Urban Mobility Assessment Indicators in the Perspective of the Environment Protection

The present-day urban areas, which are inhabited in Europe by 70 per cent of the population, and which contribute to over 80 per cent of the EU Gross Domestic Product, constitute a significant element in activities aimed at environmental protection. Environmental protection in cities is a complex issue, one which involves residents or, in a broader interpretation, the users of urban areas, enterprises and institutions. All of them generate transportation needs. The fulfilment of those needs involves a negative environmental impact. The primary element that substantially contributes to environmental degradation is road transport. This is responsible for 40 per cent of CO2 emissions and 70 per cent of the emissions of other pollutants in urban areas. Intense road traffic means increased congestion in city roads, which also generates undesirable environmental impacts. In order to limit these negative consequences to environment in urban areas, various initiatives are undertaken. One of such initiatives is aimed at the formation of mobility in cities. It was observed that urban mobility has a substantial impact on the surrounding environment. Taking the issues mentioned above, an attempt was made in the article to define urban mobility assessment indicators in the perspective of environmental protection. Out of the vast group of those assessment indicators that may be defined, a group of environmental indicators was presented in the paper. For the purpose of the development of assessment indicators, experiences were used from an evaluation of the activities implemented under the CIVITAS European project. The present article contains mathematical formulations of environmental urban mobility assessment indicators.