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Urban road design has traditionally been based on a hierarchical classification of roads according to the volume and type of motor traffic they are to carry and in conjunction with geometric parameters (cross-section, curve radius, etc.) and speed parameters for each resulting type. Such classifications and design methods are today clearly obsolete given the varied requirements of our urban environment and the need to reduce vehicle traffic in cities, whose negative impacts are well known. The study sets out this process, outlines the new framework that should apply to the road network, points out the insurmountable difficulties of adapting the traditional classification to this new framework and looks forward to criteria for designing and structuring urban roads with which the new and complex challenges of more sustai-nable cities and mobility may be met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]