International Seminar on Susainable Mobility

The topic has been broadly studied and debated. However, there still no consensus over some points, especially those related to the potential of soil occupation and transport planning policies as a means of achieving sustainable mobility.

Understanding that sustainability is intimately related to the environmental, social and economic development tripod, that is, that it represents an ideal state of society where people live a decent and comfortable life and work to fulfil their needs in a healthy and socially fair environment, without compromising the chance of other human beings doing the same now and in the near future is vital when seeking sustainable urban mobility.

Establishing what we need today and in the future rather than what we think we want is hard work. HSR, bullet trains? Biodiesel or electricity? These and a lot of other questions need urgent answers.

At the same time, urban expansion in Brazil is happening at a fast and unstable pace in relation to the spatial planning of its areas. Cities are going through a verticalization process, welcoming enterprises which will certainly generate or attract a lot of traffic; public policies instigate an increase in the number of vehicles in the streets, consequently changing spatial, environmental and traffic flow dynamics.

It is therefore crucial to create active public policies alongside urban and transport planning processes which ensure that the population will have better, safer and more efficient journey conditions through a sustainable urban mobility system and accessibility based on universal urban design principles.