Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area

IntroductionThis study analyzed gender disparities in daily mobility patterns in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, with a focus on the impacts of built environment factors and considering the socioeconomic characteristics of the individuals.MethodsUsing data from the 2018 Household Mobility Survey...

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Main Authors: Lorea Mendiola, Pilar González
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2025.1593562/full
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author Lorea Mendiola
Pilar González
author_facet Lorea Mendiola
Pilar González
author_sort Lorea Mendiola
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThis study analyzed gender disparities in daily mobility patterns in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, with a focus on the impacts of built environment factors and considering the socioeconomic characteristics of the individuals.MethodsUsing data from the 2018 Household Mobility Survey and multilevel regression models, the gender gap in mobility was analyzed with a particular emphasis on work commutes and accompanying trips. The inclusion in the analysis of gender interactions, in particular with transportation and land use factors, is a novel contribution to the field, as it allowed us to analyze in depth the extent to which these factors differentially affect the urban mobility of men and women and could, therefore, contribute to widening or narrowing the gender mobility gap.Results and discussionOur findings demonstrated that public transport availability and land-use characteristics primarily affect travel time and distance, with gender-differentiated impacts. Women benefited more from improved public transport coverage and diversity, while higher population density, greater self-containment, and higher density of street intersections reduced travel distances and travel times in general, although they affected women’s mobility less. This study underscores the need of integrating gender perspectives into sustainable urban mobility strategies to ensure equitable access to goods and services. However, urban and transport policies alone would be insufficient to reduce the mobility gap, because the results showed that individual socioeconomic characteristics also significantly influence mobility, with women facing greater constraints due to domestic responsibilities or limited access to private vehicles. A comprehensive approach incorporating social measures addressed to mitigate the restrictions that women face is essential to achieving a gender-inclusive mobility.
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spelling doaj-art-a8504ab26f73410cbf4201701f804b3a2025-08-20T03:53:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Cities2624-96342025-05-01710.3389/frsc.2025.15935621593562Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan AreaLorea Mendiola0Pilar González1Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastian, SpainDepartment of Quantitative Methods & Institute for Public Economics, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, SpainIntroductionThis study analyzed gender disparities in daily mobility patterns in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, with a focus on the impacts of built environment factors and considering the socioeconomic characteristics of the individuals.MethodsUsing data from the 2018 Household Mobility Survey and multilevel regression models, the gender gap in mobility was analyzed with a particular emphasis on work commutes and accompanying trips. The inclusion in the analysis of gender interactions, in particular with transportation and land use factors, is a novel contribution to the field, as it allowed us to analyze in depth the extent to which these factors differentially affect the urban mobility of men and women and could, therefore, contribute to widening or narrowing the gender mobility gap.Results and discussionOur findings demonstrated that public transport availability and land-use characteristics primarily affect travel time and distance, with gender-differentiated impacts. Women benefited more from improved public transport coverage and diversity, while higher population density, greater self-containment, and higher density of street intersections reduced travel distances and travel times in general, although they affected women’s mobility less. This study underscores the need of integrating gender perspectives into sustainable urban mobility strategies to ensure equitable access to goods and services. However, urban and transport policies alone would be insufficient to reduce the mobility gap, because the results showed that individual socioeconomic characteristics also significantly influence mobility, with women facing greater constraints due to domestic responsibilities or limited access to private vehicles. A comprehensive approach incorporating social measures addressed to mitigate the restrictions that women face is essential to achieving a gender-inclusive mobility.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2025.1593562/fullsustainable urban mobilitygender gap in mobilitygender inclusive strategiesland usetransport policyBuenos Aires Metropolitan Area
spellingShingle Lorea Mendiola
Pilar González
Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
sustainable urban mobility
gender gap in mobility
gender inclusive strategies
land use
transport policy
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title_full Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title_fullStr Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title_full_unstemmed Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title_short Designing the city of the future: comprehensive and gender-inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
title_sort designing the city of the future comprehensive and gender inclusive strategies for sustainable urban mobility in the buenos aires metropolitan area
topic sustainable urban mobility
gender gap in mobility
gender inclusive strategies
land use
transport policy
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2025.1593562/full
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AT pilargonzalez designingthecityofthefuturecomprehensiveandgenderinclusivestrategiesforsustainableurbanmobilityinthebuenosairesmetropolitanarea