An Information-Based Decision Framework for Sustainable Urban Mobility in Turkish Metropolitan Cities
Keywords:
Sustainable urban mobility, Information-based decision making, Mobility data, Decision infrastructure, Data governance, Socio-technical transitions, Türkiye, Evidence-based policyAbstract
The transition towards sustainable urban mobility increasingly depends on the ability of cities to transform diverse sources of mobility data into knowledge that supports coordinated, adaptive and long-term policy decisions. However, data availability does not in itself produce evidence-based decision making. Mobility information is often fragmented across institutions, generated according to different standards and purposes, and characterised by varying levels of quality, accessibility and interoperability. These challenges are particularly significant in metropolitan contexts where transport interacts with land use, economic development, environmental objectives, technological change and social behaviour. This paper develops an information-based decision framework for supporting sustainable urban mobility transitions in Turkish metropolitan cities. Drawing on information-based decision making, data governance, urban mobility planning and socio-technical transition theory, it conceptualises sustainable mobility governance as a continuous process of transforming data into information, information into actionable knowledge, and knowledge into adaptive decisions and institutional learning. The framework extends beyond the concept of a mobility data platform by proposing an urban mobility decision infrastructure encompassing data governance, interoperability, analytical capabilities, institutional arrangements, stakeholder knowledge, decision processes and feedback mechanisms. Particular attention is given to the institutional and governance context of metropolitan mobility in Türkiye, including fragmented responsibilities, heterogeneous data practices, financial and implementation constraints, and interactions between national and metropolitan decision-making. The paper argues that sustainable mobility requires not simply more data or sophisticated analytical tools, but institutionalised capabilities to integrate information, navigate uncertainty and competing interests, evaluate interventions, learn from outcomes and adapt decisions over time.
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