Unpacking the smart mobility concept in the Dutch context based on a text mining approach

Existing mobility solutions are criticized for falling short of effectively addressing transport issues and sustainability challenges. In this light, smart mobility has received increasing attention. In the Netherlands, the smart mobility concept triggered various developments, leading to the uptake of initiatives for real-life experimentation, accompanied by an increase in media attention. While the concept is making its way through Dutch society, its meaning for practice remains unspecified. Therefore, this paper aims to unpack the meaning of the smart mobility concept, by analyzing Dutch news articles and initiatives' websites using text mining and qualitative content analysis. The analyses reveal some ambiguous meanings for the smart mobility concept, demonstrating on the one hand a focus on incremental technological innovations that bring forward car-based solutions for short-term fixes, while on the other hand promising to address car-related issues and fundamentally change the mobility system by taking long-term challenges into account. In general, smart mobility seems to be about optimizations and maintaining the status quo rather than challenging it, although there are a few deviating and more critical voices. The smart mobility concept mobilizes actors and resources, but considering the ambiguities, these developments should be critically evaluated when proposed as solutions to transport issues and sustainability challenges.