People-Oriented Mobility and Urban Air Quality: The Case of Almaty’s Transport Reforms Towards an Eco-City Model

Urban transport systems are major contributors to air pollution in rapidly growing post-Soviet metropolitan areas. Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, has experienced a sharp rise in private vehicle ownership, accompanied by persistent exceedance of guideline values, particularly for particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). In response, successive municipal administrations have introduced transport and mobility reforms aimed at mitigating traffic-related emissions and improving urban environmental sustainability. This study applies a descriptive longitudinal policy analysis to review and systematize major transport policy interventions implemented in Almaty between 2005 and 2019, including metro expansion, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, pedestrianization programs, cycling infrastructure development, and public transport fleet modernization. A brief comparative reference to Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) is included as a contextual benchmark rather than as a full comparative case, situating Almaty’s experience within the Central Asian urban context. Using aggregated time-series air-quality data from RSE Kazhydromet, transport infrastructure statistics, and demographic indicators, the study examines how successive reform phases align with long-term particulate matter dynamics. The analysis suggests that people-oriented mobility restructuring and investments in high-capacity public transport tend to coincide with downward trends in particulate matter concentrations, whereas road-expansion-oriented measures demonstrate limited long-term environmental benefits. The study applies a descriptive longitudinal policy framework, focusing on system-level patterns and indicative alignment between transport policy phases and air-quality dynamics rather than causal attribution. The findings provide policy-relevant insights into other rapidly motorizing post-Soviet cities, subject to data and methodological limitations.