Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | ES/W000539/1 | |
| Title | ERA-NET: Inclusive Transition towards Electric Mobility | |
| Status | Completed | |
| Energy Categories | Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis) 25%; Energy Efficiency(Transport) 10%; Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts) 65%; |
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| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | SOCIAL SCIENCES (Town and Country Planning) 15%; SOCIAL SCIENCES (Politics and International Studies) 25%; SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology) 60%; |
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| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions) 10%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation) 25%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour) 50%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Technology acceptance) 15%; |
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| Principal Investigator |
Dr T Schwanen No email address given Geography OUCE University of Oxford |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | ESRC | |
| Start Date | 01 March 2021 | |
| End Date | 29 February 2024 | |
| Duration | 36 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £342,231 | |
| Industrial Sectors | ||
| Region | South East | |
| Programme | Economic Performance & Environment - Strategic Programme | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Dr T Schwanen , Geography OUCE, University of Oxford (100.000%) |
| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | The transition to Electric Mobility (EM) has been driven by the need to solve the environmental problems of poor air quality and CO2 emissions from road transport, combined with technological improvements and associated cost reductions. Despite recognition within academia that this transition is a systemic change, enacted by diverse human actors and organisations with varying cultures, motivations and tools at their disposal, questions of social justice have received scant attention from both researchers and policy makers. Occasional consideration of the social acceptance or equity of distribution of infrastructure, funding and access to EM do not fully explore the inclusivity of governance procedures and participation in decision-making, nor recognise the varying needs, values, understandings, capabilities and practices of different groups. Also, the small, but growing population who have already switched to EM is highly skewed towards more privileged groups, creating biases in existing research into consumer preferences, barriers and motivations that focus on these users, and fail to consider the different needs or engagement of future users and non-users from more marginalised groups.Thus, the overall aim of this project is to advance and accelerate an Inclusive Transition towards Electric Mobility (ITEM) by deploying a transnational research strategy to work with users and stakeholders to produce knowledge on the social and spatial differences in EM uptake, use and benefits, and on the participation in the development of EM policies across 4 medium-sized cities with different EM adoption rates: Oslo (N), Utrecht (NL), Bristol (UK) and Poznan (PL). The project considers different EM modes (cars, bikes, scooters) as well as organisational forms (private ownership, lease, sharing platforms). Building on previous research on energy, transport and mobility justice, the project examines the transition to EM in light of three aspects of social justice: distributional, recognition and procedural.Three main research questions have been identified to address all three aspects of social justice in the transition towards EM:RQ1: How and to what extent do the needs, capabilities, practices and decision-making of individuals and households regarding EM, as well as their accessibility and everyday mobility outcomes, differ socially and spatially during the EM transition?RQ2: How and to what extent does EM policy take the distributional, procedural and recognition dimensions of mobility justice into account?RQ3: How can scenario-making exercises that consider demographic trends, spatiality and travel behaviour be employed to both evaluate and inform EM transition pathways at the city level?Each of these research questions considers the ongoing transition towards EM from a different perspective or transition pathway:a) EM-user and -non-user households,b) urban policy and governance, andc) integrated scenario planning and evaluation.The project will bring together different understandings of mobility, justice, policy, and transitions as well as a mix of data sources and methods, including academic and grey literature review, quantitative and qualitative data for comparing case studies, and co-production of knowledge and capacity to ensure that the project benefits the users, stakeholders, communities and cities involved. The project also aims to develop a tool for scenario testing the inclusivity of policies and transitions. Finally, the project aims to disseminate new understandings of EM adoption, practices, potential services and future user groups, as well as new ways to reframe policy issues and embed inclusivity and social justice into policy objectives and ambitions. | |
| Abstract | European cities' attempts to accelerate the electric mobility (EM) transition are generating environmental benefits and enhancing economic viability. Unclear is how socially just these attempts and their outcomes are in terms of who benefits (distribution), whose needs are considered (recognition), and who gets to decide and how (procedure). The proposed research will advance inclusive EM transitions on the urban scale through a dual perspective on households and urban policy. It will examine inequalities in households' EM-related needs, capabilities, decision-making, accessibility and everyday mobility. It will also analyse how and to what extent EM policies and governance take the aforementioned distribution, procedure and recognition dimensions into account. It will finally co-produce understandings of how urban and transport planning regarding sustainability and accessibility can be strengthened through inclusive EM transition processes. In close collaboration with policymakers and mobility service providers, the project will consider shared and owned/leased electric cars, E-bikes and E-scooters, comparing transition processes in Oslo, Utrecht, Bristol and Poznan. Ultimately, the project aims to bring about a shift in how EM policies and services at the urban scale are developed, implemented and delivered, so that urban EM transition pathways are not only accelerated but also become as inclusive as possible | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 26/05/21 | |
