built from 23 individual indicators, each reflecting a component of urban mobility, from infrastructure spending commitment to affordability of public transport. These indicators are grouped into three sub-indices: People, Planet and Profit. Combining these individual metrics and subindices into an overall Index score gives an indicative picture of the current state of a city’s urban mobility environment.
The main findings of the Index are:
- Hong Kong takes the top spot in the overall Index. The Asian city also tops the People sub-index, boosted by its innovative and wellconnected metro network and a high share of trips taken by public transport. It takes sixth place in the Profit sub-index.
- By region, European cities most consistently rank the highest, occupying seven of the top ten spots. Zurich, Paris and Prague are the highest placed European cities, ranking second, third and fourth respectively, benefitting from strong scores in the Planet and Profit sub-indices due to established infrastructure, efficient metro systems and commitment to green technology. Zurich takes first place in the Profit sub-index. With a highly affordable system, the Swiss city boasts one of the highest public transport journey
- Other Asian cities also rank highly, taking three of the top ten spots. Modern metro systems, large airports and low usage of private vehicles help boost the rankings of developed Asian cities such as Seoul and Singapore. Other Asian cities would score higher were it not for damaging levels of urban pollution and emissions.
- North American cities are spread throughout the Index. The lowest ranked North American city, Indianapolis, is weighed down by a high share of journeys made by private car, a common practice in many American cities. The highest ranked, New York City, is placed 23rd overall and second in the People sub-index with an expansive and heavily used metro system operating around the clock.
- Middle Eastern cities face mobility challenges. Limited public transport networks hold back cities such as Kuwait and Cairo, while high levels of air pollution and emissions challenge cities across the region.
- Riyadh, Amman and Jeddah are the three lowest scoring cities on the Index, owing to limited public transport networks and low environmental scores due to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
- Australian cities are mixed throughout the Index, with some cities’ scores weighed down by a low uptake of public transport and lack of a metro network. Encouragingly, Sydney and Melbourne are both currently building underground metros.
- German cities take the top three spots on the Planet sub-index, with Frankfurt taking first place thanks to the city’s many green
- spaces, low air pollution levels, and encouraging lower emissions vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- All cities in the Planet sub-index’s top ten are European. Developed European cities, with the privilege of having industrialized early, have helped progress the low-emissions agenda with excellent bicycle infrastructure, commitment to green technology and electric vehicle uptake.
- European cities also dominate the profit sub-index; seven of the top ten cities in this category are European. Many such cities have invested generously in transport infrastructure and have widely utilized public transport systems helping to cut commuting times
- On the People sub-index, Asian cities are out in front – of the top ten, half are within Asia. Investment in modern metro systems and transport technology has helped cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing score well in this sub-index.
- The data highlights that the wealth, size or age of a city does not necessarily equal sustainable urban mobility. This is clearly demonstrated as we compare wealthy cities like Hong Kong (1st) with Los Angeles (72nd); massive urban centers like London (7th) with Jakarta (89th); and some of the earliest developed cities like Paris (3rd) with Cairo (94th).
- Mobility favors the bold. Those cities that have pursued bold moves of innovation and planned for future growth see the greatest sustainability and quality of life benefits. Sustainable systems depend on the decisions of leaders in the public and private spheres, and emerging transport technologies mean there are more opportunities than ever to create cities that are built to move us into the future. With all the pressures that come from rapid urbanization, policymakers must take note and become well informed of their options in order to be able to offer residents real social and economic benefits.
Sustainable Cities Mobility Index
The Importance of Sustainable Mobility
Efficient urban mobility allows people to flow through a city; it connects workers, industries and ideas, and provides a foundation for economic growth. For visitors and locals alike, the transport and mobile infrastructure form fundamental parts of any city. Increasingly, cities face enormous pressures as they seek to meet today’s mobility challenges. The modern city must be proactive around rapid urbanization, climate change, pollution and asset performance while attracting commercial business and financing, and competing with other cities for investment. Today’s policymakers must meet those immediate needs, without compromising the needs of tomorrow – their actions will be critical for shaping our urban future.
Although every city has its own distinct mobility system built to deal with its unique environment, certain key metrics can be used to compare systems around the world. The Sustainable Cities Mobility Index seeks to do this through an indication of sustainable urban mobility that includes measures of the social, environmental and economic health of a city’s mobility, as shown in Figure 1. These are the three P’s, the three key pillars to sustainable urban mobility: People, Planet and Profit
Arcadis commissioned the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) to explore how cities are performing across these three areas. Cebr assessed the quality and sustainability of mobility systems in 100 cities around the world using 23 indicators. A city receives a score on each of the pillars of sustainability and a city’s overall score is equal to the average of their score in the three sub-indices. A full list of these indicators can be found in Table 1 in the Appendix to this report.
