Speaker
Description
Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) is a comprehensive, data-driven approach aimed at improving urban transport systems through stakeholder engagement, evidence-based decision-making, and strategic scenario development. In Türkiye, SUMP projects initiated in cities of İzmir, Ankara, Kocaeli, and İstanbul, which not only included new modeling approaches, but also a thorough legislative investigation. İzmir SUMP projects stands out due to its pioneering activity-based modeling approach, and a detailed examination of policy documents and planning instruments to ensure a strong analytical foundation.This study, conducted as a part of the “SUMP İzmir Project”, evaluates the coherence between İzmir’s spatial and strategic plans and its sustainable urban mobility objectives, using the CIVITAS intervention areas as an assessment framework.
The methodology involves a detailed content analysis of the policies, and spatial and strategic plans that form the basis of Izmir's sustainable urban mobility planning. These plans were evaluated for their alignment with 12 CIVITAS intervention areas, including active mobility, public transport, demand management, smart mobility, logistics, and environmental sustainability, as well as İzmir-specific priorities such as coastal planning and port integration. The results are presented in tables and schemes.
The findings reveal significant gaps in İzmir’s spatial planning concerning sustainable urban mobility. The findings from spatial plans can be summarized as:
• The 1/100,000 Environmental Regulation Plan (2014) acknowledges the connection between transport and urban expansion but lacks a structured approach to demand management and spatial planning that supports sustainable mobility.
• The 1/25,000 Metropolitan Environmental Plan (2012) was developed based on the Transportation Master Plan (2009) but fails to incorporate key aspects such as inclusive planning, active mobility, demand management, and urban space management. A limitation of this study is the lack of access to plans at the 1/1000 and 1/5,000 scales.
• Due to the existing planning paradigm, these numerous plans do not cover CIVITAS intervention areas as comprehensively as higher-level plans.
On the other hand, İzmir’s strategic planning efforts show stronger commitments to sustainable mobility. The findings are;
• The IMM Strategic Plan (2020-2024) promotes clean energy vehicles, cycling infrastructure, and public transport integration.
• The İzmir Green City Action Plan (GCAP, 2020) focuses on low-emission transport, sustainable logistics, and energy efficiency, while the İzmir Transportation Master Plan (TMP 2030, 2015) emphasizes rail network expansion and reduced car dependency.
• Supporting action plans such as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan (2018), Parking Action Plan (2019), and Marine Transport Integration Plan (2019) reinforce multimodal transport solutions.
• The İzmir Logistics Plan (LOPI, 2022) and the Sustainable Logistics Plan for the Historic City Center (2030) contribute to freight and last-mile delivery strategies.
Additionally, climate-focused policies, including the İzmir Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and the Climate Change Resilient Cities Framework (2019), provide long-term sustainability, and climate adaptation measures.
Even with these advancements, numerous challenges continue to exist:
• Many strategic plans function independently, resulting in fragmented implementation.
• Furthermore, there is a disconnect between national regulations promoting sustainable mobility and local implementation efforts.
• Public engagement mechanisms need further enhancement to better balance citizen participation with varying mobility needs.
In conclusion, İzmir’s urban mobility framework reflects a strong policy commitment to sustainability; however, spatial planning remains misaligned with strategic transport objectives.
The study concludes with recommendations that may also contribute to the development of the SUMP methodology:
• Enhanced policy coordination is needed to align spatial planning with transport strategies effectively.
• Existing land-use and spatial plans at lower levels, along with population projections, are necessary to accurately capture current and future socio-demographic and spatial dynamics.
• The adoption of decision-support systems should be prioritized to inform policy and planning.
| Keywords | SUMP; Spatial Planning; Strategic Planning; CIVITAS; İzmir |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
