An Anthropologist Among the Transport Specialists
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An anthropologist among the transport specialists Social science insights on the political-economy barriers to the implementation of low-carbon transport in urban South Asia and Africa Edward Simpson 1 Contents Acknowledgements 3 Preface 4 Policy recommendations and questions 6 Summary 9 Glossary of terms and acronyms 12 Images 15 Introduction 20 The big numbers 33 Section 1: Aspiration and the Global Mobility Report 2017 35 Section 2: Urban transport and displacement: When people are a barrier 44 Section 3: The political economy of BRT: Knowledge as a barrier 55 Section 4: Engineering cultures: Knowledge and meaning in transport infrastructure 84 Section 5: Mobility and auto-mobility 102 Appendix 1: Global overview 114 2 Acknowledgements Matteo Rizzo drafted Section 3 on BRT. His path through the literature is strongly informed by his own primary research on the subject. Serene Duff drafted the text that forms Appendix 1: Global Overview from a mass of unwieldy literature and ideas. I am grateful to Srinivas Chokkakula for guidance and Zoe Goodman and Niamh Collard for assistance. Comments from John Hine, Bernard Obika, Andrew Newsham, Stephen Newport and Bruce Thompson and discussion with Liz Jones and Mark Harvey improved the text. Colin Gourley strongly encouraged the project and the engagement of anthropologists with those in the transport sector. Each of the main five sections of the document could have been a standalone book- length project. Given limitations of time and space, omissions not already picked-up by generous peer reviewers are my responsibility. Edward Simpson, London, March 2018. This material has been funded by UK aid from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. 3 Preface This document is an experiment in short-comings in the literature. This clashing disciplines together and document is an outsider’s reaction to seeing if anything useful survives. literature produced by transport specialists. This is not the same as working in an Anthropologists traditionally studied the inter-disciplinary manner, although exotic, rendering ‘foreign’ knowledge that is a key recommendation, but comprehensible. The exotic in this rather using the tools and document is select literature on transport, assumptions of one discipline to offer primarily literatures where strategic empathetic critique of those in transport thinking and planning another. acknowledges that people are subject to and use the end products of such plans. … one could see place-based The purpose is to point to some, and only approaches as Copernican- some, of the assumptions on which this welfarist (Copernican in their literature rests. inductive nature, based on observation; welfarist in their The approach is firmly ‘place-based’ and implicit assumptions to ‘know’ sees opportunity in exploring ‘local how a better place looks like); knowledge’, not to only to understand what and the global models as a better place might look like, but also to Promethean-liberal understand barriers to change. Social (Promethean in their science literature contains little evidence understanding that technology that the technology producers (read car can solve the climate change manufacturers and enormous complex of problem; and liberal in relying allied productive agents) who have on revealed preference promoted auto-mobility are also likely to be approach) (Creutzig 2016: 354- key to the reduction of carbon emissions or 355).1 more sustainable patterns of mobility, as they themselves now proclaim. This complex provocation from one of the leading voices on low-carbon transport Searches of the literature revealed no clear thinking allows us to clarify the starting picture of what current projections of point of this report and to point to current increased private vehicle ownership will do 1 Creutzig, F. 2015. Evolving Narratives of Low-Carbon Futures in Transportation. Transport Reviews, 36(3): 341-360. 4 to carbon emissions or levels of congestion; Finally, although Creutizig’s division of the neither is there a clear picture of the literature into these approaches consequences of plugging in millions of conveniently illustrates some of the existing new electric cars into national grids nor for chasms across the literature it also seems what such a new mobility regime will do for to gloss all disciplines as branches of tax generation or, significantly, for carbon economics. Such bias - whether from emissions. This is a moment of uncertainty economics or engineering, the disciplines for global transport – and arguably thus leading the debate – tends to lead to the opportunity. dismissal of the contribution that social science can make to complex urban transport decision making. 5 Policy recommendations and questions Premise: In the same period that climate understand context, people and the factors change has emerged as a cause for behind the adoption or abandonment of concerted global policy action, the intensity urban transport schemes. In transport of mobility and the number of vehicles on thinking, some ideas are fetishized and the world’s roads has increased unquestioned. Social science can help dramatically. It took a century to get the first denaturalise the mystification of mobility, billion vehicles on the road, the second just as engineers and economists can billion will take a decade. Low carbon and guide social scientists to refine and redirect infrastructure policy (often branded as co- their questions. or mutual-benefit) may serve the needs of local carbon and sustainable development Inter-disciplinarity has long been goals; however, increased mobility, and the recognised as important. In transport concomitant claims for economic growth, thinking, however, the potential co-benefits continue to be the taken-for-granted aims of inter-disciplinary research have not of such activity. Given the current always been integrated into core aims and technology available, this approach can objectives. Transport needs more and only lead to ever-greater emissions from better inter-disciplinary work and to the transport and allied sectors. These acknowledge that transport is connected to sectors are motivated to increase mobility, other development and cultural domains. decrease journey time, and ease congestion. Such goals without end in a Recommendations and observations are finite world. The premises of these divided into three convergent points of motivations need to be questioned as intervention: ‘out there in the world’, ‘in climate change and the conditions of the there among the transport professionals’ global transport scenario continue to and ‘knowledge politics’. diverge in fundamentally unsustainable ways. ‘Out there in the world’ This document makes a small step to influence the environment in which future Climate and transport policy have transport thinking might take place. Social converged over the last three decades but science methodologies, and those from there remains a chasm in popular thought social anthropology in particular, are used and action on the ground between climate to challenge some of the underlying concern and the actual aspirations people assumptions in the current literature as well have for themselves and their families. as to show that there is more to be done to 6 Anthropological and other types of social ‘In there among the transport science research can be productively professionals’ integrated into transport thinking to understand different contexts, aspirations, In a professional community, the norms of knowledge practices and motivations of knowledge and practice typically develop in people ‘out there in the world’. Such ‘soft’ silos. It is hard to look outside disciplinary factors are perhaps the key to engineering comfort zones and ideas from other a low carbon and mobility future in which domains can appear awkward. However, the premises of ever-increasing mobility Recommendations: are questioned as the central component of national and international development • Social science knowledge can be paradigms. communicated to encourage transport professionals to think Social science research consistently shows positively about the insights derived that the presentation of ‘science’ and ‘facts’ from qualitative research. do not change people’s minds about • Reflexive social science techniques climate change or their transport can make professionals aware of aspirations. Ideas about progress and the assumptions that underpin and development are not natural facts but drive their own policy and practice. political and cultural ideas about the world. • Build skills and capacity in inter- These are also questions of emotion and disciplinary and cross-disciplinary subjectivity – and when understood as thinking (to erode the unhelpful such become a creative resource for policy division between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ makers to work with: solutions) • Understand cultural conditions that • Integrate social science influence attitudes and capacities perspectives within transport towards low carbon transport and programmes from inception rather ideas of development are key to than as afterthoughts or ‘add ons’ working across boundaries and to • Promote and advocate frameworks building a truly global agenda for for thinking through social science transport thinking. questions in infrastructural • Engage with the aspirations and programmes. cultural conditions of people • Develop toolkits and resources for through opinion formers and mutual learning and support networks