During the COVID-19 crisis, a series of measures restricting travel and outdoor activities are taken to mitigate the pandemic and minimise its negative effects. These unprecedented methods have greatly changed the number and purposes of trips and mode choices in travel. However, these changes in travel behaviour during and post the outbreak still remains unclear. In addition, different groups may be affected to varying degrees in terms of social equity, which is not fully discussed in the existing literature. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to investigate the differences in individuals’ travel behaviour before and after the pandemic using Huzhou as an example. Semi-structured interviews through telephone are used to explore the influence of COVID-19 on travel and perceptions of different groups. The results indicate that first travel demand was greatly reduced and public transport became the least popular travel mode during the pandemic due to policy constraints and the fear of infection. Secondly, decreased travel caused a lack of activity participation, which might affect health as well as subjective wellbeing negatively. Thirdly, the degree and the duration of such impacts vary from person to person. Students, people with lower incomes, groups living in communities with small size and insufficient green spaces, and those working in tourism, catering, informal business and transport-related sectors were more vulnerable than others in society. The key argument is that changes in travel behaviour due to COVID-19 caused inequity in these groups, while such unfairness has been overlooked by the local government. Thus, policymakers need to pay more attention to social inequities due to transport and individuals’ heterogeneity. Besides, public transport systems in Huzhou should be further developed to promote social cohesion in the way of expanding networks, increasing running frequency, building and updating infrastructures, introducing new modes such as light rails.

This research explores how social equity is understood, measured and prioritised in UK transport strategies The Oxford Transport Strategy and the London Mayor's Transport Strategy were examined through strategy analysis and expert interviews to understand how and why social equity policies/objectives were conceptualised and prioritised within each strategy. Surveys with the public were then undertaken to explore whether the strategies are consistent with the public's needs and definitions of social equity. This research aims to add the limited body of work around social equity definitions in the transport sector and transport strategy analysis and provides recommendations as to how social equity might be more effectively incorporated and measured in transport strategies in the future.

This dissertation investigates social implications of built environment interventions (BEI) related to bicycle urbanism from a Spatial Justice (Soja, 2010) perspective. By combining urban spatial theory and mobilities research, the novel theoretical framework Mobility Space helps to analyse spatial, experiential and discursive aspects of urban mobility priorities concomitantly and is thus an adequate analytical tool to uncover how recently proliferating cycling strategies impact society through an alteration of urban space. A qualitative and multi-method research design combines descriptive mapping, virtual site observation and semi-structured interviews to apply Mobility Space to the controversial Mini-Holland programme in Waltham Forest, London. Examining in detail the Walthamstow Village scheme, the research finds three patterns by which BEI related to bicycle urbanism re-organize movement, re-allocate space and re-design public realm to prioritize active travel and dwelling while discouraging car use. Those spatial alterations shift the political organization of space which in turn affects the Right to the City (Lefebvre et al., 1996) – an expression of Spatial Justice – as it enables a greater diversity of people to use urban space (right to appropriation) and makes them conscious how the space they inhabit is discursively produced and the outcome of contentious decision-making processes (right to participation). This research is relevant for urban professionals as environmental as well as pandemic-related urban mobility challenges necessitate a transformation of urban space to accommodate cycling, but negative outcomes for social equity, as resulting from car-urbanism, need to be avoided.