Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance

In this article, I explore the role of experiments in urban mobility governance. I ask to what extent they are responses to the challenges of coexisting timeframes and temporalities and what challenges the latter pose for experiments. My analysis is based on field visits and interviews with urban a...

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Main Author: Franziska X. Meinherz
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: oekom verlag GmbH 2025-06-01
Series:TATuP – Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis
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Online Access:https://www.tatup.de/index.php/tatup/article/view/7221
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author Franziska X. Meinherz
author_facet Franziska X. Meinherz
author_sort Franziska X. Meinherz
collection DOAJ
description In this article, I explore the role of experiments in urban mobility governance. I ask to what extent they are responses to the challenges of coexisting timeframes and temporalities and what challenges the latter pose for experiments. My analysis is based on field visits and interviews with urban administrations and public transport providers in Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Madrid. My results show that urban administrations use experimentation as a form of reflexive, transformative governance. Public transport providers use experiments to navigate tensions between rapid regulatory changes and technological innovation and their long-lived infrastructure. Both actor groups stressed the importance of disruptions as natural experiments. Urban administrations used disruptions for experimentation to fast-track approved but difficult-to-implement projects. The temporary nature of experiments can pose a risk: It makes them vulnerable to political attacks. To mitigate backlash, good timing is critical.
format Article
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2567-8833
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publisher oekom verlag GmbH
record_format Article
series TATuP – Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis
spelling doaj-art-69ccbacbcef742ce8826b3708308e7ff2025-08-20T02:22:10Zdeuoekom verlag GmbHTATuP – Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis2568-020X2567-88332025-06-0134210.14512/tatup.7221Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governanceFranziska X. Meinherz0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2759-5510Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe In this article, I explore the role of experiments in urban mobility governance. I ask to what extent they are responses to the challenges of coexisting timeframes and temporalities and what challenges the latter pose for experiments. My analysis is based on field visits and interviews with urban administrations and public transport providers in Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Madrid. My results show that urban administrations use experimentation as a form of reflexive, transformative governance. Public transport providers use experiments to navigate tensions between rapid regulatory changes and technological innovation and their long-lived infrastructure. Both actor groups stressed the importance of disruptions as natural experiments. Urban administrations used disruptions for experimentation to fast-track approved but difficult-to-implement projects. The temporary nature of experiments can pose a risk: It makes them vulnerable to political attacks. To mitigate backlash, good timing is critical. https://www.tatup.de/index.php/tatup/article/view/7221transporturban governancesustainabilityexperimentationtransition
spellingShingle Franziska X. Meinherz
Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
TATuP – Zeitschrift für Technikfolgenabschätzung in Theorie und Praxis
transport
urban governance
sustainability
experimentation
transition
title Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
title_full Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
title_fullStr Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
title_full_unstemmed Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
title_short Time, timing, and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
title_sort time timing and conflicting temporalities in experimental urban mobility governance
topic transport
urban governance
sustainability
experimentation
transition
url https://www.tatup.de/index.php/tatup/article/view/7221
work_keys_str_mv AT franziskaxmeinherz timetimingandconflictingtemporalitiesinexperimentalurbanmobilitygovernance