Designing the 'Right to Mobility': a Holistic Analysis to Rethink the Public City and Fighting Heat Waves in Urban Areas

Abstract

While the future of the cities seems to be based on sustainable and active mobility, the effects of climate change are worsening especially in terms of rising temperatures and heat waves (IPCC, 2023). For this reason, new strategies are needed to promote a soft mobility that consider the effects of climate change designing 'spaces for mobility'.

Cities and their vitality are central to society, but are they available and accessible to all? There are big differences in mobility needs, which a ‘just city’ must take into account. It is a mobility issue, but also a matter of equity and justice. Even if the spatial justice problem is to be addressed to social institutions (Moroni, 2023), the way we share and distribute public space is a matter of social equity. If we interpret mobility as a chain with an odd number of links, where each link is a different type of mobility, the odd numbered links always represent a pedestrian movement (Busi, 2011). This underlines the importance of designing pedestrian routes that are accessible and suitable for all.

How public space is used changes depending on the characteristics of the person moving around. People with temporary or permanent mobility impairments, the elderly, parents with children, pregnant women, etc. may have different needs than the city can provide.

The use of public space also changes over the course of the day and the seasons because of the influence of different temperatures on our behaviour. High temperatures in cities, which can partially be attributed to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, can reduce mobility acting as a 'social barrier' for specific categories of people. Built environment materials - especially those designed for soft mobility - architectural barriers, and heat waves exacerbate the UHI effect, affecting mobility and slowing down city users. In this context, it is essential to analyse the urban environment in order to ensure accessibility and preserve the 'right to mobility' for all citizens, identifying barriers and UHI’s triggers and mitigators.

A research protocol is presented to analyse the space for soft mobility, using a district of Bergamo (IT) as a case study. The protocol is divided into two methodologies. The objective methodology consists of several analyses carried out using public open data and field-collected data. The subjective methodology is based on interviews with local stakeholders to confirm or modify the results of the objective methodology.

The data is then interpreted and combined, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the area's walkability system, and providing a comprehensive analysis of the urban public realm. Through the analysis of the case study, the contribution aims to identify the key elements for the redesign of mobility spaces to reduce physical barriers, limit the impact of UHI as a ‘social barrier’, and preserve the right to mobility of the most vulnerable groups.