REVIEW article
Front. Future Transp.
Sec. Advancements in Sustainable Transport
This article is part of the Research TopicFuture Cities: Green and Smart Transport Systems for Environmental ResilienceView all articles
Review of indicators and multi-criteria decision-making methods for assessing the sustainability of urban mobility
Provisionally accepted
- 1Instituto de Matematica de Bahia Blanca, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- 2Universidad Nacional del Sur Departamento de Ingenieria, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- 3CONICET Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (PLAPIQUI), Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- 4Universidad Nacional del Sur - Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
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Assessing the sustainability of urban mobility requires clear indicators and robust decision-making tools, yet current knowledge remains fragmented and unevenly distributed across regions. This study conducts a structured literature review of 38 recent publications to identify the main indicators and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods used to evaluate sustainable urban mobility. Thirty-five representative indicators were identified, covering traditional sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental, and social) as well as emerging ones such as operational-technical and spatial-urban. Among the MCDM methods, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is the most frequently applied for weighting indicators, while the Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is commonly used for prioritizing alternatives. The review also highlights key research challenges, including the need for indicator sets adapted to local contexts, the generation of more region‑specific information for Latin America, and the development of approaches that account for data availability and local conditions. To address these gaps, a structured expert consultation was conducted in the medium‑sized Latin American city of Bahía Blanca (Argentina), resulting in a set of twelve indicators considered suitable for assessing the sustainability of the local urban mobility system. Overall, the study provides an updated overview of current practices and methodological trends in sustainable urban mobility assessment.
Keywords: Composite index, indicators, MCDM methods, Smart Cities, sustainability, TOD, Urban mobility
Received: 02 Dec 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Grassi, Diaz and Rossit. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Monica Fatima Diaz
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