Rethinking transport – towards clean and inclusive mobility (Highlights of the 2020 Transport Research Arena conference)

This topical collection includes contributions from Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2020, an international event that covers all transport modes and all aspects of mobility. The theme of the Transport Research Arena 2020 was “Rethinking transport – towards clean and inclusive mobility”. The theme itself highlights the complexity of transitioning towards sustainable mobility systems. At the centre of this transition is an urgent need to respond and adapt to the ongoing climate crisis. At the COP21 in 2015, European Union outlined the objective to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. In relation, mobility systems have a crucial role in achieving this target [1]. Beyond mitigation, we should urgently develop a range of adaptation mechanisms, as extreme weather phenomena will set new requirements for the whole system resilience, risk and disruption management, while changing energy consumption patterns. Even if these aspects of transition are complex enough in themselves to handle, our collective European values require a necessary trade-off by ensuring fairness during and from this transition, and delivering well-being and quality of life [2]. Taking into account the rich diversity of lifestyles and cultures across Europe, such transition means taking into account a multidimensional range of capabilities and needs that should be a basis for considering necessary changes in our everyday behaviour and norms.