Transport-related social exclusion in Latin America: a multilingual scoping review of modal choice and travel behaviour

Abstract

Transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) has emerged as an increasingly pressing concern in cities across the Global South, where rapid urbanisation converges with stark spatial inequalities, deeply entrenched socio-economic disparities, and fragmented transport systems. This review focuses on Latin American (LATAM) cities, which are particularly illustrative of these dynamics, and provides a new lens on behavioural factors influencing modal choice and their role as determinants of TRSE. In addition to challenging prevailing narratives that champion infrastructure and accessibility inequities while overlooking behavioural and experiential constraints, the article also employs a more inclusive approach to literature review, incorporating multilingual sources from the SciELO database, which includes extensive scholarly work from LATAM that rarely appears in well-consolidated indexes such as Web of Science or Scopus. The thematic synthesis (n = 96) uncovers structural socio-spatial inequalities prevalent in LATAM urban contexts, including gendered security risks, social stigmas affecting marginalised populations, and socio-spatial segregation phenomena that nurture specific travel behaviours independent of transport infrastructure availability and affordability. The combination of indexed and non-indexed databases further reveals nuanced discrepancies in the transport modes considered and the target groups highlighted, offering a more comprehensive understanding of the contextual particularities of TRSE in LATAM that would otherwise be fragmentary if only English-based, indexed literature were considered. Building on this synthesis, a conceptual framework is developed that integrates behavioural constraints, structural inequalities, and socio-spatial dynamics, aiming to sketch recommendations for planning practice and policymaking, tailored to LATAM contexts.