Data-driven discovery
for sustainable mobility

city classification based on travel behavior, socioeconomics, demographics, and network characteristics

12 Urban Typologies

331 Cities | 64 Indicators | 9 Factors

Auto Innovative

Dense U.S./Canada agglomerations
• Top 5 cities: Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, Toronto
• Very high car dependency
• Highly populated and industrialized
• Moderate public transportation

Auto Sprawl

Sprawling U.S./Canada agglomerations
• Top 5 cities: Baltimore, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Raleigh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis
• Extremely high car dependency
• Relatively industrialized but lower population density
• Sparse public transportation

BusTransit Dense

Bus rapid transit-dominant cities in Latin America
• Top 5 cities:Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Leon, Recife, Sao Paulo
• Greatest bus rapid transit propensity
• Densely networked and populated
• Fairly congested

BusTransit Sprawl

Sprawling metropolitan areas in Latin America, Central Asia & Middle East
• Top 5 cities: Mecca, Shiraz, Mashdad, Santa Cruz, Medina
• Moderate public (bus) transportation
• Lower population than BusTransit Dense

Congested Boomer

Rapidly growing megacities in Africa and Indian Subcontinent
• Top 5 cities: Bangalore, Lahore, Kishasa, Karachi, Chennai
• Highest population growth and density
• Low development factor and fairly high congestion

Congested Emerging

Moderately populated developing urban areas in Africa and South Asia
• Top 5 cities: Kumasi, Phnom-Penh, Conakry, Bandung, N'Djamena
• High population growth
• Lowest emissions per capita
• Highest public transportation mode share

Hybrid Giant

Dense cities in Eastern Europe and East Asia with balanced mode share mix • Top 5 cities: Sendai, Warsaw, Sofia, Hiroshima, Sapporo
• High population density
• Very high public transportation mode share

Hybrid Moderate

Largely South American cities with balanced mode share mix
• Top 5 cities: Cordoba, Havana, Izmir, Valparaiso, Panama City
• Lower population than Hybrid Giant
• Very high public transportation mode share

MassTransit Heavyweight

Innovative urban centers chiefly in Europe and Southeast Asia
• Top 5 cities: Berlin, Madrid, Munich, Seoul, Singapore
• Highest metro propensity and development
• Fairly high CO2 emissions per capita

MassTransit Moderate

Midsize cities largely in Western Europe and Israel
• Jerusalem, Newcastle, Tel-Aviv, Liverpool, Turin
• Equitable; high bikeshare and bus rapid transit propensity
• Lowest population

MetroBike Emerging

Rapidly urbanizing metropolitan areas in China
• Top 5 cities: Shenyang, Harbin, Changshaw, Zhengzhou, Qingdao
• Highest sustainability score
• Significant cycling and bikeshare

MetroBike Giant

Top-tier megacities in China
• Top 5 cities: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, Beijing
• Highest population
• Significant sprawl and congestion