Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
hypotheses which, incessantly and monopolistically repeated, become hypnotic definitions
of dictations.
(Marcuse, 1964, p. 14)
We have previously ascribed forms to the car-based lifestyle: that it brings freedom, status
and expression, but in reality many of these are not real, and not as valuable as we imagine
(or are sold). There are many hugely adverse impacts that can no longer be ignored. The first
step is to realise that there are much more attractive travel behaviours and lifestyles on offer;
we just need to look outside to the sunshine.
Time is our great hope, but we are also running out of time. The expectation is that new
generations will learn to think and live very differently, that the dominant beliefs of today
will soon begin to seem difficult to maintain, and eventually to appear untenable. The dual
problematic of climate change and resource scarcity might mean we have to develop our
thinking more rapidly than we now imagine. But perhaps the transition will not be as dystopian
as often envisaged. The best practice in 2013 is already achieving, or close to achieving, the
mode share levels suggested for 2030 and 2050. Low-level car usage in some cities is already
possible, and the travel behaviours and lifestyles on offer in parts of many urban areas are
often much more attractive than the car dependent variants. Echoing Orwell, probably when
we get there, the sustainable mobility future (for almost all) will perhaps not be so dreadful
as we feared, indeed will be more attractive than where we are now.
Certainly we need to understand the factors affecting our social systems before we can
hope to change them. All of us are situated in multiple overlapping social systems, which
influence and are influenced by the individual. All are influenced, to a greater or lesser degree,
by the contemporary media and advertising. This is increasingly shaping people to aspire to
the same or similar lifestyles, internationally. Drawing on the inspiration of Foucault (1991),
we can argue for a reversal in our understanding of travel, initiating 'strategic conversations'
and an alternative discourse in many more cities, so that the search for different futures that
might help substantially reduce transport CO2 emissions in the city can begin.
Similarly, the understanding developed from transition theory offers a way forward, thinking
through complex strategies for change that cover myriad interventions, including new
infrastructure, vehicle technologies, urban planning, the political mechanisms to deliver
effectively, and changes to public beliefs and norms. The private car has been an incredible
invention, popular with the public and important to the growth of national economies. But,
we need to consider the nature of the car's irrationalities and to start to break some of the
boundaries in the contemporary system of motorisation. This can take many forms, but it must
include reflection on the institutions and organisational structures that are central to cities and
transport, asking whether they are still appropriate in a resource-constrained world, when new
political priorities are emerging. In addition, much more creativity is needed in deciding what
measures are employed, how they are packaged in a complementary manner, how social
regulation and control are used, and the actions of the electorate or members within society
are shaped.
Governance can be used in a much more progressive manner than at present to help achieve
the futures that we would like to live within. This will help us avoid 'the March of Folly':
where governments persistently pursue policies contrary, in the long run, to their own interests
(Tuchman, 1984). Urry (2011) argues for the 'resource turn', whereby societies should be
