Transport & Mobility

As a basic enabler of people’s everyday activities and the supply of goods and services, urban transport systems, their use, socio-spatial distribution and intersectionality with numerous aspects of urban development are key to the achievement of sustainable urban futures.

Aerial view of a busy street crossing at nighttime
Researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds are investigating how mobility and accessibility intertwine with complex issues of labour precarity, social, economic and health inequalities, and sustainability transitions in different spatial, social and cultural contexts. Yet, there remains multiple theoretical, methodological, conceptual and practical challenges to achieve urban transport systems that meet our travel needs and demand for goods and services without a threat to our health or the environment.

The Transport and Mobilities theme brings together established and emerging researchers across the broad and fragmented diaspora of transport studies including engineering, economics, planning, urban design, physical and human geography, sociology, public health and environmental and business studies. Our overarching aim is to form new researcher collaborations to innovatively explore the complex and multi-faceted challenges associated with sustainable urban mobility locally, nationally and globally. In doing so, it recognises that there is already a wealth of successful research being conducted at Manchester University, which is highly relevant to this topic.

The Transport and Mobilities theme is led by Karen Lucas.