الفهرس 
Urban Mobility of Disadvantaged Groups
Collective view of transport choicesOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Mobility disparities in the Greater Cairo Region (GCR) disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups such as women, children and adolescents, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, requiring inclusive mobility measures to ensure their safety and accessibility on the streets. This research aims at exploring the existing impacts of existing urban mobility in the Greater Cairo Region (GCR) on disadvantaged groups by reviewing travel behavior of a purposive sample from these disadvantaged groups. While examining the circumstances and experiences associated to their transport mode choices.
The research reviews the concepts of urban mobility, its standards and trends, disadvantaged groups and the state of mobility inequality. The examination of existing literature concluded in the development of a conceptual framework, which integrates the standards outlined by the United Nations for adequate urban mobility that are Accessibility, Affordability, Safety, Efficiency, and Sustainability, along with the components of urban mobility categorized by McKinsey & Company that are: Shaping the system, Delivering Mobility, and Enablers of technology and business. This conceptual framework serves as the foundation for the empirical investigations conducted in this research.
For the primary data collection, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and observatory trips of urban mobility in the GCR, supplemented by desk research on secondary data on demographics and travel behavior of the target groups in GCR and Egypt. Specifically, the focus is on understanding how the lifestyle and personal preferences of the interviewed sample align with their transportation choices. The interviews’ travel pattern and revealed experiences of mobility inequality were connected through mobility biographies, along with contextual realities and their rights’ compromises.
The findings of the empirical study provided a thorough examination of the urban mobility landscape in Egypt, with a focus on the experiences of four target disadvantaged groups. The analysis revealed significant gaps in existing literature regarding the documentation of these groups’ struggles and successful initiatives, compounded by a fragmented urban mobility governance framework in Greater Cairo. Roles and accountability among various actors are dispersed, further complicated by deficiencies in official data, which tend to be overly generalized.
Moving forward, a more nuanced understanding of challenges and opportunities in urban mobility is further elaborated through the findings of the conducted interviews. While respondents express a preference for car ownership to alleviate existing mobility inequalities, there is also a willingness to walk more, highly sought by even the elderly and persons with disabilities, if streets were better designed with accessible sidewalks and safer connections. Additionally, addressing inappropriate behaviors and verbal assaults, especially against women and girls is deemed essential for creating a more inclusive walking environment.
The interviewed sample demonstrated a strong willingness towards car ownership, driven by the desire to avoid challenges they encountered in walking and public transport, including issues such as inaccessibility, harassment, and inadequate safety measures. The research as well marked the influences of intergenerational influences on the rising generations of children and adolescents fearing public transport and walking in the streets of GCR. While on the positive side, the research highlights the readiness for integrating electric and automated cars, applying user friendly carpooling applications helping the four disadvantage groups to obtain safe and socially engaged rides. Innovating and culturally relevant solutions are accompanied by the readiness of younger generations to develop and raise awareness of such applications.
The study reaches two lines of recommendations: the first encompasses suggestions to address mobility inequality based on the findings from the interviewed sample, and their needs and perspectives on different levels of policies and projects in the Greater Cairo Region. While the second line demands further extensive research on mobility inequality. Hence, this research draws attention to the importance to integrate the needs of disadvantaged groups in GCR into urban mobility planning and implementation efforts.