The concept of sustainable development has been regarded as a key guiding principle for development (Fergus and Rowney 2005). In the sustainable development agenda, transport is considered one of the key sectors. This is because the three components of sustainable development- environmental, economic, and social can readily be seen in the transport sector, especially in urban areas (Wegener and Greene 2002).

Among these three components, the environmental and economic concerns of transport have been thoroughly discussed in the literature, while social concerns surrounding sustainable transport have largely been undervalued and under-researched (Boschmann and Kwan 2008). These social concerns are important because fulfilling basic transport needs of all segments of society, by linking them to each other and to different activities, such as education, employment, healthcare, leisure, and social gatherings, is central to the debate of social sustainability and sustainable transport (Lucas, Halden and Wixey 2010). The vulnerable or socially disadvantaged groups are the primary focus in this form of inquiry.

Women can be regarded as an excluded group with regards to transport systems in certain developing countries, including Pakistan. Their travel is largely influenced by a range of factors related to social, spatial and institutional structures of societies. The focus of this paper is to highlight the importance of women’s mobility and transport services for their empowerment in urban areas of Pakistan. It will explore women’s experiences related to transport, factors responsible for their restricted mobility, and how they negotiate these restrictions. Indepth interviews, mobility mapping and access and control profiles have been employed to get the required data for this qualitative study.  Women being the main focus are divided into different categories such as professionals, administrators, business women and women working in the informal sector. Furthermore, relevant people from government, NGOs and academia will also be interviewed to enrich the data.

The present paper argues that transport by fulfilling the needs of disadvantaged groups such as women can not only contribute towards their empowerment, but can also enrich the idea of social sustainable development. The study recommends that women’s transport needs in urban areas should be documented and women’s voices incorporated into policy and planning frameworks of Pakistan. The focus should be on providing safe and efficient public transport services, along with measures to change societal perceptions towards women’s mobility in public spaces.

References:

Boschmann, E.E. and Kwan, M.P. 2008, 'Txowards Socially Sustainable Urban Transportation: Progress and Potentials', International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 138-157.

Fergus, A.H.T. and Rowney, J.I.A. 2005, 'Sustainable Development: Lost Meaning and Oppurtunity?', Journal of Business Ethics, vol.60, no. 1, pp.17-27. 

Lucas, K. Halden, D. and Wixey, S. 2010, 'Transport Planning for Sustainable Communities', in  Manzi,T. Lucas, K. Lloyd-Jones, T. & Allen, J. (eds.), Social Sustainability in Urban Areas: Communities, Connectivity and the Urban Fabric, pp. 121-140, Earthscan, London, UK.

Wegener, M. and Greene, D.L. 2002, 'Sustainable Transport', in Black, W.R. and Nijkamp, P. (eds.), Social Change and Sustainable Development, pp. 35-41, Indiana University Press, Indiana.