A Governance Approach to Sustainable Mobility

Abstract

Sustainable mobility has become an important catchphrase in transportation policy and planning. Yet, at the same time, it is an inherently normative and political concept, which raises questions of governance. This chapter outlines a means to think about sustainability from a governance perspective. The term governance is conceptualized in the chapter as, on the one hand, a set of structures developed collectively to order and shape societal progress, and on the other hand, as a set of processes among diverse actors collectively engaged in shaping society. Drawing upon the works of political theorists and other writers in the field of governance and interpretive policy analysis, this chapter aims to (1) conceptualize governance in the context of the debate on sustainable mobility, and to (2) connect the socio-political context of Munich with these key ideas and concepts concerning governance. At the end of the chapter, the example of the governance of cycling promotion will be briefly elaborated in order to connect these key conceptual frames to an empirical context. The chapter closes with arguing for the importance of studying the dynamic processes through which various forms of governance are socially constituted. It also highlights how not only knowledge, but also values, beliefs and power, play a key role in governance processes for sustainable mobility.