Conference Papers 2023

Seminar
Day 2 (7 Sep 2023), Session 7, Wellbeing and Transport, 16:30 - 18:30

Status
Accepted, documents submitted

Submitted by / Abstract owner
Marco van Burgsteden

Authors
Marco van Burgsteden

Short abstract
A learning strategy to integrate wellbeing objectives in transport policies

Abstract
The increased attention to wellbeing, also in transport policy, is now at a point where practitioners within municipalities and regional governments need more guidance. This transition might be seen as a paradigm shift, and to succesfully make it, they will need theoretically sound tools to analyse, design, implement and monitor their policymaking efforts. CROW has created an environment for these professionals to meet, exchange experiences, and experiment with approaches and tools. In this paper, the theoretical underpinnings of this approach are explained. CROW uses the Capability Approach of Sen to make a distinction between individual resources, personal, environmental (physical), and institutional conversion factors, and the explicit difference between functionings and capabilities. This has helped to underpin the importance of accessibility analyses, measuring inequalities, and the use of qualitative data and narratives from stakeholder groups in creating a sustainable urban mobility plan.
The paper will give some examples of how a theoretical framework can contribute to mature, wellbeing-based, policy plans, by examining the 15 minute city, and issues around government involvement in shared mobility propositions. The development of the framework includes the question of how we should define so-called 'levels of sufficient accessibility' on the one hand, and whether the Capability Approach can be used to investigate the limits of the mobility system in terms of sustainability, which is addressed through the liberal notions of positive and negative freedoms. The examples used show that the objectives of transport policy become more complex and contextual, but when considered as balancing freedoms and capabilities, professionals should be able to increase their effectiveness.

Programme committee
Planning for Sustainable Land Use and Transport

Topic
Human wellbeing – delivering transport schemes for the health of future generations