Mobilizing rural regions: Policy challenges in transport poverty and sustainability
Author
Bouman, Anne Geertje
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-05-31
Pages
45
Abstract
Denne undersøgelse ser på, hvordan politik i den nordlige del af Nederlandene fremstiller (problematiserer) behovet for bæredygtig mobilitet i landområder og problemet med transportfattigdom. Transportfattigdom forstås som situationer, hvor mennesker ikke kan dække deres basale hverdagsaktiviteter med de transportmuligheder, de har adgang til, især når de ikke ejer en bil i et område med høj bilafhængighed. Studien bidrager ved at sætte fokus på transportfattigdom som et samfundsproblem, bringe bæredygtighedsperspektivet tydeligere ind i forståelsen af transportfattigdom og øge opmærksomheden på bæredygtig landdistriktmobilitet, som ofte er underbelyst i forskningen. Teoretisk og metodisk anvendes problematisering som en ramme for at undersøge, hvordan problemer defineres i politik, sammen med begreberne transportfattigdom, bæredygtig mobilitet i landområder og mobilitetsvendingen (en tilgang, der udfordrer traditionel transportplanlægning ved at fokusere på hverdagsliv, praksisser og kompleksitet). Data er indsamlet gennem dokumentanalyse og semistrukturerede interviews og analyseret med en tilpasset udgave af Carol Bacchis ramme “What is the problem represented to be” (WPR). Analysen af politikdokumenter peger på syv tilbagevendende problemkategorier: manglende finmaskethed i den kollektive trafik, skæv fordeling af faciliteter og lange rejseafstande, mangel på lighed i mobilitetssystemet, bilen som dominerende transportform, spændinger mellem pris over for udbud/tilgængelighed, transportudledninger og andre eksterne effekter samt forskellige former for usikkerhed. Disse problemer er indbyrdes forbundne. Samtidig viser analysen, at problemfremstillingen ofte mangler en helhedsorienteret tilgang, der fuldt ud anerkender den komplekse sammenhæng mellem hverdagsliv og mobilitetspraksisser. I diskussionen fremhæves hverdagslivets mangfoldige praksisser, forskellige tidsmønstre og betydningen af, hvordan problemer defineres. Afslutningsvis peger afhandlingen på, at transportområdet ofte er stærkt løsningsdrevet, og foreslår at supplere dette med en stærkere forståelse af hverdagsliv og praksisser som udgangspunkt for politikudvikling.
This study examines how policies in the Northern Netherlands frame (problematize) the need for rural sustainable mobility and the issue of transport poverty. Transport poverty is understood as situations where people cannot meet basic daily needs with the transport options available to them, especially when they do not own a car in a highly car-dependent context. The study contributes by highlighting transport poverty as a societal issue, bringing sustainability considerations into the concept of transport poverty, and drawing more attention to rural sustainable mobility, which is often underrepresented in the literature. The research uses problematization as both a theoretical lens and a methodological approach to see how policies define problems, alongside concepts of transport poverty, rural sustainable mobility, and the mobilities turn (an approach that challenges traditional transport planning by focusing on everyday life, practices, and complexity). Data were collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews and analyzed with an adapted version of Carol Bacchi’s “What is the problem represented to be” (WPR) framework. The policy analysis identifies seven recurring problem categories: a public transport network that is not fine-grained enough, uneven distribution of facilities and long travel distances, lack of equity in the mobility system, the car as the dominant mode, tensions between affordability and availability, transport emissions and other externalities, and various uncertainties. These issues are interrelated. The analysis also reveals gaps in how problems are represented, notably a lack of a holistic approach that fully acknowledges the complexity of everyday life and mobility practices. The discussion reflects on the richness of practices, different everyday time patterns, and the importance of how problems are framed. The paper concludes that the transport field is often strongly solution-driven and suggests shifting toward policies that start from a better understanding of everyday life and practices.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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