Integrating interdependent drivers of snow removal and storage for system-based sustainable urban winter management

Urban Snow and Ice Removal and Storage (USIRS) presents an intricate challenge for cold-climate cities, impacting mobility, environmental quality, public safety, and confidence in municipal services. Prior research frequently isolates operational elements like plow routing, snow disposal, or de-icing environmental impacts. Consequently, less attention has been paid to the structural interplay of these aspects within an integrated system. This study maps the diverse factors influencing USIRS and evaluates how their cross-domain interdependence might facilitate a shift to system-based urban winter management. A comprehensive review of 81 peer-reviewed articles was performed utilizing structured coding, text analysis, and network visualization techniques. The findings indicated that snow management outcomes depended less on isolated factors and more on the interplay of resource availability, operational procedures, urban design, environmental limitations, and community effects. By employing a structured methodological approach that integrates structured coding with network analysis, the research identified potential leverage points where specific interventions suggest advantages across several dimensions and indicated that USIRS operations are likely most successful when integrated into comprehensive urban plans, including resilience, smart-city technologies, and circular economy initiatives. The results offer a conceptual framework to aid academics, policymakers, and practitioners in developing more efficient, sustainable, and resilient winter city operations, transitioning from reactive operations to system-based management.