Democratic anchorage and performance: Comparing two network approaches to land-use and transport-system development

Abstract

This paper describes two Norwegian governance networks. While both address questions about land-use and transport, the ways in which they are democratically anchored differ. Starting out from goals set for climate-friendly transport, linkages between democratic anchorage and network effectiveness are discussed. In some ways the network with the lowest stakeholder involvement, and therefore the smallest network structure, has come furthest – measures are implemented quickly and extensive resources are used to improve public transport. The other network does not have the same implementation rate or resource-use, but has shown strong efforts to mobilise and coordinate a wide set of actors. Both approaches involve important elements for reducing emissions from transport, specifically the effectiveness and toughness of one and the broader mobilisation of the other. Applying a wide set of criteria to evaluate network performance, the paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the two network structures.