Smart Mobility: an evaluation method to audit Italian cities

In the debate on smart cities it is widely shared that smart mobility plays a key role, as (i) is one of the most important facilities to support the functioning of the urban area, (ii) produces several negative impacts (such as: pollution, traffic, street congestion), (iii) allows to use broadly ICT to improve its efficiency. ICTs help transportation managers deliver the most dynamic, flexible and cost effective transport options and contribute to achieve cities' climate targets by lowering energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, if the current ICT use puts forward many opportunities for developing a more sustainable mobility system, it also raises many challenges. For instance, it is difficult to measure the real effectiveness of these solutions, if not in terms of the consensus achieved by the local authorities and in budget increase of seller companies. Furthermore, ICTs need sophisticated management systems and have operating costs which seem to be not comparable with the benefits that they provide for. According to this backdrop, EU in the latest communication on ITS (EC, 2013) underlines that “despite a high number of technical solutions and mature applications the uptake of ITS applications is fragmented and large differences between cities remain”. In this framework, the aim of the paper is to analyze how Italian cities are interpreting the topic of Smart Mobility, with particular attention to the use of new technologies in urban mobility. According to scientific literature review, a set of indicators was identified and organized into three categories representing the main aspects of Smart Mobility: ICT, Sustainability and Accessibility. This set was applied to the Italian small and medium sized provincial capitals with a population from 50.000 to 250.000 inhabitants in 2016. Lastly, a graphic and synthetic representation of the collected data has been developed, in order to give an easy overview of Italian cities regards Smart Mobility characteristics. The analysis showed that the use of ICTs mainly concerns the introduction of devices and sensors for improving performance of transport system and information to users, as well as the promotion of a more sustainable mobility. The spread of ICTs in most of the cities appears still unsatisfactory: Italian cities are oriented towards a more sustainable and accessible urban mobility model rather than a smart one. Indeed, ICT solutions for Smart Mobility seem to represent isolated initiatives, without indispensable scientific and disciplinary quality criteria. Furthermore, ICT initiatives are not included in shared and coordinated strategies integrated with the urban transformation governance, as part of a global policy framework, such as SUMPs. Therefore, to ensure that mobility can be “smart” and sustainable in order to improve the quality of life, a more integrated approach is required in order to consider the complex trade-offs between city and mobility. Smart Mobility means not just about using ITCs, but being able to function as an integral part of a larger system that also regards participation and urban quality.