College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2023 68 Urban Mobility in Emerging Markets Research Group The Urban Mobility in Emerging Markets Research Group was established in the department in 2022. It comprises staff, postgraduate students, and postdoctoral research fellows. The research group focuses on urban transportation and travel behaviour and their connections to a wide range of disciplines such as urban planning, environmental research, applied psychology, public health, etc. The research group addresses the need for scientific work on the above topic, as existing empirical evidence originating from high-income countries is vast, while developing countries have a smaller share. This need becomes more apparent, when the problems and challenges of the Global South in connection with rapid urbanisation, urban sprawl, lack of transport infrastructure, and the neglected preferences of end-users are depicted by a limited number of existing studies and projects on emerging markets. To date the research group has successfully recruited a master’s student, two PhD students, and a postdoctoral research fellow. The research group members have published two articles on related topics. The team has published the following articles: Musau, EG, Pisa, NM & Masoumi, HE (2023). Association between transport related physical activity and wellness in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 22, p. 100928. Mwale, M, Luke, R & Pisa, N. (2022). Factors that affect travel behaviour in developing cities: A methodological review. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 16, p. 100683. The research team includes Prof Noleen Pisa, Prof Houshmand Masoumi (Visiting Associate Professor in the Department from the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management); Dr Chengete Chakamera, and Dr Enock Musau. SMART MOBILITY RESEARCH GROUP The UJ Smart Mobility Research Group is a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management (DTSCM) and the Centre for Applied Data Science (CADS). The team focuses on integrating public transport modes using advanced technologies to build resilient transport systems that can overcome mobility disruptions caused by congestion, accidents, protests, and other related traffic incidents in emerging cities. The research team is driven by the need to develop mobility solutions that enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of communities in emerging cities. To meet its research goals, the team has recruited two doctoral students who are funded by both the DTSCM and CADS. Both students are focusing on smart mobility research to offer optimal mobility solutions from a social-technical perspective. In 2023, the smart mobility research team received funding from the University Research Council (URC) to collect data in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Nairobi.
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