Post #1934046

"This study examines how institutional design enables or constrains efforts to reduce car dependence in Finland's capital region. The analysis draws on an extensive set of policy, strategy, and regulatory documents spanning national, regional, and municipal governance levels. Using institutional grammar and institutional network analysis, the study systematically codes institutional statements and maps their interactions across governance levels. It further examines developments across two policy cycles and compares three neighboring cities to assess how institutional design evolves over time and across local contexts. The findings reveal strong strategic alignment across governance levels, with shared commitments to densification, public transport, and active and shared mobility. However, this coherence coexists with limited authority: municipalities can innovate in land use and parking policies but lack access to key demand-management instruments, such as congestion charges. Moreover, cyclical planning and assessment rarely lead to substantive policy adjustments, limiting adaptive learning and reinforcing incremental rather than transformative change." Shedding gigantic cumbersome and hazardous prosthetic devices without which life is very difficult: surprisingly hard. Curing the faux autonomy of automobiles sounds like it ought to be low-hanging fruit for an ambitious politician but as described above systemic inertia is massive. Change may require strong object lessons, such as a buffoon interrupting global fossil fuel supplies. #CarbonLockIn #AutomotiveDependence https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629626002082?dgcid=rss_sd_all