Systematic review of factors influencing non-motorized transport in urban settings: Barriers and perceptions

Abstract

• Review of barriers and perceptions influencingnon-motorised transport in cities. • Key barriers and perceptions identified and categorised. • Analyses various methodologies applied in walking and cycling studies. • Provides policy recommendations to enhance walking and cycling experience. • Highlights role of infrastructure, governance and financing in shaping NMT user adoption and perceptions. Walking and cycling, key components of non-motorised transport (NMT), offer substantial environmental, health, and social benefits and are central to advancing sustainable urban mobility. However, despite the growing global interest, the widespread adoption remains constrained by a complex interplay among infrastructural, social, psychological, and institutional factors. This review identifies and categorises the major barriers and perceptions that influence NMT adoption in urban settings worldwide. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a thorough search of Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases yielded 11,310 articles. After rigorous screening, only 62 articles, published between January 2014 and August 2024 met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed nine interrelated categories of barriers: infrastructure deficiencies, safety concerns, socio-cultural stigma, personal and psychological factors, financial constraints, and policy gaps. Critically, this review also highlights how internalised perceptions such as social norms, gendered constraints, and low self-efficacy continue to limit NMT adoption, even where infrastructure is present. To support transformative NMT promotion, this review proposes a framework based on equitable infrastructure design, targeted behaviour-change interventions, inclusive policy frameworks, and cross-sectoral stakeholder collaboration. Future interdisciplinary research should prioritise intersectional analyses of how stigma and identity influence mobility choices, innovative policy approaches at the intersection of infrastructure, governance, and user perceptions, and longitudinal studies to track NMT adoption in response to targeted interventions. Advancing NMT requires not only context-sensitive design and financing but also behavioural strategies that reframe walking and cycling as safe, dignified, and aspirational for all urban populations.

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