Socially sustainable urban mobility, an unexplored model for Northern Triangle capitals

Abstract

Developing mass transit projects does not mean solving the problem of urban mobility de facto. Urban mobility is a complex problem based not only on technical aspects inherent to the efficiency of infrastructure and different modes of transport, but also on a social context and qualitative variables that are of paramount importance in the search for solutions for sustainable urban mobility.

This text focuses on the phenomenon of urban mobility from a socio-technical perspective, presenting it as a model for analyzing urban mobility from the perspective of the social dimension of sustainable development. The article sets out a theoretical basis for this approach, proposes categories of analysis, and uses them as a tool for analyzing and understanding the challenges of sustainable urban mobility in the specific context of the capital cities of the Northern Triangle.

The proposed methodology involves conducting a documentary review to explore and gather some proxy data on the urban mobility situation in the capital cities of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It also investigates the milestones in the management and construction of the multi-million dollar projects that each city is undertaking to leverage sustainable mobility and offers some initial conjectures in light of the social sustainability approach that attempts to outline project and policy strategies to address future interventions.

As a result, a summary of the analysis is presented in light of the data collected on the topics of accessibility, equity, inclusion, and development of the institutional framework, concluding with a series of concrete lines of action to improve mobility and pending issues to be explored in greater depth that are relevant in light of socially sustainable urban mobility.