Transport Planning beyond Infrastructural Change: An Empirical Analysis of Transport Planning Practices in the Rhine-Main Region in Germany

Paula Quentin (), Jost Buscher and Thomas Eltner
Additional contact information
Paula Quentin: Research Group Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
Jost Buscher: Research Group Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
Thomas Eltner: Research Group Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Spatial Planning, TU Dortmund University, 44227 Dortmund, Germany

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: The transport system in Germany is characterised by a dominance of individual automobility. Acknowledging the necessity of a transition in the transport sector towards a more equal and sustainable transport system, the paper takes a closer look at how local and regional transport planning actually responds to the demands of the transition. Following a practice theoretical approach, the empirical analysis of local and regional transportation planning in the Rhine-Main region aims at an understanding of planning actions that go beyond infrastructural and technological change. Based on document analysis and interviews, the analysis highlights spatial and material changes promoted by transport planning, normative aims, and assumptions followed by transport planning and skills and competencies supporting transport planning in the Rhine-Main region. The paper identifies two overarching transport planning practices that shape the way the transport transition is addressed in the Rhine-Main region: the expansion of sustainable transport networks and the redistribution of road space. The empirical results are discussed with regard to the potential for change in local and regional transport planning.

Keywords: transport transition; transport planning; planning practices; sustainable transport; urban mobility; practice theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10025/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/10025/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10025-:d:1178556

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().