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Mobility in Transition – Providing Innovative and Sustainable Solutions for Transport and Traffic in a Dynamic Global Environment from a Transdisciplinary Perspective

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 March 2023) | Viewed by 21443
Deadline for title, extended abstract (about 2000 words) & short abstract (about 100 words) submissions: 31 August 2021
There will be a process of preselection on basis of title, extended and short abstract, after which authors will be invited to submit a paper.
Deadline for paper submissions: 31 December 2021

Image courtesy of María Angélica Caicedo Mafla. The winner of the photography competition in “Mobility in Transition”--Boysen-TU Dresden-Summer School 2021 Program

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anna Martius

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Guest Editor

Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Interests: transformation research through interdisciplinary approaches

Prof. Dr. Peter D. Lund

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Guest Editor

Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, Aalto, FI-00076 Espoo, Finland
Interests: solar cells; fuel cells; nanocomposite materials; mixed oxides; semiconductor-ionic materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Lutz Hagen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Interests: journalism and news, with a special emphasis on the production, uses, effects, and quality of public communication and on changes in the public sphere due to digitization; media economics. methods: representative surveys; expert interviews; automated and manual content analysis; time series analysis and other econometrics

Prof. Dr. Jörn Schönberger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Interests: model-based optimization and control of complex systems using methods from mathematics, operations research, artificial intelligence, and (business) informatics. scopes of application: traffic, transport, logistics and production systems, etc.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to highlight scientifically sound ways to innovate and bring about sustainable change in mobility against the background of ongoing technological advancement and dynamic changes in social requirements. Mobility will be addressed at different levels—both in terms of transporting goods and in the movement of people.

In order to effectively counter negative effects of increasing mobility, such as increased pollution and the excessive consumption of non-renewable resources, as well as to meet the changing demands of dynamic societies regarding the design of mobility concepts, extensive measures remain necessary. Approaches to reducing the excessive use of resources by traffic appear to be necessary and sensible in order to identify and develop previously untapped innovation potential for the reimagining of mobility concepts.

The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the tremendous power and dynamism with which processes of change have disrupted the status quo in our globally networked and increasingly digitized world and with which established mobility habits have experienced sudden change. The unleashed digitization has created new options for replacing physical mobility with communication and virtual traffic on the one hand, and generating new traffic on the other, for example through increased online shopping.

Existing research does not adequately deal with many of the aforementioned factors of social mobility, especially when it comes to analyses with a transdisciplinary approach. Above all, work is required in the following areas:

technical innovations for reducing emissions and resource consumption;
organizational innovations that increase resource efficiency or reduce the use of resources and make mobility more flexible;
innovative mobility concepts, against the background of diverse and dynamic requirements and motives of an individual and social nature;
ways to ensure desirable acceptance of new technical solutions and new mobility concepts, as well as ways to identify mobility-related needs or to nudge changes in behavior.

This Special Issue is just as open to findings from basic research as it is to specific case studies. Contributions from various disciplines are welcome—from STEM disciplines as well as from economics and social sciences. The following are listed here as examples:

Transport and Traffic Sciences;
Engineering;
(Behavioral) Economics;
Psychology; and
Media and Communication Studies.

Special emphasis will be placed on transdisciplinary perspectives that deal with applied issues in integrative approaches, amalgamating methods from different disciplines.

This Special Issue, entitled "Mobility in Transition", aims to report on current results and research approaches with regard to the further development of technical and organizational ideas for future-oriented mobility, thereby contributing to a more efficient mobility of goods and people that is better for the environment, stakeholders, and future generations.

Mobility-related issues will be addressed on the basis of clearly described research methods. Original works from various disciplines involved in the research areas described above are welcome, ideally pursuing a transdisciplinary approach.

We expressly encourage young researchers and research groups (doctoral students) to report on their research results.

Dr. Anna Martius
Prof. Dr. Peter Lund
Prof. Dr. Lutz Hagen
Prof. Dr. Jörn Schönberger
Guest Editors

Abstract and Paper Submission Information

For planned papers, there will be (1) a process of preselection on basis of title, extended abstract and short abstract and (2) an invitation to selected authors to submit a paper.

Title, extended & short abstract should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. The abstracts can be submitted until the first deadline (31 January 2021). Papers can be submitted after the invitation until the second deadline (31 May 2021). All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted papers should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). An application for funding is possible via the special issue guest editors. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

mobility;
mobility revolution;
mobility scenarios;
transport;
traffic;
autonomous driving;
e-mobility;
sustainability;
transdisciplinarity;
modal split.

