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To Transport or Not to Transport: Post‐Growth Avenues for Transport Infrastructure Planning

Author

Listed:
  • Stefan Verweij
  • Christian Lamker
  • Bert de Groot

Abstract

Post‐growth literature has recently raised attention to the role of transport infrastructure planning in relation to global sustainability challenges and human wellbeing. Transport infrastructure can be a major obstacle to change, due to sunk costs, material intensity, and historical path dependencies. At the same time, it is a foundation for quality‐of‐life, basic services, and fulfilling human needs. At the crossroads of major societal, spatial, and economic transformations, it is timely to explore what post‐growth perspectives offer to transport infrastructure planning. We develop six propositions that we identify as crucial to connect post‐growth thought with transport infrastructure planning more effectively. Concluding from the six propositions, we underline the need for open political discussions about crucial trade‐offs and the strategic and integrative interfaces between sustainability, socio‐spatial transformations, and transport infrastructures. 后增长时期的文献近期引起了一项关注, 即与全球可持续性挑战和人类福祉中相关的交通基础设施规划的作用。由于沉没成本、物质密集度和历史路径依赖, 交通基础设施可能是变革的主要障碍。同时, 它也是生活质量、基本服务和“满足人类需求”一事的基础。在重大社会转型、空间转型和经济转型的十字路口, 探索后增长视角对交通基础设施规划有何帮助一事正是时候。我们提出了六个命题, 这些命题对于“更有效地将后增长思想与交通基础设施规划联系起来”至关重要。从这六个命题中得出结论, 我们强调, 需要就“可持续性、社会‐空间转型和交通基础设施之间的关键权衡以及战略接口和综合接口”进行公开的政治讨论。 Recientemente, la literatura sobre el poscrecimiento ha llamado la atención sobre el papel de la planificación de la infraestructura de transporte en relación con los desafíos globales de sostenibilidad y el bienestar humano. La infraestructura de transporte puede ser un obstáculo importante para el cambio, debido a los costos hundidos, la intensidad de los materiales y las dependencias históricas de la trayectoria. Al mismo tiempo, es una base para la calidad de vida, los servicios básicos y la satisfacción de las necesidades humanas. En la encrucijada de importantes transformaciones sociales, espaciales y económicas, es oportuno explorar lo que las perspectivas poscrecimiento ofrecen a la planificación de la infraestructura de transporte. Desarrollamos seis propuestas que identificamos como cruciales para conectar el pensamiento poscrecimiento con la planificación de la infraestructura de transporte de manera más efectiva. A partir de las seis propuestas, concluimos que es necesario mantener debates políticos abiertos sobre las compensaciones cruciales y las interfaces estratégicas e integradoras entre la sostenibilidad, las transformaciones socioespaciales y las infraestructuras de transporte.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Verweij & Christian Lamker & Bert de Groot, 2025. "To Transport or Not to Transport: Post‐Growth Avenues for Transport Infrastructure Planning," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(1), January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:crtinf:v:6:y:2025:i:1:n:e12035
    DOI: 10.1002/jci3.12035
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    References listed on IDEAS

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