AGULLO Flora

Thesis in progress:
Monitoring changes in mobility practices, what lessons to encourage sustainable mobility?

Keywords:
Daily mobility ; Mobility practice ; Behavioural changes ; Adaptability ; Local culture of mobility ; Mobility biographies

Summary:
At the crossroads of urbanism, urban planning and travel habits, this thesis project is interested in understanding the evolution of mobility practices, with individuals engaged in processes of change of habit, under the influence of personal or place-related factors. In the current energy and ecological transition policy context, this research was established in a CIFRE contract with the Métropole de Lyon to respond to a desire of the community to conduct an observation and analysis of changes in modal practices in progress. As part of a political will to encourage sustainable mobility practices, this project aims to evolve the methodological tools of the Metropolis in the evaluation of modal travel practices.

Environmental concerns, emerging in the 1990s, have challenged the existing automotive system. This transformation was marked by a change in public action in favour of sustainable mobility, calling into question the application of the principle of “predict and provide” (foreseeing and satisfying travel needs) which was characterized by the predominance of car traffic (Maulat 2020). In response to concerns about air pollution and energy consumption in transport, the Métropole de Lyon is investing in more sustainable modes of travel, including actions related to the regulation of car use and better sharing of public space for traffic calming (Gallez et al. 2013). However, despite the political dynamism in place, territorial disparities in terms of mobility and use remain. This reality questions the taking into account of the behavior of users, in the implementation of a public policy of mobility, at the metropolitan scale, or in certain specific parts of the territory (dense center, suburbs, peripheries…).

Faced with these observations, this thesis is positioned on a dialogue between the tools and expertise of public policies, and the research work conducted on the understanding of individual behavior changes in mobility, adopting a dual qualitative and quantitative approach as a methodological protocol. The study of individual mobility trajectories (Cailly et al., 2022) associated with a diagnosis conducted on three territories of the Metropolis, with differentiated characteristics—in terms of urban configuration, local political dynamics, offer of mobility and socio-economic characteristics of the population—will aim to better understand the interactions between the biographical trajectories of individuals, their places of life and their daily modal practices. Moreover, by examining the impact of territorial variations on individual behavior, this thesis aims to make contributions to the understanding of contextual factors specific to each metropolitan territory of Lyon. The aim of this research work is to develop continuous analysis and observation tools that can contribute to the formulation of targeted public policies, enabling more flexible and contextualized action on the promotion of sustainable mobility.