• Energy Research

Abstract The concept of smart mobility and tourism has evolved from a technology-driven approach to one that focuses on sustainable solutions to address economic, social, and environmental issues. The United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a framework for measuring and tracking progress toward sustainability goals. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a useful tool for measuring and tracking progress towards these goals, allowing for continuous monitoring and evaluation of progress, identification of areas for improvement, and directing targeted interventions. This research aims to develop an indicators-based framework to evaluate the sustainability of smart and sustainable mobility and tourism in rural areas. Rural areas have often been neglected, or at least less prioritized, in the sustainability development of the mobility sector. The study also seeks to identify the overlap of KPIs between rural tourism and mobility, and how improved green mobility services can enhance sustainable rural tourism. Smart mobility and tourism indicators have a strong mutual relationship in rural communities, driving economic development, improving the quality of life for residents and visitors, and creating more sustainable and livable communities. Smart mobility and tourism indicators also play a crucial role in supporting the UN SDGs by providing data and insights that can inform policy and decision-making. The results of this research conclude how the target and performance setting of projects on sustainable mobility and tourism in rural communities support each other, and how they support achieving SDGs.

AbstractThis research studies how recent Finnish smart mobility innovation projects have addressed sustainability in their objectives. A framework and a coding scheme were built upon scientific literature and was used for analysing documented project materials. A truth table was generated that quantifies how the different aspects of sustainability have been addressed in the projects’ objectives. The observed differences between the projects were analysed from two directions: in terms of funding sources (European Union vs. national) and project location (urban vs. rural areas). The results of qualitative comparative analysis showed that while sustainability was by and large present in the projects, some of the aspects of sustainability were more dominantly addressed than others. Also, there were differences in how sustainability was addressed between the projects in urban areas and the projects in rural areas.