Challenges in shaping mobility between urban and rural areas: A focus on Berlin's surrounding municipalities

Kurzfassung

Motivation: The transition to sustainable mobility presents significant challenges for suburban areas positioned at the intersection of urban and rural environments. These regions exhibit unique mobility patterns characterized by a heavy reliance on motorized individual transport (MIT), limited public transport (PT) options, and various infrastructural and administrative constraints. Despite their increasing importance within metropolitan regions, suburban mobility remains an underexplored research area, lacking comprehensive, data-driven insights. Addressing this research gap is essential for informed policy development, particularly in light of the European Union's objective to implement Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) across metropolitan regions, including suburban and rural areas. This study aims to bridge this gap by providing an explorative analysis of mobility behavior as well as governance and planning structures in selected suburban municipalities in Brandenburg, surrounding Berlin, Germany. Research Question: This research examines the structural and behavioral factors influencing suburban mobility in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. It seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What are the predominant mobility patterns and challenges in suburban municipalities? (2) How do infrastructural and administrative frameworks impact mobility planning? By addressing these questions, the study aims to contribute to the scholarly discourse on sustainable suburban transport planning and the practical implementation of SUMPs in metropolitan regions. Methodology: An exploratory study was conducted in four suburban municipalities surrounding Berlin to gain insights into the current mobility status and the specific challenges of transitioning to more sustainable mobility. Qualitative interviews with municipal decision-makers (sample size = 11) provided valuable insights into mobility planning processes, future perspectives, and mobility needs from the municipalities' perspectives. The sample included stakeholders from diverse administrative and infrastructural backgrounds to widen the perspective and to incorporate more than one component of municipal traffic planning. Additionally, a GPS-based mobility tracking study, conducted via the DLR MovingLab-App (sample size = 48 residents), allowed for data-driven analysis of mobility patterns. Following the tracking-study, qualitative interviews with residents (sample size = 11) provided valuable insights into mobility needs, behaviors, and attitudes of residents. These data sources were triangulated with policy document analyses to ensure a comprehensive understanding of suburban mobility structures, governance mechanisms and the current status quo in planning. Results: The findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in the municipalities' starting conditions, particularly regarding financial resources, political and structural frameworks, and organizational capacities. A significant barrier to the development of sustainable mobility concepts is the absence of holistic planning approaches and a sufficient data foundation for evidence-based decision-making and monitoring. Moreover, a lack of supra-municipal networking strategies, which are essential for comprehensive mobility planning, hampers coordinated policy responses. Despite these challenges, strategic goals and political initiatives provide positive momentum for further developments. The interviews with residents reinforce these findings but emphasize the lack of suitable infrastructure, particularly safe and attractive pedestrian and cycling paths, as well as reliable and seamless public transport. The importance of designing inclusive infrastructure to also meet the needs of vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly and mobility impaired people is particularly emphasized. Implications: This study advances the theoretical understanding of suburban mobility by demonstrating how both mobility behavior and planning processes are significantly constrained in suburban municipalities. It proposes a transition toward more holistic, evidence-based, and interconnected planning approaches. Furthermore, the research underscores the need for enhanced inter-municipal collaboration and governance innovation to overcome institutional fragmentation and achieve sustainable mobility goals. Following studies could investigate the questions about how peripheral mobility planning can be more effectively addressed through SUMP planning of the functional urban area and what role municipalities can play in this process. The findings serve as a general foundation for future empirical studies aimed at advancing suburban mobility research and developing innovative tools to support practitioners in sustainable mobility planning.