Abstract

Since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), atmospheric concentration of local pollutants has fallen drastically. A natural question is whether further reductions will yield additional health benefits. We further this research by addressing two related research questions: (1) what is the impact of automobile driving (and especially congestion) on ambient air pollution levels, and (2) what is the impact of modern air pollution levels on infant health? Our setting is California (with a focus on the Central Valley and Southern California) in the years 2002-2007. Using an instrumental variables approach that exploits the relationship between traffic, ambient weather conditions, and various pollutants, our findings suggest that ambient pollution levels, specifically particulate matter, still have large impacts on weekly infant mortality rates. Our results also illustrate the importance of weather controls in measuring pollution's impact on infant mortality.

Abstract

Mobility innovations are deeply ingrained in societies, enabling us to perform certain actions and movements, which are essential for participating in the hyper-connected world (Hannam, Sheller, Urry; 2006). These innovations can be considered political as they unevenly allow various means and comfort of access to different societal groups. According to dominant policy frameworks, these groups (target groups) should be equally treated in policy as they share similarities. However, this is not the case according to the social construction and policy design framework. Policy-making (implicitly) differentiates between groups with the same characteristics by distributing to these different burdens and benefits, or wins and losses. This generates normative concerns of democracy, inclusion, and justice. In this research, we reflect on how social, technological, economic, and environmental wins and losses are distributed among target groups, and how these processes raise questions of the political nature of innovation. Current research on social construction in policy has focused on social policy, specifically in the areas of health and welfare (see Ingram, Schneider, Deleon; 2007). The role of science and technology, however, has been largely ignored. Hence, drawing from the Science and Technology Studies (STS), we demonstrate that considering the way in which specific technological innovations enable actors to perform certain actions within society, is essential for understanding the process of construction of target groups. Furthermore, STS insights enable us to reflect on (implicit) technical and social exclusion of user groups through innovation designs, or non-consideration in innovation policy (see e.g. Wyatt et al., 2002). We draw on different disciplines to explore a new field of smart mobility, which is arguably reshaping current transport policy domain. Smart mobility is leading to the emergence of mobility target groups, such as drivers of electric vehicles. This also generates new wins and losses for the groups. Furthermore, smart mobility is gaining increasing attention because it comes with great promises about solving societal issues such as congestion and air pollution. However, through the processes of excluding some target groups, smart mobility may fail to solve social challenges in an inclusive way. As an emerging policy domain, smart mobility is confined to a forward-looking policy agenda and we are interested in reflecting on what role STS could play in guiding more inclusive innovation policies. Empirically we focus on Smart Mobility policy in The Netherlands. Specifically, the Beter Benutten program regions of Maastricht and Brabant. This program aims to reduce traffic congestion by 20% and door-to-door travel time by 10%, by optimizing existing infrastructure usage and by improving mobility network interconnections (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, 2011). Using research methods based on the document analysis and semi-structured interviews, we show how this roadmap distributes wins and losses among (smart) mobility user groups.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the extent to which everyday travel behaviour in Britain changes in relation to family responsibilities, and examines how this has altered over the past century and a half. It is argued that prior to the mid-twentieth century changes in the family such as increased child-care responsibilities barely influenced the modes of transport used for everyday travel, but that increasingly in the later twentieth century people adjusted their travel behaviour during the family formation phases of the life cycle. In particular, parents of young children have become more car-dependent and less likely to walk or cycle. Data are drawn from two separate projects, one that collected travel life histories from the past half-century as context for research on cycling in later life, and one that uses personal diaries to reveal everyday mobility strategies of people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is argued that the observed changes are due not only to increased access to a wide range of different transport forms, especially the motor car, but also to changes in societal perceptions of risk and norms of travel behaviour. In conclusion, it is suggested that more awareness of past travel behaviours could aid the development and implementation of more sustainable transport policies in the UK.

Abstract

Cycling-based mobility services or 'Cycling as a Service' (CaaS) have recently expanded in number and scale in the Netherlands. In contrast to the contexts of most other CaaS studies to date, cycling has a high modal share and strong institutions in the Dutch context. However, these supportive features have not translated into straightforward success for CaaS providers. Instead, responses to CaaS providers have varied widely, from tolerance to opposition. In this study we employ a combined business model and transition perspective to investigate this variation and its implications for CaaS in Dutch urban mobility systems. We present value propositions derived from business models, and integrate these into Hoogma's fit-and-stretch strategy framework for emerging niches. This enables a comparison between technology design and value propositions, and an analysis of the CaaS niche's transitions potential. Our findings clarify the strategies used by niche actors to enter and operate within established cycling regimes.

Abstract

A key issue in smart grid visions is the integration of the energy and mobility systems. Electric vehicles (EVs) can be charged with renewable photovoltaic (PV) solar power, and contribute to the integration of solar power in the electricity network via vehicle-to-grid systems. In such systems the role of consumers becomes crucial as they both generate and store energy. We investigate differences between PV and EV adopter groups and the implications of these differences for the transition to smart energy systems. We study how socio-demographic characteristics of the consumer base influence regional diffusion patterns. In turn, we build scenarios to explore the influence of diffusion patterns on the viability of regional EV-PV integration in terms of energy use and regional self-consumption. The results point out large differences in the spatial diffusion patterns between EV and PV. These differences have implications for the transition to smart sustainable grids; vehicle-to-grid systems may not be viable for certain regions.

Abstract

The automotive industry has proposed and announced a number of technological innovations to reduce the environmental impact of transport. Whereas initially many of the proposed technologies were surrounded by very optimistic expectations, many technological innovations are not commercially available yet and expectations eventually turned into disappointment. The hypes concerning these alternative drivetrain technologies collapsed when optimistic announcements could not be met, within the proposed timeframe. This paper analyzes the relation between research and development activities (innovation activities) and communication activities in the automotive industry using patent statistics, press releases and interviews. The analysis reveals that the underlying characteristics of the specific technology have an influence on the relation between communication and innovation activities. When innovations depend on the build-up of a new infrastructure actors have a strong incentive to raise expectations. This suggests that the specific shape of the hype cycle is depending on the complexity of the technology.

Abstract

We studied to what extent perceived adoption norms affect the likelihood of adopting sustainable innovations, next to evaluations of the instrumental, environmental and symbolic attributes of these innovations. As hypothesised, results showed that people are more likely to adopt a sustainable innovation the more they evaluate the attributes of these sustainable innovations favourably and the more they think significant others would consider adoption (i.e., when adoption norms are strong). Moreover, we hypothesised and found that positive evaluations of the symbolic attributes are more likely to promote the adoption of sustainable innovations when people expect that few significant others would consider adoption. These findings suggest that weak adoption norms that are typical in the early adoption stage may both inhibit and promote adoption of sustainable innovations, via different routes.

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new method to operationalize social barriers for innovative technologies. Technical feasibility and economic viability are no guarantee for the development and take-off of an innovation. We combine insights from multi-level perspective (MLP) and technological innovation systems (TIS) theory to develop a framework for the identification and evaluation of actor-centred barriers. We illustrate the method through an application to catenary hybrid truck (CHT) technology in Germany. Relevant stakeholders were identified via document research and subsequent network analysis, and then approached to fill out a survey. Additional data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with key actors, and content analysis. We show how the implementation of CHT may be hampered by resistance from the regime and by a lack of focused expectations and lobbying within the niche.