Skip to content

Transformative Humanities

Transformative Humanities

New Publication: Investigating potential effects of mobility and accessibility services using the avoid-shift-improve framework

Achim Klüppelberg,Posted on
Categories Categories: Publications, Research, The DivisionTags Tags: , , ,

Division researcher Katarina Larsen has published a new article together with her co-authors Hampus Berg Mårtensson and Mattias Höjer, both from the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The text with the title “Investigating potential effects of mobility and accessibility services using the avoid-shift-improve framework” is published in Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 96. It is already available online, and will be published in a physical format in September this year.

Check it out here!

Profile picture of Katarina Larsen

Abstract

Mobility services and accessibility services could contribute to reduced car-dependency and a more sustainable transport system. However, uncertainty remains regarding what the effects will be and further research is needed.

In this paper we examine potential effects on passenger car-travel in an urban context. To do so, we actuate the Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI) framework using a System Dynamics approach and develop thematic Causal Loop Diagrams. We draw on the findings from a literature study and workshops engaging actors involved in creating visions and planning for the future of mobility and accessibility services in Stockholm, Sweden. The effects discovered are categorized as direct, enabling and structural/systemic, using a retrofitted version of the Three-Levels Model.

Contributions include the mapping of mechanisms through which the services can have positive and negative effects in relation to ASI, demonstrating a high degree of interconnectedness. This includes potential synergetic and competitive relations between the services. In addition, the approach gives insight to potential cumulative impact of the services, relatable to Mobility as a Service, including ‘user near’ effects regarding, e.g., commuting and leisure travel, as well as systemic and structural level effects. A discussion is conducted on the implications for actors and policy-makers.

Keywords

Mobility service; Accessibility service; Mobility as a service; Sustainable urban mobility; Avoid-shift-improve; Car travel; Climate change; Environmental sustainability; System dynamics; Three-levels model of effects

Working as a doctoral student in the Nuclearwaters-Project (ERC Consolidator Grant, PI Per Högselius), I focus on the nuclear history of Eastern Europe, especially on the territory of the former Soviet Union and its successor states. Furthermore, I investigate expert cultures in nuclear discourses, with a special interest in water-related issues in nuclear power plant decision-making. In addition, I am intrigued by the entanglement of the commercial, scientific and political interests concerning nuclear technologies, with its sometimes harsh consequences on human societies and the environment. Recently this interest has extended to energy systems as a whole in Eastern Europe, including fossil fuels and renewables. Questions of transition within international energy systems in the face of the climate crisis and recent political developments become more important, as my work progresses.