Urban Mobility in Covid-19: How We Adapted to Change and How Should We Respond

Year 2020, Volume: 1 Issue: 2, 96 - 109, 01.12.2020

Abdulkadir Özden Süleyman Nurullah Adahi Şahin

Abstract

Starting with late 2019, we have been struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. An unprecedented change in our mobility needs and behaviour forced us to reshape our thinking of transportation networks and urban mobility. From a disaster management perspective, transportation networks are crucial for providing mobility in response, recovery, and preparedness. In such disasters, the monitoring and use of transportation networks become a very complex problem as the needs and priorities of individuals change dramatically. With the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult circumstances created a shift to personal vehicles including automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and scooters as well as increased walking. This study is carried out to understand the mobility changes and public behaviour during pandemic and normalization periods, and discussing strategic responses for policymakers and service providers. The focus of the study is four major cities in Turkey and nationwide trends. The data source includes walking and driving trends and accessibility of locations in certain categories. The mobility data shows that there is a significant increase in walking and driving personal vehicles as opposed to using public transportation. Additionally, a shift from shopping malls to open spaces and parks indicates that the public use precaution in response to pandemic conditions. Lastly, the flexible and remote working hours reduced the density of workplaces in urban centers. Considering the temporary demand increase in bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles, it is suggested that policymakers should focus on improving micromobility infrastructure in urban centers to make this temporary increase permanent. Additionally, planning and operational activities in public transportation should be managed accordingly to meet dynamically changing demand, and public needs and priorities including sanitary conditions and in-vehicle spacing to accommodate pandemic conditions.

Keywords

Urban Mobility, Covid-19, Disaster Management, Resiliency, Transportation Policy

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