Exploring the Legitimacy of the Car in Aarhus in Light of Congestion and Climate Change - How Agonism Can Bring Us Closer to a Sustainable Future
Author
Jespersen, Kres Daa
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-02-26
Pages
78
Abstract
This thesis examines how the car’s legitimacy in Aarhus is maintained in the face of congestion and climate change, and whether an alternative planning process can open space for more sustainable solutions. Grounded in a social constructionist and discourse-theoretical framework, the study combines a literature review of European car discourse with a case study of Aarhus. Methodologically, it employs discourse analysis of municipal policy and planning documents (including the 2018 Mobility Plan) and public argumentation, alongside semi-structured interviews with key actors in the municipal mobility department. The analysis maps how the dominance of the car in Aarhus has historically been anchored in nodal points such as growth and personal freedom and, more recently, supplemented by liveability, while climate is articulated as a floating signifier that enables “win–win” responses without challenging the car’s core position. Despite policy efforts, transport CO2 emissions have not declined since 2008, and consensus-driven processes appear to favor the status quo by sidelining more transformative alternatives. The thesis argues that an agonistic planning approach with a stronger ecological voice can make conflicts productive, question underlying power relations, and broaden the political horizon for a more sustainable mobility transition in Aarhus.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan bilens legitimitet i Aarhus opretholdes i lyset af trængsel og klimaforandringer, og om en alternativ planlægningsproces kan åbne for mere bæredygtige løsninger. Med afsæt i en socialkonstruktionistisk og diskursteoretisk ramme kombinerer studiet et litteraturreview af den europæiske bildiskurs med et casestudie af Aarhus. Metodisk bygger det på diskursanalyse af kommunale politik- og planlægningsdokumenter (bl.a. Mobilitetsplan 2018) og den offentlige argumentation samt semistrukturerede interviews med centrale aktører i mobilitetsforvaltningen. Analysen kortlægger, hvordan bilens dominans i Aarhus historisk er bundet op på nodalpunkter som vækst og personlig frihed og i nyere tid suppleres af levbarhed, mens klima italesættes som en flydende betegnelse, der muliggør “win–win”-løsninger uden at udfordre bilens grundlæggende position. På trods af politiske tiltag er transportrelaterede CO2-udledninger ikke faldet siden 2008, og konsensusorienterede processer ser ud til at favorisere status quo ved at marginalisere mere transformative alternativer. Specialet diskuterer, hvordan en agonistisk planlægningstilgang med en stærkere økologisk stemme kan gøre konflikter produktive, udfordre underliggende magtforhold og udvide det politiske handlerum for en mere bæredygtig mobilitetsudvikling i Aarhus.
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