Critical pragmatism and congestion charging in London

Abstract

Congestion charging in Central London provides a case of radical policy intervention to address congestion and traffic reduction. This paper places the events in London within the context of social science theory and in particular the concepts of critical pragmatism and the use of case study material, as proposed by Flyvbjerg and Forester. The details of congestion charging in London are outlined together with an analysis of the process of implementation. The issues of consultation, representation, and response to concerns are discussed, and the different views of two key stakeholders are presented. The case study is interpreted in terms of equity and distribution, acceptability, boundary effects, and environmental impacts. Implications for social science theory are then returned to and it is suggested that the notions of value rationality and power need to be extended to encompass fairness and commitment.