Abstract
Sustainable urban transport is a complex challenge requiring innovation in technologies, culture, and policies. Given the systemic nature of the issues involved, numerous studies have applied the transitions approach to urban transport. However, relatively weak conceptualization of agency in the transitions literature limits the usefulness of this approach for the governance of urban transport. The objective of this study is to contribute to the conceptualization of agency in the multilevel perspective to sustainability transitions. We propose that two types of actors exercise agency to foster innovation: technology constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific technologies by citizens, businesses, or governments; and instrument constituencies, who promote the adoption of specific policy instruments. In focusing predominantly on technological innovation, the transitions literature has generally juxtaposed these constituencies or considered them to be the same. We posit that the two constitute distinct, albeit possibly overlapping, actors and that their relationship(s) help better understand and explain how transitions evolve. We discuss the implications of this distinction for the governance of urban transport and argue that the presence of instrument and technology constituencies, and their relationship(s), should be examined empirically in future research.
Highlights
The existing system of urban transport is not sustainable
We address two questions: (i) how can the agency involved in fostering innovation in transitions be conceptualized? (ii) what are the implications of our conceptualization of agency of innovation for the governance of urban transport? the paper is predominantly conceptual, we use examples from studies on urban transport and energy to illustrate the argument
We posit that the transitions literature has generally assumed the two to be the same or juxtaposed them, they are distinct but possibly possess overlapping actors. Their relationship(s) help understand and explain policymaking in areas of innovation and the evolution of transitions. This is especially important for the governance of urban transport, which witnesses the presence of numerous socio-technical alternatives and, constituencies competing for dominance
Summary
The existing system of urban transport is not sustainable. The high ownership and use of automobiles have created numerous sustainability issues such as air pollution, energy inefficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, land availability, noise, poor connectivity, public health, road safety, and traffic congestion [1,2,3,4,5]. This entails developing a better understanding of how various actors exercise agency to influence politics, polity, and policy in urban transport On this front, the applicability of the transitions perspective for governance has been questioned in the past. We draw on recent studies on instrument constituencies in policy analysis [39] and posit that transitions involve two types of actors who push for specific socio-technical alternatives to (a variety of) societal issues. Their relationship(s) help understand and explain policymaking in areas of innovation and the evolution of transitions This is especially important for the governance of urban transport, which witnesses the presence of numerous socio-technical alternatives and, constituencies competing for dominance.
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