Sustainable mobility brings together the set of processes and actions aimed at moving people and goods in the territory to access activities and services, with a reasonable economic cost and that minimizes the negative effects on the environment and people's quality of life.[1]​.

As some authors state, sustainable mobility is a complex, polysemantic and multifactorial concept that encounters important challenges when it comes to being legally defined.[2]​.

The first Spanish definition of the legal concept of "sustainable mobility" was born in Catalonia in 2003:.

And then it is replicated in the Balearic Islands in 2014:.

Also in 2014, the Andalusian Government published by Decree 119/2014, of July 19, the Andalusian Sustainable Mobility Plan, which in turn equated the concept of 'sustainable mobility' with:.

In 2018, Castilla y León propose a somewhat more complete alternative:

And, in the same year 2018, Asturias updated the first of the definitions by reducing its negative impact and making the message positive, going from "minimizing the negative effects on the environment and people's quality of life" to "minimizing the negative impact on the environment and improving people's quality of life."

In 2014, the Junta de Antalucía proposed, in its draft Andalusian Law on Sustainable Mobility, the following legal definition:

In 2021, the Basque Country Sustainable Mobility Bill, in its article 2.j, expanded the original definition:

With a broader framework, in 2011 Law 2/2011, of March 4, on Sustainable Economy stated in its Articles 97, on the objectives; and Article 99, on sustainable mobility, the following definitions:.

The Sustainable Mobility Bill") was approved by the Congress of Deputies on October 8, 2025 and recognizes the right of all citizens to enjoy a sustainable and fair mobility system.

Likewise, sustainable urban mobility or sustainable, is that which seeks to satisfy the movement needs of the population to access urban goods and services with an emphasis on the efficient use of resources seeking to counteract the environmental and social problems of urban mobility[11] Sustainable urban mobility promotes non-motorized practices such as moving on foot and by bicycle (active mobility) as well as mass public transport such as trains, buses or trams; promote options such as BRT, Light Rail, Tram or Train-tram, sharing a car between several people, and the development of technologies that expand mobility options.