Transport planning beyond infrastructural change: an empirical analysis of transport planning practices in the Rhine-Main region in Germany

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.