Sustainable mobility: participation and governance for transition

Abstract

The developments of recent years regarding climate change and dependence on fossil fuels affect not only the planet as such, but the coexistence of all of us - also in cities. Many strategies have already been developed in this regard and many measures for different areas of application have been implemented or launched. In some areas, this effort has already been highly successful, while in other areas a trend reversal is only very selectively recognisable - if at all. In most cases, however, energy consumption is still rising, as are CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, transport is one of those areas that has not yet been tackled. And this also applies to urban traffic. While alternative forms of propulsion are being explored and huge amounts of money are being invested in renewing fleets, approaches to behavioural change or the economical use of energy are rather a poor relation when it comes to improving the quality of life in cities.

The distances travelled in cities by cars (whether combustion or electric) are often relatively short, and studies have shown that only a small number of journeys require the use of a car (transport of heavy goods, no acceptable connections with PT, etc.). The potential for switching to public transport is enormous and at least equally large, but completely underestimated is that of cycling or walking.

But why is it so difficult to get people to switch from cars? The advantages are obvious, everyone knows the arguments. And yet traffic problems are rarely discussed rationally. Public debats are following much more often a purely emotional judgment by citizens and journalists that prevents decision makers from implementing an intelligent and sustainable urban transport policy. Politicians and decision-makers, however, only see the loud screamers and overestimate destructive, negative statements in social media. They often fear committing political suicide when advocating for a fairer distribution of public space in cities.

But that is precisely the point. The unfair distribution of public space must be changed in favour of increasing the quality of life for all. And the privileges that car traffic has claimed for itself in recent decades must be dismantled. On the one hand, it is necessary to increase the knowledge and awareness of all those involved. The position of politicians, decision makers and multipliers such as journalists in the process of taking what may be, at first glance, unpopular, but which are in fact rational and sustainable decisions to manage sustainable transport should be strengthened. Therefore, a push&pull approach is to be aimed at. „Push back“ unwanted behaviour and „pull“, i.e. encourage walking, cycling or the use of public transport. A pure policy of promoting alternatives without also limiting the rampant car traffic unfortunately does not lead to a switch.

Citizen participation processes, as they have been increasingly applied in recent years, are a good approach to increase the acceptance of transport policy goals. However, they are less suitable for discussing individual measures. The risk is too high that those directly affected will vote against individual measures, even though they would agree with the associated transport policy objectives, simply because these measures may reduce their comfort or have other perceived disadvantages in their own area of action or residential environment. The overarching relationships between transport policy goals, strategies and individual measures are often not easy to explain, if fears prevail that the overall situation could deteriorate for individuals (even if it means an improvement for the majority of the population).

It is a pious hope that public participation in the preparation of measures will always lead to the desired result. The compromise solutions are often too watered down, so that none of the parties involved are happy with them. On should have in mind: It is not possible to please everyone, and it will not be possible to persuade die-hard motorists to switch voluntarily anyway.

What almost always works, however, and can therefore be recommended as a strategy, is to offer the population the opportunity to experience public space in a new way and to have positive experiences with it. People often cannot imagine how a square or a street looks to them if you are not in danger of being run over or if it is not full of cars, so when children have space to play in the street for once and don't have to resign themselves to a cramped, protected space that is often even further away from the home, or when people sojourn, meet, talk, eat and drink in streets and squares and don't just experience these spaces as traffic routes to get from point A to point B.

That's why approaches like the Living Streets in Belgium or the European Mobility Week in September with the car Free day on 22 September are a great opportunity to experience new uses, at least temporarily, to test new behaviour and to loosen rigid, entrenched framework conditions. Whether it's schoolchildren (and their parents) using the pedi-bus to test what it's like to walk to school, or employees experiencing that cycling to work doesn't mean a loss of time, or business owners realising that it's not only customers who come by car who bring in the main revenue - all of these are a great opportunity to experience new uses, at least temporarily.

And all this is possible and desired during European Mobility Week. Braga has recognised that and has created a comprehensive programme, which also includes discussion rounds and at additionally implemented the End-Of-Summer-University, whose collection of abstracts and contributions the reader can find herewith. Compared to many other cities, Braga has not been afraid to hear also critical voices.

It is therefore not surprising that Braga, with all its efforts to influence mobility planning and travel behaviour, and thus acting as a game changer in urban mobility planning, took home the European Mobility Week Award this year. I would like to join the countless congratulations.

Robert Pressl