Abstract

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Background and purpose: Considering the increase in air pollution and its negative effects on the environment and citizens, and the necessity of benefiting from sustainable transportation patterns, the present study was written with the aim of identifying the factors influencing the formation of a human-centered transportation pattern and achieving environmental sustainability in Tabriz metropolis. In general, it can be said that the current transportation system of Tabriz metropolis suffers from major limitations such as insufficient public transportation share, high share of private car use, increasing number of business trips, and low attention to walking or cycling, which has resulted in complications such as traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, increased pollution, decreased level of citizen mobility, increased fuel consumption, and energy waste and the failure to employ proper human-centered transportation methods and the lack of appropriate definition and culture in this field have doubled its undesirable effects.
Methodology: The research method in the present study is mixed (a combination of quantitative-qualitative methods) with an applied purpose and an analytical and exploratory nature. In this regard, first, using the documentary method and interviews with managers and elites in the field of transportation, the components affecting environmental sustainability based on the development of human-centered transportation were identified, and then the impact of each component was examined through questioning the sample size and the partial least squares model in the Smart-pls software.
Findings and discussion: The research findings show that despite the emphasis on human-centered transportation planning in Tabriz metropolis and the construction of sidewalks and the development of bus and metro lines, functional divisions among different organizations, determinism, inconsistency between transportation and land use plans, lack of sufficient budget allocation, inadequate supervision of the implementation of transportation plans, and fundamental shortcomings in laws and regulations and awareness among citizens are among the major weaknesses. The results also show that the greatest impact in achieving human-centered transportation is related to the components of emphasizing an integrated and systemic approach in transportation management and planning, comprehensive content of transportation plans, coordinating transportation and land use plans, designing and implementing a comprehensive fleet management system, and developing walking and cycling paths at different levels of the city, for which the structural model value was calculated as 0.792, 0.751, 0.744, 0.735, and 0.730, respectively.
Conclusion: Planning for the environmental sustainability of cities based on a human-centered transportation model is one of the necessities of contemporary cities, especially in developing countries. In Tabriz metropolis, considering the increasing rate of motor vehicle use and the increase in environmental pollution, especially air pollution, and the consequent threat to the physical and mental health of citizens, the use of human-centered transportation is an inevitable necessity. In Tabriz metropolis, the use of human-centered transportation approaches such as the metro, express buses, and sidewalks has increased in recent years. However, the physical and demographic expansion of the city and the increasing number of cars and the resulting environmental impacts have made it necessary to manage and plan human-centered transportation with a purposeful and flexible perspective. Ultimately, it can be said that achieving environmental sustainability in Tabriz metropolis based on human-centered transportation planning is a result of various dimensions, the most important of which are integrated and systematic transportation management and planning, benefiting from comprehensive and coherent plans coordinated with land use planning, relativism, developing infrastructure such as walking and cycling, upgrading and equipping express buses and metros, making public transportation smart and using clean fuel in them, emphasizing transportation technology, formulating appropriate laws, and raising awareness and culture among citizens.