This article aims to address the lack of research on the social dimension of sustainability, also known as social sustainability, in urban mobility projects, primarily in cities of the Global South. It proposes a strategy to partially assess social sustainability, focusing on accessibility, which is one of the key dimensions for conducting such an evaluation. To this end, a comparative analysis of three study cases is conducted in the capital cities of the Northern Central American Triangle (NCAT) before and after the construction of bus rapid transit (BRT) projects between 2000 and 2020. Accessibility is evaluated through equity and spatial efficiency indicators obtained through geographical information system (GIS) modeling, including layers representing transportation networks, populated areas, and locations of basic urban facilities. The result is an unprecedented assessment of accessibility in the NCAT capitals, which shows how the Guatemala City BRT project has improved the city’s social sustainability by reducing access times to basic urban facilities, mainly public health clinics and educational facilities, and narrowing the inequality gap as compared to projects in San Salvador and Tegucigalpa, the other capital cities in the NCAT. Additionally, it is emphasized that this methodology can be replicated in the Global South while considering the scarcity of information and the use of open-source software in the process.

Historically, transportation projects and urban mobility policies overlook the dimension of social sustainability, mainly focusing on economic and environmental criteria. This neglect, seen enhanced in the Global South, leads to long travel times, growing congestion, reliance on motorcycles, high traffic accident rates, and limited access to public transport, jobs, and urban facilities, especially for the more vulnerable population. In light of these issues, this paper proposes the Social Sustainability of Urban Mobility (SSUM) approach as an analytical framework that assesses the state of social sustainability in urban mobility by applying a Systematic Literature Review where three gaps were found. First, by tailoring the SSUM approach to the context of the Global South, it is possible to address the population-focused gap in urban mobility. Second, in the literature review, a theoretical gap defining social sustainability in urban mobility and its three primary categories has yet to reach a consensus among practitioners and academics. Finally, more empirical research should be conducted to discuss methodological aspects of operationalizing the SSUM approach through the three main categories: accessibility, the sustainability of the community, and institutionality. The SSUM approach promotes implementing a sustainable urban agenda that builds inclusive, equitable, and just cities in urban mobility.

Research on urban transport and mobility through everyday practices has generated new theoretical and methodological approaches to achieve more sustainable urban morphologies. This paper focuses on the characterization of the process of urban (re)qualification through the binomial of public space–public transport, based on the analysis of Trambesòs tramway in Barcelona, from 2004 to the present. This methodology consisted of an exploratory morphological analysis that identified patterns derived from punctual interventions, articulation axes, and saturation pieces in the urban fabric. The results revealed three main morphological patterns: the configuration of a particular character in each public space intervention associated with the tramway, the morphological improvement and dynamization of the urban fabric, and the transformation of the city’s image through the standardization of accessibility conditions, a key social sustainability indicator. In the discussion, the results are triangulated with the concepts of urban morphology and social processes and compared with quantitative studies, which can serve as a foundation for further in-depth research. In conclusion, the tramway has facilitated a transition from urban discontinuity and segregation to continuity and cohesion, highlighting the impact of the public space–public transport binomial on more sustainable urban morphologies. This contributes to how urban morphological analysis provides new approaches to understanding public transport as an extension of public space and support for urban habitability.

The process described in this paper aims to improve the urban mobility analysis and planning, such as revealing levels of equity and inclusion of a part of the city and identifying deficien­cies in the accessibility to urban facilities related to settings systems of land use and transport. Therefore, a Social Sustainability of Urban Mobility (ssum) approach and Open Source Geo­graphical Information System are applied. The methodology sets two urban facilities’ analyses of levels of services to different scales. First, using the Central Places theory, the Metropolitan San Salvador Area is the first scale to analyze. Secondly, it studied the accessibility condition to urban facilities in San Salvador Municipality (Capital city of El Salvador) from Optimal Location Models (olm). Those models allow spatial equity and efficiency indicators. Results are implementing the ssum approach, applying technics of multiscalar analysis, and setting a metropolitan organizational structure which categorizes municipalities by urban facilities’ levels of services. In addition, the characterization of municipal accessibility with proxy indica­tors to vulnerable groups and identifying areas to take action to improve daily mobility have been developed. Finally, a discussion is opened to identify the following steps to improve this research and strength future planning processes in the scarcity context of the global south. El proceso descrito en este texto tiene como objetivo mejorar el análisis y planificación de la movilidad urbana, tal que, expongan el nivel de inclusión y equidad de una porción de ciudad, identificando falencias en el acceso a equipamientos urbanos debido a la organización de los sistemas de usos de suelo y transporte. Para ello se utiliza el enfoque de análisis de la Soste­nibilidad Social en la Movilidad Urbana (ssmu) y sistemas de información geográfica open source. La metodología establece dos análisis a escalas distintas de los niveles de servicio de equipamientos públicos. El primero a escala del Área Metropolitana de San Salvador (amss) utilizando teoría de lugares centrales, el segundo analiza las condiciones de accesibilidad a escala municipal de San Salvador (capital de El Salvador) a partir de modelos de localización óptima que permiten generar indicadores de eficiencia y equidad espacial. Los resultados obtenidos son la operativización del enfoque de ssmu, la aplicación de técnicas de análisis multiescalar estableciendo una estructura metropolitana que categoriza a los municipios en función de los niveles de servicio que los equipamientos urbanos prestan a sus ciudadanos, la caracterización de la situación de accesibilidad a nivel municipal para San Salvador con indicadores proxy para grupos vulnerables y la definición de áreas prioritarias para intervenir e impactar en la movilidad cotidiana. Finalmente se abre una discusión que identifica los pasos siguientes en la mejora de esta investigación para fortalecer futuros ejercicios de planificación en el contexto de escases de recursos y acceso a datos base típicos del sur global. O processo descrito neste texto visa aprimorar a análise e o planejamento da mobilidade urbana, de modo que exponha o nível de inclusão e equidade de uma parcela da cidade, identificando deficiências no acesso aos equipamentos urbanos devido à organização dos sistemas de uso de solo e transporte. Para isso, utiliza-se a abordagem de análise da Sustentabilidade Social na Mobilidade Urbana (ssmu) e sistemas de informação geográfica do tipo open source. A meto­dologia estabelece duas análises em diferentes escalas dos níveis de serviço dos equipamentos públicos. O primeiro na escala da Área Metropolitana de San Salvador (amss) usando a teoria do lugar central, o segundo analisa as condições de acessibilidade no nível municipal de San Salvador (capital de El Salvador) com base em modelos de localização ótima que permitem gerar indicadores de eficiência e equidade espacial. Os resultados obtidos são, a operacionali­zação da abordagem ssmu, a aplicação de técnicas de análise multiescala estabelecendo uma estrutura metropolitana que categoriza os municípios de acordo com os níveis de serviço que os equipamentos urbanos prestam aos seus cidadãos, a caracterização da situação de acessibi­lidade no nível municipal para San Salvador com indicadores proxy para grupos vulneráveis e a definição de áreas prioritárias para intervir e impactar a mobilidade diária. Por fim, abre-se uma discussão que identifica os próximos passos no aprimoramento desta pesquisa para forta­lecer futuros exercícios de planejamento no contexto de escassez de recursos e acesso a dados básicos típicos do sul global.

