THE urban mobility is a widely discussed concept in public policies that involve city planning. It's about the way how the urban population moves through the geographic spaces urban areas, in addition to directly interfering in the social well-being of the population.
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What is urban mobility?
Urban mobility can be understood as the way of people moving in urban spaces, either individually (on foot, bicycles, motorcycles and/or cars), or collectively (bus, subway, train, etc.).
![Urban mobility involves the coming and going of people in urban space. [1]](/f/db2be52510843a22a3057e6512aef250.jpg)
This concept is essential in urban planning, as it has a decisive influence on the quality of life of citizens in cities.
Causes of urban mobility problems in Brazil
As it is people's right to come and go, urban mobility is directly linked to process of urbanization of the cities. This process was accentuated with the arrival of large industries in Brazil, in the mid-1930s.
Such industries were concentrated in a few areas, mainly in the
RSoutheast region. industrialization accelerated the country-city migration, known as rural exodus, in which people left rural areas in search of jobs and possible improvements in their lives.This accelerated migration, however, did not keep up with the generation of jobs, which brought great competitiveness in several areas: housing, work, food, leisure and, mainly, the use of public spaces. With this, urban mobility, over the years, gained evidence, generating serious urban problems.
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Problems and consequences of urban mobility in Brazil
With the development of the industry associated with the rural exodus, Brazilian cities grew frighteningly in the last decades of the 20th century. For comparison, the population rate living in rural areas at the beginning of the last century was 65%, whereas in urban areas it was 35%. At the end of the same century, the urban population was 80% against 20% of the rural population.
These data reveal the great change in space that took place during the 20th century, especially after 1930-40, when the rural exodus was accentuated.
Urban planning and the evolution of public transport means in large Brazilian cities did not keep up with this rapid urban growth. Thereby, public transport developed below expectations, causing rapid scrapping. This scrapping of public transport contributed to the classes greater purchasing power acquired their own transport, increasing the number of vehicles on the streets.
![Public transport in São Paulo. [2]](/f/3530ff3a3559187c11107a780b951a0e.jpg)
Adding scrapped and crowded public transport plus the increase in the number of individual vehicles on the streets, we have an equation that undermines the right to come and go in cities, with delays, air and noise pollution, traffic jams and other urban problems.
The increasing number of individual vehicles on the streets is due to several factors, such as:
increase in Brazilian average income in recent years;
poor quality of public transport;
credits facilitated to the consumer;
historic policy of prioritizing highways;
reduced taxes on industrialized products (cars and motorcycles enter this list); between others.
Such problems affect the major capitals of the country intensely, but not only them. Medium-sized cities, that is, above 50,000 inhabitants, are already beginning to feel the effects of the high number of vehicles on the streets, something that should be carefully analyzed.
See too: Environmental problems in urban centers
Sustainable urban mobility in Brazil
Urban mobility, to be sustainable, must undergo rigorous urban planning. Encouraging the use of bicycle lanes, public transport, collective rides, car rotations and even urban tolls could improve locomotion and reduce environmental impacts caused by the excess of vehicles on the streets, one of the main obstacles to good mobility.
O use of bicycles and possible electric cars it would also help in sustainable mobility, as it would avoid, in these modalities, the emission of pollutants in urban air. Furthermore, the creation of urban parks for population rest and physical activities would make people prioritize walking the short distances rather than taking the car out of garage. In addition to exercising, these people contributed to the environmental theme, leaving the city cleaner and less noisy.
Urban mobility legislation in Brazil
Brazilian legislation guarantees a theoretically efficient public policy when the subject is urban mobility. Among the laws that help to improve mobility in cities, we have:
the Statute of Cities;
Law 12,587/12 (which governs the guidelines of the National Policy on Urban Mobility);
Law 13,089/15 (known as the Metropolis Statute);
the recent Law 13.683/18, which brought minor changes to the two previous laws.
These laws oblige municipalities to have a Urban Mobility Plan that meets a series of requirements, such as cycle paths and cycle lanes, sustainability in public transport, protection of environmental areas, among others.
Challenges of urban mobility in Brazil
The great challenges of Brazilian urban mobility include the Traffic of large and medium-sized cities. With the increase in the average income of Brazilians, the increase in vehicles on the streets and the preference for individual transport, coming and going in cities is increasingly chaotic.
In addition to the traffic, there is the population swelling and the expansion of cities, with increasingly peripheral areas, which are neglected by the government in relation to mobility policies. With the increase in these areas, people need to travel longer distances, which demands more vehicles on the streets. This brings, more often, traffic jams and slow traffic at the time of the rush.
Solutions for urban mobility in Brazil
Several geographers and urban planners who are dedicated to the study of urban mobility are looking for solutions to improve traffic in cities and, consequently, urban mobility in public spaces. Among some solutions, we can mention:
expand areas served by public transport (bus, subway and train);
diversify the use of means of transport (cars, bicycles, buses, motorcycles);
flexibility in the schedule of urban activities: commerce in one hour, school activities in another, to distribute mobility throughout the day;
encouraging collective rides for people going in the same direction;
integration between public transport (bus integrated with subway, for example).
![Bike paths are excellent ways to improve urban mobility. In the photo, bike path in Rio de Janeiro.[3]](/f/5ab3e0b0ea8ddff77fdfd4d656082b4b.jpg)
These solutions could alleviate mobility problems as long as there was a partnership between the society and public authorities, with campaigns for environmental awareness and conscientious use of spaces public. After all, the city belongs to everyone, and everyone has the right and duty to take care of it.
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solved exercises
Question 1 - (Unfir CE/2016) The search for urban mobility is a challenge faced by most large cities in Brazil, given that the largest part of the country's large cities find it difficult to develop solutions that reduce the amount of traffic jams along the morning. For urban mobility, check the CORRECT alternative.
A) Urban mobility is also an environmental issue, as the excess of vehicles on the streets generates more pollution, interfering with natural and climatic problems in the urban environment.
B) The main cause of urban mobility problems in Brazil is related to the increased use of public transport to the detriment of the use of individual transport.
C) The increase in the average income of Brazilians in recent years and the reduction in taxes by the Government Federal about products cars are solutions to improve traffic in big cities Brazilian companies.
D) Between the years 2002 and 2012, the number of vehicles licensed in Brazil presented a growth rate equal to the growth rate of the Brazilian population in the same period.
E) The greater use of bicycles and the use of rotations in the use of private cars in large cities contribute to the worsening of traffic conditions in these cities.
Resolution
Alternative A. Urban mobility is also part of the environmental theme.
Question 2 - (Unified RJ/2016)
In the image of the Italian city of Venice, the following aspect of the dynamics of urban planning is registered:
A) consolidation of a sustainable logistics system for mobility.
B) expansion of jobs from the informal sector of the economy.
C) expansion of new technologies aimed at the civil construction industry.
D) modernization of the architectural features of the local artistic-cultural heritage.
E) change in the conditions of receptivity of tourist attractions.
Resolution
Alternative A. As alternatives to urban mobility problems, the use of the original layout of cities and sustainable means of transport can reduce traffic and environmental problems.
Image credits
[1] Nelson Antoine / Shutterstock
[2] Ricardo de O. we read / Shutterstock
[3] lazyllama / Shutterstock
By Attila Matthias
Geography teacher
