Tools and Technologies for Enhancing Public Engagement in Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning—The Case of Rethymno, Crete

Abstract

This work deals with public participation in developing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in Greece, provided that SUMP development procedures require a high level of public engagement in several stages. Its importance lies on the fact that although the European Commission has provided specific guidelines, imposing a distinct framework for public engagement in developing a SUMP, Greek practices and maturity in participatory planning in general and sustainable mobility planning in particular are lagging behind the common know-how and practice of other European member states. The study attempts to establish an integrated methodology that combines classical and ICT-enabled tools and approaches in order a higher public engagement level to be achieved. This methodology is implemented and tested in a specific case study, the city of Rethymno-Crete, Greece. More specifically, the proposed methodology incorporates traditional techniques for gathering commuting data from citizens and visitors (i.e. questionnaires, mini surveys, workshops and public meetings) as well as innovative ones (i.e. map-based questionnaires, inclusive web-based participatory tools), used for data collection on public opinions for future planning purposes. Emphasis is placed on the development of a web-based crowdsourcing tool as a key for gathering ideas and views on sustainable urban mobility issues. Additionally, particular emphasis is placed upon exploring barriers to participation as well as ways to eliminate such barriers and support a more active engagement of citizens in sustainable mobility planning exercises in the Greek context.