Desarrollar proyectos de transporte masivo no implica solucionar el problema de la movilidad urbana de facto, la movilidad urbana es un problema complejo que tiene sobre la base no solo aspectos técnicos inherentes a la eficiencia de las infraestructuras y las distintas modalidades de transporte, también implica un contexto social y unas variables cualitativas que son de medular importancia en la búsqueda de soluciones para la movilidad urbana sostenible. Este texto centra su atención en el fenómeno de la movilidad urbana considerándola desde un enfoque socio técnico, por ello se presenta como un modelo de análisis de la movilidad urbana desde la perspectiva de la dimensión social del desarrollo sostenible. El artículo plantea una base teórica que da cuenta de este enfoque, propone unas categorías de análisis y las utiliza como herramienta para analizar y comprender los retos de la movilidad urbana sostenible desde el contexto concreto de las ciudades capitales del Triángulo Norte. Como metodología se propone el desarrollo de una revisión documental que de manera exploratoria arroje algunos datos proxy sobre la situación de la movilidad urbana en las ciudades capitales del Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras. Se indaga además sobre los hitos de la gestión y construcción de los millonarios proyectos que cada ciudad emprende para apalancar la movilidad sostenible y se ofrece unas primeras conjeturas a la luz del enfoque de sostenibilidad social que intentan esbozar estrategias proyectuales y políticas para afrontar futuras intervenciones. Como resultado se presenta una síntesis del análisis a la luz de los datos recabados en los temas de accesibilidad, equidad, inclusión y desarrollo del marco institucional para finalizar con una serie líneas de acción concretas para mejorar la movilidad y temas pendientes a profundizar que son pertinentes a la luz de la movilidad urbana socialmente sostenible. ECA Estudios Centroamericanos, Vol. 76, No. 767, 2021: 451-478.

La investigación “Procesos sociales y condiciones físico-espaciales que configuran en mayor medida el hábitat en los asentamientos humanos de El Salvador” propone un enfoque de análisis de las condiciones de la producción social del hábitat, a través de un caso de estudio en el municipio de Arcatao. Estructurada a partir del enfoque del pluralismo metodológico crítico, esta investigación, brinda al menos tres resultados claves. Una evaluación con indicadores y cartografía de la producción social del hábitat; Las características principales de los actores, su capacidad de agencia y la forma en que se articulan entre sí; y un análisis histórico de los procesos de producción del hábitat, lo que permite conocer las condiciones estructurales y a capacidad de agencia de un actor o un grupo, necesarias para la emergencia de procesos clave para las transformaciones físico-espaciales del hábitat. This research is Titled: "Social processes and physical-spatial conditions that configure to a greater extent the habitat in the human settlements of El Salvador. This research proposes an approach to analyze the conditions of the social production of habitat in this country, through a case of study in the municipality of Arcatao at the north east of our country. This research proposal is structured on the approach of “critical methodological pluralism”, that allows at least three key results of the municipality studied. First, the evaluation and production of cartography , based on GIS mapping, about the social production of habitat; second, the identification of key stakeholders, their characteristics their agency capability and the sets of networks through which they articulate among themselves; and finally, a historical analysis of the processes regarding the production of habitat, which allows to get a deeper understanding of the key structural conditions and the agency capability of stakeholders, needed for the emergence of the processes underpinning the resulting spatial transformations of the habitat.