Mobility and urban development

Transport is about moving people and goods.

Mobility is about the ability to move — and the quality, impact, and fairness of that movement.

Where transport traditionally focused on vehicles and infrastructure, mobility asks broader questions: How accessible is the system? Who benefits? What are the environmental, health, and spatial consequences?

This shift matters. Transport systems were often designed around vehicles, regardless of energy source, emissions, or urban form. Mobility reframes the issue away from movement as an end in itself, and towards shaping cities that support a high quality of everyday life.

The fact is that cities shape our ability to move. They do this through infrastructure, planning policies, and by influencing where people live, work, and spend time. But many of these decisions were made long before today’s mobility technologies or lifestyle patterns came into play.

New neighbourhoods offer a rare opportunity to rethink these choices — to design places that support more sustainable, social, and flexible mobility habits. Across the world, we’re seeing developments planned with a focus on liveability and “car-light” living. Masterplans promise bike lanes, walkable streets, car-sharing schemes, and proximity to public transport.

These are important shifts. But intentions aren’t always enough. Too often, there’s a gap between vision and reality. To bridge the gap between vision and reality, we need to address these seven recurring tensions.

1. Misjudging resident needs
New developments often rely on simplified assumptions about how future residents will travel. Sometimes this results in overly ambitious targets for cycling or car-free living, without fully considering the needs of families, shift workers, or people with limited mobility. Other times, outdated demand models lead to oversupplying car infrastructure that locks in driving before residents even arrive. Getting the balance right means starting with a clear understanding of actual needs and behaviours.The orchestrator

Most tenders today are still built for a world of fixed assets, long depreciation cycles, and predictable tech. But autonomy development moves fast — updates are digital, platforms are modular, and business models are still evolving.

Cities that want to play in this space need new procurement tools: outcome-based contracts, room for iteration, and the ability to test and scale in real-world settings without spending two years writing a spec.

2. Fragmented delivery

Mobility is too often treated as an add-on rather than a core part of development. Poor coordination between developers, municipalities, transport providers, and infrastructure agencies leads to patchy services and missed opportunities. When responsibilities are unclear, mobility arrives late, poorly integrated, or not at all.

3. Infrastructure that comes too late

Even well-intentioned plans fail when mobility options are delayed. Bus routes may wait for a minimum level of occupancy. Car-sharing services may require a proven user base. Bicycle parking, wayfinding, or footpaths might not be in place when residents move in. Without viable options from day one, people fall back on private cars — and those patterns can be difficult to change later.

4. Poor integration

Proximity doesn’t guarantee accessibility. A nearby metro station or bus stop isn’t useful without safe, direct walking routes or secure bike parking. Schools, shops, and services may be technically close, but if the public realm isn’t designed to support walking or cycling, they remain functionally out of reach.

5. Over-reliance on parking restrictions

Reducing parking is a necessary tool in shifting mobility behaviour, but it rarely works in isolation. If alternatives aren’t in place, parking limits can feel punitive and lead to frustration, informal parking, or resistance to wider sustainability efforts. Regulation needs to be paired with real, visible alternatives.

6. Behavioural inertia

Mobility habits are deeply rooted. Even in new developments, people bring expectations formed elsewhere. The point of moving is a unique window of opportunity to support change — but infrastructure alone won’t be enough. Engagement, incentives, and visible alternatives are needed to shift long-term behaviour.

7. EVs are not a silver bullet

Electric vehicles are essential to decarbonisation, but they don’t address congestion, space use, or accessibility. Relying solely on EVs risks reinforcing a car-dominated urban form. New neighbourhoods need a broader mix of shared, active, and public transport options — and the urban design to support them.

How we can help

At Beta Mobility, we work across the full lifecycle of urban development projects. We support public and private actors to make mobility a core part of how places are planned, built, and lived in.

Strategy - Defining the right way forward

We help municipalities, developers, and transport authorities clarify their role, map options, and align on ambition. That means setting realistic goals for sustainable mobility and understanding what’s needed to achieve them.

Design - Figuring out how it should work

We develop operating models, funding structures, and service concepts that reflect real-world constraints. We also help design streets and public spaces that support active mobility, shared use, and good access.

Operations - Making it happen

We support implementation by coordinating partners, piloting solutions, and translating strategy into action. This includes aligning timelines, finding financing, and ensuring insights are captured and used to inform next steps.