A systematic review on the effects of infrastructures’ speed variations on the territory: Acceleration and deceleration as key factors for territorial planning

Mobility infrastructures can be considered a key component in territorial transformation. An increasing diversification of travel speeds may be observed. On one side, territories are witnessing accelerating trends in mobility, such as those connected to the development of high-speed rail. On the other side, decelerating countertrends are also spreading, through the development of slow mobility itineraries such as cycle and walking paths. This article aims to define the effects of speed variations, both acceleration and deceleration, of mobility on the territory. Due to the scarcity of the literature on speed variation itself, the analysis developed from a literature review on the effects of the development/transformation of different types of mobility infrastructures, which are categorized according to their speed, with a focus on socio-spatial effects. To this end, a systematic literature review was conducted using two databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Following the process of identification and screening, 51 papers were included and analysed. The detailed results are presented in a summary table. They show that the concepts of ‘infrastructural acceleration’ and ‘infrastructural deceleration’ – meant as infrastructural transformation interventions aimed at increasing or decreasing the travel speed of a mobility system – constitute important factors in the transformations of the territory, to be duly considered in territorial planning.