Effectiveness of Mobility and Urban Sustainability Measures in Improving Citizen Health: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: The relationship between mobility and health has multiple dimensions, and the mobility model can be considered a public health intervention. Increasingly, mobility in cities is oriented towards incorporating sustainability criteria; however, there are many very diverse measures that cities carry out in terms of mobility and urban sustainability, and in many cases, these do not receive subsequent evaluation and/or study to analyse their effectiveness or impact. Currently, the literature does not offer any updated review of the measures applied in the different communities and countries. Aim: To carry out a panoramic review of the measures implemented in the last 5 years to analyse which ones report a greater effectiveness and efficiency in health. Results: After applying the exclusion criteria of the study, a total of 16 articles were obtained for evaluation. The measures applied in terms of sustainability are grouped into four subgroups and their subsequent evaluation and possible impact on public health is analysed. Conclusions: The present study found a large heterogeneous variety of sustainability measures in local settings around the world, which seem to reflect positive impacts on population health. However, subsequent evaluation of these measures is inconclusive in most cases. Further research and sharing across macro-communities are needed to establish universal criteria.