A Framework for Assessing the Sustainability Impact of Intelligent Transport Systems in the Smart City Context

In their transition to smart cities, an increasing number of cities are pursuing strategies to improve efficiency of transport. One strategy is to achieve smart mobility, for which cities implement intelligent transport systems (ITS). Simultaneously, municipalities recognize their responsibility for creating a sustainable environment for citizens in the face of challenges like overpopulation, land shortage, and climate change. Interestingly, many ITS initiatives mainly focus on technical outcomes and overlook their impact on sustainability despite its key benefit for smart mobility. To fill this gap, we develop a framework for assessing the sustainability impact of ITS initiatives in this paper. We analyze the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations and relate them to various concepts of ITS to derive our framework. Thereby, our work bridges two fundamental perspectives for further research and supports decision-makers in choosing ITS initiatives that contribute to both smart mobility and sustainability.