## 3 Materials and Methods
### Mobility Surveys  
The study was completed with the results obtained from the surveys carried out on the changes in mobility caused by COVID-19 and the new mobility habits that are being developed. In this way, the aim is to analyse mobility from two opposing points of view that allow us to study the main problems of the study area in more depth, as well as to determine the opinions of citizens with respect to the modal change of mobility in order to make more sustainable journeys. For the purpose of first-hand collection of citizens' opinions and perceptions on the different issues addressed by this study, it was decided to carry out surveys in each of the municipalities in the study area in order to deduce the specific mobility patterns of this rural area of low demographic density. Two different types of survey were chosen: revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (DP) methods. First, through the mobility surveys [54], the aim is to obtain information about the real behaviour of individuals and, in this way, to be able to locate the aspects that generate problems regarding the existing transport options in the municipalities of the study area. Second, through declared mobility surveys [55], the population is presented with a series of proposals with the aim of gathering their opinion on these transport alternatives. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Data Source** & **References** \\ \hline General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) & [48] \\ National Centre for Geographic Information & [49] \\ Territorial Information System of Extremadura (SITEX) & [50] \\ National Statistics Institute (INE) & [51] \\ Extremadura Statistics Institute (IEEX) & [52] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Data sources for the study. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Parameters** & **Formula** \\ \hline Variation rate of census of drivers & (2014 drivers’ rate—2020 drivers’ rate)/2014 drivers’ rate \\ Variation in the rate of motorisation & (2014 motorisation rate (\%)—2020 motorisation rate \\  & (\%\%))/2014 motorisation rate (\%) \\ Variation in the rate of & (2014 car motorization rate—2020 car motorization \\ motorization of cars & rate)/2014 car motorization rate \\ Road accidents & (Total road accidents per municipality) \\  & (2014–2020))/Total Road accidents in RMSC) * 100 \\ Average age of vehicle feet & Average vehicle fleet per municipality (2014–2020) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Calculation formulas for the parameters studied. The period in which the surveys was carried out was between May and July 2021, and 6 months was required to process the information obtained. The data collected through the citizen participation surveys represent valuable information for public authorities, as they are an essential starting point for those responsible for territorial planning. The quantitative methodology based on surveys is supported by its widespread use in mobility studies [56; 57; 58], and its use also allows for the chronological monitoring of the variables studied. Focusing on the content of the surveys, in order to determine the changes in mobility generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a thematic block was established, in which the aim was to examine in depth how the disease had affected daily commuting, the use of public transport and the implementation of teleworking among those surveyed, as well as consumer habits. On the other hand, there was another section that referred to new mobility. In the questions belonging to this section, the focus was placed on the availability and use of bicycles or PMVs among the respondents. In addition, questions were asked about the use of public transport and the existing problems in this type of mobility as well as pedestrian mobility. A number of new mobility proposals related to the use of bicycles and electric vehicles were submitted to the respondents for evaluation.