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Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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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 (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 14374

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mayca Rubio-Gámez

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Guest Editor

Construction Engineering Lab, LabIC.UGR, Construction Engineering Department, University of Granada, 18001 Granada, Spain
Interests: asphalt pavements; design and mechanical characterization; sustainable and smart materials and technologies for transportation infrastructure; fatigue behavior; long lasting asphalt materials; environmental assessment; LCA
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Fernando Moreno-Navarro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Construction Engineering and Engineering Project, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: asphalt; pavement; road and railway; construction materials and technologies; sustainability; testing and monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals” is comprised of significant results coming from sustainable transportation infrastructure research studies whose results demonstrate a clear contribution to successfully achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, several SDGs were addressed, such as SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure; SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities; and SDG 13 on climate action. This Special Issue also includes research studies regarding LCA, LCCA, and smart and sustainable materials and technologies.
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” which aims to collect outstanding research consisting of sustainable transportation infrastructure research studies whose results demonstrate a clear contribution to successfully achieving the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, papers regarding the study of LCA, LCCA, and sustainable and smart materials and technologies are suitable to be considered for publication. The deadline to receive your work is the 31^st of October 2021. We are looking forward to receiving your manuscript.

Prof. Dr. Mayca Rubio-Gámez
Prof. Dr. Fernando Moreno-Navarro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts 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. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are 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 manuscripts 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 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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

smart and sustainable materials
transportation infrastructures
LCA
LCCA
SDGs
climate action
asphalt materials
asphalt pavements
roads
railway

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3969 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GRIDMAT—A Sustainable Material Combining Mat and Geogrid Concept for Ballasted Railways

by M. Sol-Sánchez, T. Mattinzioli, J. M. Castillo-Mingorance, F. Moreno-Navarro and M. C. Rubio-Gámez

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11186; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141811186 - 07 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1514

Abstract

Under ballast mats (UBM) have demonstrated their capacity to reduce section stiffness and ballast degradation. However, UBM can cause ballast destabilisation under some circumstances due to excessive vertical track deflections, requiring the installation of geogrids over the mat which increases costs and time. As alternative to this solution, this paper shows the design of GridMat: a sustainable technology for ballasted railways that combines the concepts of geogrids and under ballast mats (UBM) manufactured from recycled crumb rubber. This aims to provide damping capacity while limiting the oscillations and settlement of ballast layer. To obtain the optimal GridMat design, five different configurations varying the aperture size and void areas were assessed through laboratory box tests reproducing the track section including the GridMat. Results showed that the optimal Gridmat was of 55 mm aperture seize and 25% void area. To evaluate the sustainability of this design, the expected number of conservation and renewal operations were calculated from full-scale laboratory tests and a life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost analysis were undertaken. GridMat showed long-term reduction in ballast degradation and track settlement, reducing need for maintenance and renewal operations in comparison with standard mats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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31 pages, 9246 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated DPSIR-SD Framework for Sustainability Assessment of Roads in Australia

by Sneha Kaira, Oz Sahin, Anisur Rahman and Sherif Mohamed

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14127142 - 10 Jun 2022

Viewed by 1626

Abstract

The Australian Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) Summit in 2018 attracted much-needed national attention towards environmental goals and targets compared with other aspects of sustainability. Road infrastructure is the backbone of modern society and plays a crucial role in accomplishing a targeted balance between these aspects of sustainability and achieving the SDGs. This article presents an integrated sustainability performance assessment methodology that acts as a decision support tool. A series of two conceptual modelling techniques—drivers—pressure—state—impact—response (DPSIR) and system dynamics (SD)—is employed, with the cause-and-effect relationships of the sustainability indicators developed utilising the DPSIR framework, and a quantitative analysis carried out through a subsequent SD model. The end result is the generation of a Sustainability Performance Index (SPI) for road infrastructure created by analysing the SD model and DPSIR index layer relationship. The benefits and applicability of the proposed methodology are validated through case study analysis. The overall aim is to determine restricting factors and response strategies influencing road infrastructure and transport sustainability performance during the operation and maintenance phase. Thus, a significant contribution is made through the proposed methodology for assessing factors influencing the long-term achievement of the SDGs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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14 pages, 1715 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determining the Environmental Potentials of Urban Pavements by Applying the Cradle-to-Cradle LCA Approach for a Road Network of a Midscale German City

by Mayara S. Siverio Lima, Mohsen Hajibabaei, Sina Hesarkazzazi, Robert Sitzenfrei, Alexander Buttgereit, Cesar Queiroz, Viktors Haritonovs and Florian Gschösser

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12487; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132212487 - 12 Nov 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2575

