K2

Non-linear but forward-moving – how integrated mobility is emerging, with public actors as co-creators in new roles

Integrated mobility – where different modes of transport are combined to offer travellers seamless door-to-door journeys – is developing rapidly today. Much of this work takes place within traditional planning processes. At the same time, the roles and identities of municipal and regional authorities are being reshaped as they navigate this evolving landscape of combined mobility.

This is demonstrated in a study conducted by K2 researchers Russell Cannon, Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren, and Mats Fred, resulting in the scientific article Organising integrated urban mobility: actions, roles and identities in an evolving landscape.

The researchers examined efforts to integrate urban mobility in the cities of Malmö and Lund. The background is that integrated mobility can make sustainable modes of transport more attractive and encourage more people to leave their cars behind. In both industry and academia, the future of mobility is increasingly seen as collective and multimodal – involving multiple integrated transport modes – rather than being based solely on traditional public transport. At the same time, the mobility landscape is highly fragmented: municipalities take on certain responsibilities, regions others, and private actors add further layers of complexity. The researchers therefore sought to gain an overarching picture of all the activities taking place around mobility within a city by mapping and following actions—rather than individual actors or modes of transport—over a limited period. The result is a snapshot of the years 2022–2023.

Much activity – but no unified process

Through their mapping, the researchers gained an overview of what is actually happening in the two cities – a wide range of often unconnected events and initiatives, from participation in pilot projects to maintenance of bike-sharing infrastructure, new signage schemes, and collaborative processes aimed at introducing mobility hubs.

One of the things that surprised the researchers was the amount of activity taking place in this field.

“Integration of mobility services does not occur through a single, bounded or unified process but through many parallel ones. A lot is happening, even if it is not always visible from the outside. This perspective can be valuable for evaluation, for the training of planners, and for understanding the role of public actors,” says Russell Cannon, doctoral student at Lund University of Technology and K2. The researchers also examined how the work of creating integrated mobility has affected the roles and identities of the various actors involved. Skånetrafiken was included as an actor operating in both cities. One conclusion is that it is not primarily consultants or innovation-driven actors who are propelling this work forward, but rather civil servants in their day-to-day practice.

“Most of the work is carried out by traditional planners whose competences and professional networks continuously expand through these processes. We should value their local and professional knowledge more highly,” says Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren, researcher at Lund University and K2.

The actions taken by these actors, in turn, influence their self-perception.

“Working to combine different modes of transport, linking various actions together, reshapes and redefines the roles and identities of public actors. When they engage in new types of activities – when they take new actions – this transforms the organisation and how they perceive themselves and their role,” says Russell Cannon.

Changes in roles and identity may occur internally – sometimes creating resistance – as well as in relation to other actors.

Integration occurs in multiple ways

Finally, the researchers observed that the integration of different mobility services takes place in several ways: through the reinterpretation of existing concepts, through the emergence of new ones such as mobility hubs, bike & ride facilities, or seamless travel, and through anchoring work both internally within organisations and externally in relation to citizens, including through demonstrations, seminars, and various pilot projects.

“Despite previous findings suggesting an institutional lack of activity, inertia, and organisational silos among actors creating barriers to integrated mobility, our study shows that public actors are in fact gradually co-producing a future system of integrated mobility. This does not necessarily occur through systematic coordination or an explicit intention to develop such a system – but it is happening, incrementally. More is taking place than public actors are given credit for,” says Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren.

Link to the article in Mobilities:
Organising integrated urban mobility: actions, roles and identities in an evolving landscape – tandfonline.com

Text: Anna Maria Erling
Image: Mesh Cube / iStockphoto