TRANSFORMING MOBILITY THROUGH PROXIMITY PLANNING AND 15 MINUTE-CITIES IN SPAIN. IMPLICATIONS FOR ACCEPTABILITY, SOCIAL EQUITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO CONDUCT A MULTI-CITY CROSS-CASE ANALYSIS TO TEST THE EFFECTS OF TRANSFORMATIVE URBAN POLICIES THAT ENCOURAGE URBAN PROXIMITY. AS SUCH, THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON THE RESOLUTION OF ONE OF THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF SOCIETY: DECARBONIZING MOBILITY AND CREATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES HAVE FAILED TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR'S EMISSIONS OR A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF ITS NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS SINCE THEY HAVE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON ENCOURAGING INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES AND INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY FIXES LIKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND MORE EFFICIENT ENGINES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS. AS A RESPONSE, THERE HAS BEEN A RECENT EMERGENCE OF POLICIES LOOKING TO USE BUILT ENVIRONMENT DESIGN TO INDUCE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL BEHAVIOR THROUGH THE CREATION OF PROXIMITY DYNAMICS. PLANNING FOR PROXIMITY CAN EFFECTIVELY CONSTITUTE A VALUABLE PATHWAY TOWARD A MORE SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE, AND ACCEPTABLE TRANSPORTATION FUTURE. HOWEVER, IT IS UNDER-RESEARCHED WITHIN THE FIELD OF URBAN PLANNING, WITH A LACK OF CONSENSUS ON A DEFINITION AND METHODOLOGIES FOR MEASUREMENT, AND A DEARTH OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE DETERMINANTS OF PROXIMITY, BOTH AT THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THE POPULATION LEVEL. THERE IS ALSO AN ALMOST COMPLETE LACK OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE BEHIND THE IDEA THAT PROXIMITY ENVIRONMENTS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR AND THE DEGREE UPON WHICH PLANNING FOR PROXIMITY MAY LIMIT TRANSPORT RELATED-EMISSIONS OR CREATE MORE JUST AND EGALITARIAN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, AS NO SCIENTIFIC STUDY TO DATE HAS EMPIRICALLY MEASURED IT. CITIES CANNOT CONTINUE TO PLAN FOR PROXIMITY IF THE THEORETICAL PATHWAYS TOWARDS LOWER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND HIGHER SOCIAL JUSTICE HAVE NOT YET BEEN TESTED AND VALIDATED. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE PROJECT PLANS TO (A) TO DEVELOP A COMPARABLE URBAN PROXIMITY INDEX (UPI) AND TO MODEL THE MAIN BUILT ENVIRONMENT DETERMINANTS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF PROXIMITY CONDITIONS WITHIN THE FIVE SPANISH SELECTED CITIES; (B) OBJECTIVELY MEASURE DAILY MOBILITY IN AREAS WITH DIFFERENT PROXIMITY THRESHOLDS AND BENCHMARK THE SUCCESS OF TRANSFORMATIVE POLICIES AT FOSTERING SHORT-DISTANCE TRAVEL IN ACTIVE MODES; AND (C) ANALYSE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PROXIMITY POLICIES AND PROXIMITY URBAN CONDITIONS THROUGH MODELLING THE POTENTIAL OF PROXIMITY-PROMOTING POLICIES TO REDUCE PER CAPITA VEHICLE OWNERSHIP, DISTANCES TRAVELLED, AND EMISSION LEVELS OF CO2 AND OTHER KEY AIR POLLUTANTS. TOGETHER WITH THAT WE AIM TO UNDERSTAND HOW PROXIMITY CONDITIONS AFFECTS TRAVEL-RELATED DECISIONS WITHIN THE HOUSEHOLD AND EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF ACCESSIBILITY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND ALSO EXAMINE THE DETERMINANTS OF ACCEPTABILITY AND OPPOSITION TOWARDS THESE NEW TYPES OF POLICIES. THE PROJECT IS ALIGNED WITH THE THEMATIC PRIORITIES OF THE PLAN ESTATAL DE INVESTIGACION CIENTIFICA, TECNICA Y DE INNOVACION 2021-2023, SPECIFICALLY STRATEGIC ACTION 5, CLIMATE, ENERGY AND MOBILITY AND THE ESTRATEGIA DE MOVILIDAD SEGURA, SOSTENIBLE Y CONECTADA DEL MINISTERIO DE TRANSPORTES, MOVILIDAD Y AGENDA URBANA.