This open access book offers a coral understanding of the complex phenomenon of collective mobility, developing insights, suggestions and replicable solutions by means of user-based big data analysis. In doing so, it presents a stream of reflection on how new and open knowledge about both demand and offer of collective paratransit mobility can be achieved through the use of still underexploited resources like user-generated data. About 80% of everyday mobility in rapidly expanding African cities is based upon paratransit transports, a flexible though the frequently inefficient and unsafe form of collective mobility, commonly hindering economic and social development needs. Transport poverty is mainstreamed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets, especially those related to food security, health, economic growth and human settlements. The sound calls for advanced analytics and strategies in mobility policies is embraced by this open access book, by narrating the 2-year transdisciplinary journey of the Safari Njema project, a highly experimental project that has intensely collaborated with the Metropolitan Transport Agency in Maputo (Mozambique). At the intersection of Urban Studies, Mathematics, Computer sciences, Data governance, Design and Management studies, this book is conceived to highlight the necessity of similar transdisciplinary journeys in order to provide safer, reliable and sustainable solutions to both people’s demand, policy choices and business models in a fully replicable and scalable perspective in other Sub-Saharan African cities.

Valeria Fedeli, Ph.D. in Regional Planning and Public Policies at IUAV, Venice, is a recognised scholar in urban planning and governance, with a strong focus on how metropolitan territories are organised, governed and transformed in the context of European policy pressures and institutional change. At the Politecnico di Milano, as a full professor, she combines teaching at multiple levels with active leadership in research labs and doctoral coordination, contributing to both national and international debates in urban studies. She is currently a scientific coordinator of the Project of Excellence of the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, and of the Competence Centre Antifragile Territories (CRAFT).

Simone Vantini, Ph.D., is a full professor of Statistics at the MOX—Department of Mathematics, Politecnico di Milano. His research focuses on advanced statistical methodologies, especially functional data analysis and the analysis of complex and non-Euclidean data structures. He has published extensively in international journals, developed several R packages and contributed to numerous funded research projects. Professor Vantini combines theoretical innovation with impactful applications across disciplines.

Anna Mazzolini, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral Marie Curie fellow and affiliatedresearcher at the Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen. Her interdisciplinary research spans urban policy, anthropology, material culture and planning, with a focus on home-making, climate-induced displacement and life trajectories in flood-risk contexts in Central Mozambique. She combines academic inquiry with policy-oriented work, including participatory urban upgrading, land access and social inclusion. Anna holds a Ph.D. in Regional Planning and Public Policies and has extensive field experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her work aims to bridge scholarly research with equitable urban policy and practice.

Michela Arnaboldi, Ph.D., is a full professor of Accounting, Finance and Control at Politecnico di Milano, where she serves as the director of the Ph.D. program in Management Engineering and leads Urbanscope, an interdepartmental lab focused on analytics for decision-making. Her research focuses on Performance Management, examining measurement systems, accountability and decision-making processes. Within this broader perspective, she also investigates the impact of digitalization and algorithms on governance and communication. She has published extensively in international journals and collaborates with public bodies and museums to develop innovative, data-driven practices.