Integrated transport planning in the UK: From concept to reality

Abstract

This paper explores the need for new planning authority practices and structures that can accommodate new policy demands, synergies and approaches to urban management in the UK. Initially it considers recent UK government ideas on the integration of transport and land use planning, exploring how the concept has been located carefully in relation to both established and emerging debates about, for example, sustainability, mobility and structures of governance. The paper then moves on to consider the relationship between these concepts in EU transport discourse taking an example from Sweden of what an integrated urban transport policy might look like on the ground. The final section develops a model of integration and applies this analytic construct to assess integration practices and outcomes of urban mobility management at the local authority level in England. The research uncovers implementation failures including duplication of procedures, failures in communication and the lack of clear and resourced responsibilities.