Urban mobility is a critical aspect of sustainable urban development, with significant environmental, social, and economic implications. Assessing the sustainability of urban mobility systems in order to create more carbon neutral, liveable, healthier, and sustainable cities and neighborhoods for the future requires a multidimensional approach that integrates diverse factors. However, the lack of a unified assessment framework poses challenges in comparing and evaluating different urban mobility projects. This article proposes an ontology for assessing the sustainability of urban mobility systems. This ontology is based on a multidimensional approach that integrates knowledge from experts in transportation engineering, urban planning, environmental science, and social sciences to incorporate existing sustainability indicators and frameworks, as well as domain-specific knowledge. A consensus approach based on Dempster–Shäfer (DS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods is proposed to account for uncertainties and to allow for the consideration of preferences and ill judgment. Through a case study in Romania, the authors demonstrated the applicability of the proposal to provide a comprehensive and flexible framework for assessing urban mobility sustainability. The proposed ontology provides a valuable tool for policymakers, urban planners, and transportation engineers to make informed decisions towards sustainable urban mobility, and the sensitivity analysis is carried out to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed framework. It has potential for iterative validation and feedback from domain experts, and can serve as a foundation for future research.

The rapid and uncontrolled urbanization of cities in developing countries has engendered a plethora of urban mobility issues, including traffic congestion, accidents, and air pollution. To address these challenges, contemporary urban mobility trends are incorporating innovative technologies and sustainable governance practices. This article investigates how urban managers can leverage the opportunities presented by cost‐effective technologies and the management of urban data to enhance urban mobility in developing countries. Within this discourse, an RSU‐based approach is proposed that employs motorbike taxis for inter‐vehicular communication, given their status as the most widely used form of public transportation. This approach substantially diminishes investment costs and reinforces the sustainability of urban mobility. Through the implementation of this solution, a noteworthy reduction is anticipated in the emission of gases such as CO2, and NOx, known contributors to climate change and various respiratory diseases. To validate the efficacy of the proposed solution, four distinct scenarios are scrutinized in a case study centered on the city of Douala in Cameroon, utilizing tools such as OMNET++, SUMO, Veins, and INET. The proposed framework offers significant benefits in terms of environmental sustainability and operational efficiency. It enables a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions, a 15% reduction in NOx emissions, an 11% drop in fuel consumption, and a 15% reduction in waiting time in traffic jams. The envisaged solution aims to aid urban managers in their decision‐making processes, specifically in advancing sustainable urban mobility. Through the adoption of this approach, cities in developing countries can mitigate challenges associated with urban mobility and enhance the overall well‐being of their residents.

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are an essential enabler of intelligent transport systems (ITS), facilitating real‐time communication among vehicles to enhance traffic safety and mobility. However, challenges such as high node mobility, frequent topology changes, and variable network density continue to impede the design of reliable and efficient routing protocols. This paper proposes CARAC (Cluster‐based Ant‐colony Routing with Adaptive Cluster Head), a hybrid routing protocol that integrates dynamic clustering using the K‐medoids algorithm with Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO) to improve route stability, scalability, and data delivery performance. CARAC forms mobility‐aware clusters by grouping vehicles based on spatial proximity and relative velocity. Each node periodically computes a local stability index to evaluate its membership within a cluster, allowing adaptive cluster maintenance. The protocol also incorporates ACO for optimal path selection and utilises Road Side Units (RSUs) as relays when direct communication between cluster heads is not feasible. Simulation experiments conducted in NS‐3 with a vehicular network scenario demonstrate that CARAC consistently outperforms benchmark protocols such as AQRV, MetaLearn and CPB. It delivers higher route discovery success, better packet delivery performance, lower latency, and greater throughput. These results validate the advantages of combining clustering, bio‐inspired optimisation, and adaptive stability evaluation in VANET routing, positioning CARAC as a robust and scalable solution for next‐generation ITS applications.

Rapid population growth and the number of vehicles in cities have complicated urban mobility management. Digitalization supported by the internet of things and wireless communication has allowed some cities to mitigate the problem by taking advantage of the multiple benefits offered. These are cyber-physical systems (CPS), which are systems where a number of devices collaborate for the control of physical entities. This recent technology finds its application in urban mobility. However, in the context of developing countries, there are many local specificities one needs to consider. How could the integration of cyber-physical systems help urban decision makers to design sustainable urban mobility systems that meet the needs of the population? The paper proposed not only a recent review of the literature, but also a framework of CPS of urban mobility to guide decision makers. The challenges, opportunities, and barriers to innovation of CPS in urban environments in developing countries have also been identified.