Towards just Post-Carbon Futures: Translating World Sustainable Transport Day into action

The urgent need to transition away from the current high-carbon and socially unjust transport systems is now universally recognized. In response, the United Nations General Assembly declared the 26th of November as World Sustainable Transport Day, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of safe, affordable, accessible, efficient, and resilient transport systems that enhance quality of life while respecting planetary boundaries.
Visions of post-carbon, socially just transport futures have already been articulated. At the urban scale, these futures prioritize car-free mobility through active travel (walking and cycling), public transport, and shared mobility services. For long-distance travel, they advocate for low-carbon tourism, emphasizing travelling on the ground rather than by air and nearby destinations. More broadly, these visions align with the Avoid-Shift-Improve framework for sustainable mobility.

Despite technological advances in intermodal transport, intelligent & automated systems, and low-emission infrastructure, these futures remain largely aspirational. Real-world experimentation, participatory approaches, and actionable policy guidance are urgently needed to address implementation challenges towards just, post-carbon mobility systems, both in everyday life and tourism contexts. This Research Topic seeks to bridge the gap between visionary frameworks and tangible interventions, offering a venue for innovative, evidence-based contributions.

We encourage submissions from diverse disciplines, including (but not limited to) urban planning, social sciences, environmental studies, transport engineering, and tourism. We invite contributions that explore the practical dimensions of post-carbon transport in both everyday and tourism contexts, offering evidence-based insights and policy recommendations to support their real-world implementation. We seek to deepen understanding of how such initiatives can drive societal progress towards the World Sustainable Transport Day goals, by minimizing carbon and ecological impacts and fostering justice and social inclusivity.

We welcome empirical research grounded in participatory processes (e.g. co-creation, co-design, living labs, Reallabor initiatives) and real-life interventions, providing evidence-based policy recommendations or methodological guidance on how to achieve just, post-carbon transport systems. Priority themes include:

- Behavior change initiatives to reduce car and air travel (e.g., trials, challenges, awareness campaigns);
- Integrated, intermodal transport systems and digital tools to support their use;
- Urban design and regulatory interventions, including tactical urbanism (e.g. car-free zones, low-emission areas, cycling lanes);
- Policies and governance strategies for inclusive mobility, especially for marginalized groups;
- Sustainable urban freight and last-mile logistics using low-carbon modes.

By encouraging applied research and critical dialogue on these themes, this Research Topic aims to inspire transformative action and collaborative efforts towards just, post-carbon transport systems—advancing the objectives for World Sustainable Transport Day and more broadly contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Keywords: Post-car urban mobility. Sustainable transport policy. Accessible mobility. Low-carbon urban logistics. Active mobility and public transport. UN SDGs. European Mobility Week

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.