An effective transport system is one which can simultaneously address and improve its functioning for all stakeholders, while facilitating economic opportunity without compromising environmental concerns. Therefore, for a city to achieve a high score, each of these pillars must be strong.
An overall score of 100 percent would mean a city has achieved top scores in each of the separate sub-indices and is among the top cities in each indicator. Scores are comparative and calculated relative to other cities in the Index, thus higher scores reflect a stronger overall performance.
Our Research Findings
The research indicates two overarching areas of correlation:
- Cities benefiting from ‘money, mass or maturity’, namely high wealth, significant global cities, do not necessarily lead the ranking in sustainable urban mobility. Although these factors can help, we do see wealthy, large and/or older cities not automatically punching their ticket to sustainable urban mobility. This is clearly demonstrated as we compare wealthy cities like Hong Kong (1st) with Los Angeles (72nd); massive urban centers like London (7th) with Jakarta (89th); and some of the earliest developed cities like Paris (3rd) with Cairo (94th).
- Mobility favors the bold. Those cities that have pursued bold moves of innovation and planned for future growth see the greatest sustainability and quality of life benefits. Sustainable systems depend on the decisions of city leaders and disruptive technologies mean there are more opportunities than ever to create cities that are built to move us into the future. With all the challenges that come from rapid urbanization, policymakers must take note and become well informed of their options in order to be able to offer residents real social and economic benefits.
Overall Index Rankings: The Best Cities for Sustainable Transit
The overall Index rankings reveal some key trends. Firstly, Europe dominates the top of the Index. Of the top ten places, seven are taken by European cities. Many of these European cities benefit from established and well-used metro networks such as London’s Underground, strong bicycle infrastructure in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and high shares of commuters using public rather than private transport. European cities are also environmentally conscious, with incentives to lower emissions reflected in cleaner air and greener mobility systems. Cities such as Zurich, Paris and 18 other European cities reflect these characteristics and sit in the top quartile of the Planet sub-index.
Yet, the top spot in the Sustainable Cities Mobility Index is occupied by Hong Kong. The Asian city’s mobility system, underpinned by a well-organized, modern and efficiently funded metro system, manages to achieve many of the aims of an effective urban transport system – enabling comprehensive mobility around a city, creating economic opportunity and enriching the lives of citizens, businesses and tourists alike. Two other Asian cities are in the top ten of the overall Index: Seoul and Singapore rank fourth and eighth, respectively.
North American cities are spread throughout the overall Index, ranging from New York in 23rd place to Indianapolis in 88th. While citizens of some American cities enjoy well-funded and comprehensive transport systems, many cities in the U.S. and Canada are undermined by a reliance on private vehicles and underdeveloped public transport options.
Most Australian cities sit in around the middle of the overall Index. A lack of comprehensive underground metro systems and dependence on private vehicles deters mobility in Australian cities, and all have less travel made by foot, bike and public transport than their peer cities. Greater utilization of urban public transport would improve mobility in cities like Perth and Canberra. Promisingly, underground train networks are being expanded in Sydney and Melbourne, and under consideration in Brisbane.
South American cities sit lower in the overall Index. Cities like Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Santiago are hampered by congested roads and relatively low commitment to infrastructure spending.
Rounding out the Index are many Middle Eastern and African cities. While some Gulf cities have plans in place to accelerate their transport systems to technological superiority, many cities still lack strong fundamentals to sustainable urban mobility, such as a comprehensive public transport network. Most cities in the region are hampered by highly congested, polluted roads. Cities such as Cairo and Jeddah still have some way to go in providing infrastructure for a popular and well-used mobility system.
The research examines further the three sub-indices to see in which dimensions of sustainability cities are performing well in mobility and in which areas they have opportunities to boost investment and improve quality of life.
Download full version (PDF): Sustainable Cities Mobility Index 2017
About Arcadis
www.arcadis.com
Arcadis is the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets. Applying our deep market sector insights and collective design, consultancy, engineering, project and management services we work in partnership with our clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. We are 27,000 people active in over 70 countries that generate €3.3 billion in revenues. Arcadis. Improving quality of life.
Tags: Arcadis, Best Cities for Sustainable Transit, Smart Transit, Sustainable Transit
RSS Feed