Built environment and smart mobility

Cities and mobility continuously shape each other. The locations of homes, jobs, and services affect how people move, while mobility systems (from streets to public transport to digital platforms) guide where and how urban development occurs. This course examines these relationships, including the role of smart mobility and emerging technologies in contemporary urban planning and design. Real-world examples and case studies are used throughout to illustrate how theory translates into practice.

The first part of the course is mainly lecture-based and builds a theoretical foundation. Topics include transportation and land-use interactions, accessibility, travel demand, and the impacts of car-oriented mobility on environmental quality, safety, health, and well-being. Planning and design approaches (such as walkability, New Urbanism, and Transit-Oriented Development) are discussed alongside smart mobility concepts and ICT-based innovations, including Mobility as a Service. Guest lectures provide additional professional and academic perspectives.
The second part of the course gradually shifts toward hands-on application through a group assignment (carried out in collaboration with the City of Eindhoven). During weekly work sessions, students develop an integrated, evidence-based vision and propose an innovative solution for the future of mobility and accessibility. Support is offered throughout the process, culminating in the creation and presentation of a poster.

The course covers:

• Interactions between transportation systems, land-use patterns, accessibility, and travel behaviour
• Environmental, social, and health impacts of current mobility systems
• Urban planning and design approaches for more sustainable and accessible cities
• Smart mobility concepts and the potential of technological and ICT innovations
• Accessibility concepts, measurement methods, and basic transport demand modelling

After the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain and interpret key theories and concepts describing interactions between transportation, land use and the built environment.
• Analyse and evaluate urban mobility issues and proposed solutions from planning, design, and smart mobility perspectives.
• Apply analytical frameworks and methods (e.g., accessibility components, transport models, Transit Oriented development principles, Mobility as a Service integration) to interpret real-world mobility challenges.
• Develop an integrated, evidence-based vision and propose innovative and integrated approaches for future mobility and accessibility, including long-term and medium-term measures.

Regarding personal and professional development, students will be able to:

• Engage with scientific literature, select appropriate sources, and use them to justify problem analyses and proposed interventions.
• Communicate ideas effectively using appropriate visual, written, and oral formats.

• A selection of readings will be included in the study guide.