Abstract

This study used a cradle-to-cradle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate the environmental potentials of urban pavements. For this purpose, the urban road network of the City of Münster (Germany) was selected as the case study, and comprehensive data for several phases were collected. The entire road network is composed of flexible pavements designed according to specific traffic loads and consists of main roads (MRs), main access roads (MARs), and residential roads (RSDTs). Asphalt materials, pavement structures, and maintenance strategies are predefined for each type of road and are referred to as “traditional” herein. Some pavement structures have two possible maintenance strategies, denoted by “A” and “B”, with distinguished periods of intervention. To evaluate the impact of using recycled materials, we considered alternative pavement structures composed of asphalt materials containing a greater amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). The study was carried out considering analysis periods of 20, 50, 80, and 100 years and using two indicators: non-renewable cumulative energy demand (nr-CED) and global warming potential (GWP). The results show that the use of higher amounts of RAP can mitigate negative environmental impacts and that certain structures and maintenance strategies potentially enhance the environmental performance of road pavements. This article suggests initiatives that will facilitate the decision-making process of city administrators to achieve more sustainable road pavement constructions and provides an essential dataset inventory to support future environmental assessment studies, particularly for European cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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16 pages, 859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Public Procurement Requirements for Railway Transport Promote Economic and Social Sustainability in South Africa?

by David Fourie and Cornel Malan

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11923; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132111923 - 28 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2042

Abstract

When considering sustainability from a socioeconomic and environmental point, the South African public transport industry was not an integral part of such planning until the last decade. Various well-intended and well-defined public procurement and environmental regulatory policies and instruments were put in place over the years, however, they appear to be failing in achieving the goals of local job creation and alleviation of unemployment. This exploratory literature review study of various public documents, regulatory instruments, and review reports aims to evaluate current knowledge pertaining to the current level of sustainable transport from a life-cycle approach, in support of overall sustainable goals in South Africa. The research set out to assess the status of public procurement in the revitalising of public rail freight transport towards identifying areas of excellence that could be used to address under-performance in other areas. The documentary analysis found various areas where the public procurement policies within South Africa, which aims to promote local participation, are facing difficulties due to lack of access to modern technology as well as inadequate skills levels to be able to partake in the ventures. In exploring South African challenges and current solutions, the article recommends a holistic and integrated approach to provide for a sustained manufacturing and service supply stream within the local railway transport environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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20 pages, 4042 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Criteria Selection of Additives in Porous Asphalt Mixtures Using Mechanical, Hydraulic, Economic, and Environmental Indicators

by Anik Gupta, Carlos J. Slebi-Acevedo, Esther Lizasoain-Arteaga, Jorge Rodriguez-Hernandez and Daniel Castro-Fresno

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13042146 - 17 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3191

Abstract

Porous asphalt (PA) mixtures are more environmentally friendly but have lower durability than dense-graded mixtures. Additives can be incorporated into PA mixtures to enhance their mechanical strength; however, they may compromise the hydraulic characteristics, increase the total cost of pavement, and negatively affect the environment. In this paper, PA mixtures were produced with 5 different types of additives including 4 fibers and 1 filler. Their performances were compared with the reference mixtures containing virgin bitumen and polymer-modified bitumen. The performance of all mixes was assessed using: mechanical, hydraulic, economic, and environmental indicators. Then, the Delphi method was applied to compute the relative weights for the parameters in multi-criteria decision-making methods. Evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS), technique for order of the preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) were employed to rank the additives. According to the results obtained, aramid pulp displayed comparable and, for some parameters such as abrasion resistance, even better performance than polymer-modified bitumen, whereas cellulose fiber demonstrated the best performance regarding sustainability, due to economic and environmental benefits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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Review

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14 pages, 1276 KiB

Open AccessReview

Understanding Travel Behavior and Sustainability of Current Transportation System for Older Adults in Malaysia: A Scoping Review

by Nur Farhana Mohammed Noor, Hayati Kadir Shahar, Tengku Aizan Hamid, Zumilah Zainalaludin, Siti Anom Ahmad, Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani, Norsidah Ujang, Irwan Syah Md Yusoff and Siti Aisyah Nor Akahbar

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14140; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142114140 - 29 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2152

Abstract

Rapid transportation development may be welcomed by many, but older adults might find it difficult to keep up with their transportation uses and remain active. This study reviewed published articles on the travel behavior of older adults in Malaysia and associated transportation determinants to explore how sustainable the transportation system is for this vulnerable cohort. The authors searched four databases: PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and EBSCOhost. Inclusion criteria were older respondents, living in a community in Malaysia, addressing any travel behavior characteristics, and being written in English. Review papers, letters, book citations, comments, editorials, and experimental and animal studies are excluded from this study. A total of seven studies were included in this review extending from 2007 to 2020. The result showed that the transportation use of older adults has shifted from relying on public transport to driving their own vehicles to move around. According to the findings of this study, besides personal and health factors, the transport use of older adults is affected mainly by cost, public transport availability, road traffic and safety, the complexity of the transportation system, distance to public transit, availability of parking space, as well as road conditions and signage. It is concluded that an effective strategy to improve the transportation system is needed to prevent the unmet travel needs of older adults in Malaysia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals)

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