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 575 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quality of Media Depictions of Mobility in Transition—An Experts’ Assessment of News Coverage in Germany

by Corinna E. Drexler and Lutz M. Hagen

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4634; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15054634 - 05 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1325

Abstract

This contribution investigates the quality of news media coverage on the transition of mobility and transport in Germany as judged by experts in journalism and mobility. Mass media serves a crucial function in reaching an informed political consensus about paths towards sustainable mobility. Political actors, experts, and the general public need to be correctly and comprehensively informed about relevant demands and options for transitioning mobility and transport systems. However, media are often accused of failing to serve their functions in the public interest. Coverage on scientific issues is frequently criticized, e.g., for being incomplete, inaccurate, or skewed negatively or towards elite and standard sources. No research, however, has been undertaken to analyze how well coverage of mobility in transition conforms to professional quality standards. We aim at this research gap using semi-structured interviews with experts in transport/mobility from academia and journalism. Experts’ quality expectations are unveiled, and insights are derived on how well mobility journalism meets them. We find that media are accused of several blind spots, seeming to downplay, ignore, or inaccurately report several relevant issues. Findings further show that reporting is slowly shifting from a focus on automobility towards a more diverse presentation of the transport system, while relevance and complexity of the transformation processes are not yet presented sufficiently comprehensibly to a heterogeneous public. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobility in Transition – Providing Innovative and Sustainable Solutions for Transport and Traffic in a Dynamic Global Environment from a Transdisciplinary Perspective)

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19 pages, 7571 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Material Treatment in the Pulsation Reactor—From Flame Spray Pyrolysis to Industrial Scale

by Stefan Heidinger, Felix Spranger, Jakub Dostál, Chunliang Zhang and Christian Klaus

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3232; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14063232 - 09 Mar 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3234

Abstract

Current challenges in the areas of health care, environmental protection, and, especially, the mobility transition have introduced a wide range of applications for specialized high-performance materials. Hence, this paper presents a novel approach for designing materials with flame spray pyrolysis on a lab scale and transferring the synthesis to the pulsation reactor for mass production while preserving the advantageous material properties of small particle sizes and highly specific surface areas. A proof of concept is delivered for zirconia and silica via empirical studies. Furthermore, an interdisciplinary approach is introduced to model the processes in a pulsation reactor in general and for single material particles specifically. Finally, facilities for laboratory investigations and pulsation reactor testing in an industrial environment are presented. Full article

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21 pages, 3014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Software-Defined Mobile Supply Chains: Rebalancing Resilience and Efficiency in Production Systems

by Eduardo Alarcon-Gerbier, Zarina Chokparova, Nassim Ghondaghsaz, Wanqi Zhao, Hani Shahmoradi-Moghadam, Uwe Aßmann and Orçun Oruç

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2837; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052837 - 28 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2559

Abstract

The miniaturization and modularization of production capacity brings with it not only greater agility and efficiency, but also increased flexibility in the form of mobility. This flexibility allows production capacity to be moved when and where it is most needed, generating new business opportunities, e.g., allowing modular units to be rented, leased, or shared. This flexibility, however, requires information and control systems that ensure a correct and secure flow of information between different stakeholders of the supply chain. Based on this, the present article characterizes the concept of software-defined mobile supply chains, presenting its main requirements, opportunities, and limitations. In addition, we present two case studies in which the proposed concept is evaluated in order to demonstrate its applicability. Here, due to the new optimization problems that arise when considering mobile facilities, special interest is given to the planning and control of the required operations, as well as the difficulties associated with the exchange of physical and intellectual assets between different stakeholders. Full article

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25 pages, 638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Managing the Tension between Trust and Confidentiality in Mobile Supply Chains

by Nassim Ghondaghsaz, Zarina Chokparova, Sven Engesser and Leon Urbas

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2347; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14042347 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2179

Abstract

This research investigates the tension between trust and confidentiality in Mobile Supply Chains (MSCs), where a production asset that is owned by one of the partners is outsourced to another partner of the supply chain for the production of goods, chemicals, or pharmaceuticals. The novelty of the MSC concept is to be found in its innovative and sustainable approach to production and operation processes in supply chains. Implementation of the MSC model could, however, raise trust and confidentiality concerns. The interplay of trust and confidentiality, or preservation of information privacy, between partners plays a central role in the supply chains, particularly because they are genuinely dependent on each other. Qualitative data analysis was used, in which semi-structured interviews with the experts from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in Germany were conducted to investigate the tension between trust and confidentiality, and important factors affecting it. The results of the study present four different integration scenarios, namely, the low-quality, conservative, grey-box, and innovation scenarios, which consider different levels of trust, confidentiality and information sharing. Subsequently, the tension between trust and confidentiality is analyzed within these scenarios, and three effective strategies which encourage partners to balance the tension between trust and confidentiality are proposed. The study indicates that the balance between trust and confidentiality can be maintained in some scenarios when critical factors such as transparency, trust negotiation, and a reward-sharing system are present. Full article

