Integrating citizen’s perspectives in urban mobility: Lessons from Tallinn and Skopje

This study develops and applies an adapted conceptual framework to integrate citizen perspectives into urban mobility decarbonisation efforts. Building on the Multilevel Governance (MLG) framework and adapting it specifically for the urban transport sector, the research incorporates the Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Quality (AAAQ) dimensions and evaluates the influence of Europeanisation processes. The result is a new, replicable framework tailored to assess the citizen-level impacts of urban mobility decarbonisation policies. The framework is illustrated through two case studies: Tallinn, Estonia, and Skopje, North Macedonia. Findings reveal that while national and municipal policies in both cities show ambitions toward decarbonisation, challenges persist in policy implementation. The analysis highlights how local and European context shapes both the successes and the shortcomings of mobility policy. In Tallinn, the primary challenge is to fulfill the ambitious commitments made in existing plans, whereas in Skopje, political will remains the key obstacle to sustained progress. Primary contributions of this work include the development of a citizen-centered urban mobility decarbonisation framework and practical policy recommendations spanning supranational, national, and municipal levels.