Urban Mobility Transitions : linking Individual Behaviours and Local Policy in Lyon, France - Methodological approaches

Over the past two decades, a series of transformations have taken place in the field of mobility, both in terms of public policies and everyday practices. Particularly driven by the Covid-19 crisis and the ecological transition, these changes have contributed to the transformation of socio-spatial environments, in favour of a more sustainable, inclusive and locally oriented mobility.Our research focuses on the evolution of individual mobility behaviours, drawing on the literature on Mobility Biographies Research and Travel Socialization Studies. These Anglo-Saxon approaches analyse, at a micro-scale, how mobility practices are constructed and evolve throughout the life course (Cacciari, 2020), under the influence of biographical events. However, while this perspective emphasises individual dimensions, recent studies (Hosotte, 2022) have also highlighted the role of socio-spatial transformations in behavioural adjustments. Yet, the literature remains limited in terms of analysing, at a meso-scale, the impact of local sustainable mobility policies implemented over the past twenty years, particularly in the French context, which has been marked by the promotion of alternatives to private car use.This study aims to examine a potential causal relationship between observed changes in individual behaviours and the recent development of urban mobility provision. Our objective is to identify, contextualise and measure these changes over time by analysing individual mobility trajectories (Cailly et al., 2020) among people who have reported a recent change in their practices.The Lyon metropolitan region was chosen as the case study, due to the major expansion of its public transport system and heavy cycling infrastructures over the past five years, within a geographically diverse context of accessibility.The data used to investigate the influence of this urban transformation on the population come from a longitudinal quantitative survey led by the Lyon Metropolis and CEREMA, focusing on the evolution of mobility behaviours in Lyon between 2022 and 2025, based on a sample of 15,000 respondents.Our approach consists of conducting a cross-analysis of the different factors identified as influencing behavioural change. The expected results should enable the establishment of detailed socio-demographic profiles of individuals who have recently modified their mobility practices, including their motivations and types of change, which will subsequently be enriched through qualitative investigation.Ultimately, our research aims to translate the complexity of individual mobility trajectories into actionable insights to effectively support the ecological transition in sustainable mobility policy.