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21 pages, 332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Other Side of the (Policy) Coin: Analyzing Exnovation Policies for the Urban Mobility Transition in Eight Cities around the Globe

by Lisa Graaf, Stefan Werland, Oliver Lah, Emilie Martin, Alvin Mejia, María Rosa Muñoz Barriga, Hien Thi Thu Nguyen, Edmund Teko and Shritu Shrestha

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9045; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169045 - 12 Aug 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3024

Abstract

Many cities all over the world highlight the need to transform their urban mobility systems into more sustainable ones, to confront pressing issues such as air and noise pollution, and to deliver on climate change mitigation action. While the support of innovations is high on the agenda of both national and local authorities, consciously phasing-out unsustainable technologies and practices is often neglected. However, this other side of the policy coin, ‘exnovation’, is a crucial element for the mobility transition. We developed a framework to facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of urban mobility transition policies, systematically integrating exnovation policies. It links exnovation functions as identified in transition studies with insights from urban mobility studies and empirical findings from eight city case studies around the world. The findings suggest that most cities use some kinds of exnovation policies to address selective urban mobility issues, e.g., phasing-out diesel buses, restricting the use of polluting motor vehicles in some parts of the city, etc. Still, we found no evidence for a systematic exnovation approach alongside the innovation policies. Our framework specifies exnovation functions for the urban mobility transition by lining out policy levers and concrete measure examples. We hope that the framework inspires future in-depth research, but also political action to advance the urban mobility transition. Full article

Review

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17 pages, 2742 KiB

Open AccessReview

From Modeling to Optimizing Sustainable Public Transport: A New Methodological Approach

by Lukas Spengler, Eva Gößwein, Ingmar Kranefeld, Magnus Liebherr, Frédéric Etienne Kracht, Dieter Schramm and Marc Gennat

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8171; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15108171 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1429

Abstract

This paper explores the potential for connected public-transport (PT) mobility as an alternative to motorized private transport (MPT) in medium-sized cities. Despite the high demand for MPT, it occupies a lot of space and contributes to conflicts and reduced livability. The more sustainable mobility solution of PT, however, is often considered slow, unreliable, and uncomfortable. To overcome these issues, the authors investigate the state-of-the-art research of connected PT mobility, including ways to quantify mobility behavior, micro- and macro-simulations of traffic flow, and the potential of not-yet-established modes of transport such as Mobility on Demand (MoD) for last-mile transportation. MoD could reduce the drawbacks of PT and provide sufficient and sustainable mobility to all citizens, including those in rural areas. To achieve this, precise information on individual traffic flows is needed, including origin–destination (OD) relations of all trips per day. The paper outlines a two-step approach involving the expansion of OD relations to include all modes of transport and diurnal variation, followed by microscopic traffic simulations and macroscopic optimization to determine potentials for on-demand offers within inner-city traffic. The paper concludes by calling for critical questioning of the approach to validate and verify its effectiveness. Full article

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28 pages, 513 KiB

Open AccessReview

Literature Review of Mobility as a Service

by Benjamin Maas

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8962; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148962 - 21 Jul 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4938

Abstract

The number of publications about mobility as a service (MaaS) has increased rapidly in the past years, spreading into various fields. In this paper, a total of 127 scientific publications about MaaS are reviewed and categorized into an overarching thematic framework in order to highlight key areas of research and further potential. Three research questions are highlighted in this review: (1) which topics are discussed in the existing MaaS literature? (2) what are the main results in the specific fields? and (3) where are gaps for further research? Publications have focused substantially on the topics of the market, users, data and technology, and the impact on the transportation system. The review shows that, regarding the concept, multi-level approaches have been established for the organization and cooperation of the actors involved, showing different levels of integration of public and private actors on a regional and supra-regional level. Various groups have already been identified as potential users, but the relatively low willingness to pay and the requirements regarding the individualization of mobility services pose problems that have not yet been solved. There is also a constant and unsolved challenge regarding the sensitive motion data that must be stored and processed. Significant research is still needed, including assessments of the impact of MaaS and what effects the service will have on the established use of transport modes, as well as how packages need to be designed and priced in order to optimally reach users. Full article

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