Conference presentation
Emerging Cultures of Mobility: Stability, Openings, Prospects
15 Jun 2011
Abstract
In recent years there have been significant shifts in the planning, design and funding of major urban infrastructure projects to include "sustainable mobility" systems, including improved bicycling infrastructure; congestion charging and dynamic road pricing; new investments in energy-efficient public transport systems, light-rail systems and high-speed railway; the emergence of car-sharing and public bike-sharing schemes; and the design of pedestrian-friendly streets and smaller electric vehicles. Yet arguably none of these niche-level changes has seriously challenged the existing system of automobility, which continues to be the dominant mode of transportation, especially in the United States. The USA especially trails behind other advanced economies in bringing about a transition in its transportation and mobility systems. Building on previous work on cultures of automobility, this talk argues for a culturally-based understanding of the problems of system lock-in and potential transition. It aims to assess the openings and prospects for the emergence of new cultures of mobility in the United States, while also being realistic about the stabilities in the current mobility system. It begins with a model of culture as a combination of practices, networks, and discourses, each of which is enacted across multiple levels in the transition process. The next section turns to examples of cultural mechanisms that have stabilized the dominance of automobility in the United States, as well as instances of openings in the regime at both the national and urban scale. Finally, it concludes with some speculative ideas about the emergence of a more far-reaching technological – and cultural – transition arising out of the dynamics of new information and communication technologies entering the realm of transportation planning, design, and innovation.
Metrics
54 File views/ downloads
12 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Emerging Cultures of Mobility: Stability, Openings, Prospects
- Creators
- Mimi Sheller (Author) - Drexel University
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Sociology; College of Arts and Sciences; Mobilities Research and Policy Center (mCenter) [Historical]
- Other Identifier
- 991014632620804721