Discourse Analysis in Transport and Urban Development

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Discourse Analysis in Transport and Urban Development

Interpretation, Diversity and Controversy

9781802207194 Edward Elgar Publishing
Edited by Robin Hickman and Christine Hannigan, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, UK
Publication Date: 2023 ISBN: 978 1 80220 719 4 Extent: 274 pp
Drawing on discourse analysis as an emerging field in transport and urban development, this innovative book takes a novel approach to examining the different interpretations, diversity of views and controversy in society.

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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
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Drawing on discourse analysis, this innovative book takes a novel approach to examining the different interpretations, diversity of views and controversy in society about transport and urban development.

Combining theory with empirical case studies, this book breaks new ground in the field by critically engaging with an understanding of the different perspectives and subjectivities associated with transport systems and urban development projects. Incorporating the diverse wider societal and political contexts, various approaches to discourse analysis are examined, including content analysis, critical discourse analysis and Q methodology. Examining the narratives in transport and urban development, chapters study car advertising, highway reconstruction, public transport, bus provision, transit-orientated development and financialisation, walking and cycling networks, and emerging new technologies. Ultimately, the book argues that mainstream views and processes must be confronted in order to respond to contemporary public policy challenges, and makes a convincing case for the wider use of discourse analysis in transport and urban development research, planning and implementation.

Global in scope, this cutting-edge book will prove vital reading for students and scholars of transport planning and urban development. Its practical guidance will be useful to transport and development policymakers and practitioners working in urban and regional authorities, consultancies and civil society.
Critical Acclaim
‘Sustainable transport and urban development is key to future liveable cities, as the global urban population continues to grow across the world. A broader understanding of what are the most effective planning approaches to transport and urban development is required to move forward in a world facing climate uncertainties and growing population needs. Different perspectives and disciplinary approaches have provided, in recent years, a fresh take on ways to tackle some of the more complex urban problems. This book is among the first to bring together a mix of academics from a variety of disciplines, discussing different aspects of transport and urban development, using discourse analysis as primary methodological approach. This book provides researchers and students with a comprehensive discussion on the discourse analysis approach as well as useful case studies from a variety of contexts and geographies.’
– Maria Attard, University of Malta, Malta

‘At a time of climate crisis, rapidly increasing urban inequalities and profound technological change, transport and urban planning must change radically. This requires new approaches to understanding the meanings and power relations that are inscribed into, and generated by, transport systems and governance. Discourse Analysis in Transport and Urban Development demonstrates compellingly how different kinds of discourse analysis can help transport researchers, students and professionals make sense of the many and power-laden contestations over how transport systems can and should be changed and improved.’
– Tim Schwanen, University of Oxford, UK

‘This book successfully combines international case studies and voices from authors of multiple academic disciplines to challenge car-oriented transportation research and practice. It highlights how car-oriented terminology, language, and discourses shape transportation and sustainability outcomes. The book is an eye-opener for practitioners and academics in sustainable transport as they can begin to learn how to detect and start to disentangle from car-dominated discourses and language.’
– Ralph Buehler, Virginia Tech, US
Contributors
Contributors: Ruben Akse, Thérèse Bajada, David Banister, Nacima Baron, M. Cristina Caimotto, Leandro da Silva Corrêa, Adri Albert de la Bruhèze, Daniel Durrant, Linnea Eriksson, Hana Brůhová Foltýnová, Karst Geurs, Andrew R. Goetz, Christine Hannigan, Robin Hickman, Elias Isaksson, Karolina Isaksson, Radomíra Jordová, Miloš N. Mladenović, Janne Olin, Anthony Perl, Kristýna Rybová, James Udagawa, Giacomo Vecia, Eliška Vejchodská, Jacob Witzell
Contents
Contents:

Foreword xiii
Acknowledgements xvi

PART I INTRODUCTION
1 Using discourse analysis in transport and urban development research 2
Robin Hickman and Christine Hannigan

PART II GRAND NARRATIVES
2 Transport planning, paradigms and practices: finding
conditions for change 11
Ruben Akse, Adri Albert de la Bruhèze and Karst Geurs
3 Exploring growth as a central representation in sustainable
transport discourse 24
Elias Isaksson
4 Discursive power dynamics affecting how climate targets are
framed and integrated in national transport planning: the case
of Sweden 39
Karolina Isaksson, Linnea Eriksson and Jacob Witzell
5 Stakeholders’ perceptions of urban mobility in a Central
European country: a Q methodology approach 52
Hana Brůhová Foltýnová, Eliška Vejchodská, Radomíra
Jordová and Kristýna Rybová
6 The meta and master narratives of mega transport infrastructure 67
Daniel Durrant

PART III CASE STUDIES ON DISCOURSE, TRANSPORT
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
7 Car advertising and environmental greenwashing 80
Robin Hickman
8 The Interstate Highway 70 reconstruction project in Denver:
repeating a 1960s planning failure? 97
Andrew R. Goetz
9 Sustainability and shared ride-hailing in a mega-city: the
rhetoric and impacts of Uber Juntos in São Paulo 112
Leandro da Silva Correa and Anthony Perl
10 Legitimising HS2: analysing political speeches from 2010–2014 131
James Udagawa
11 Where are the rails? An investigation into the climate, future
prospects and barriers to high-speed rail development in Canada 149
Giacomo Vecia
12 Exploring bus reform in Malta 172
Thérèse Bajada
13 Cycling promotion and narratives of urban development: an
ecolinguistic approach 185
M. Cristina Caimotto
14 Community, authenticity and newness: obscuring financial
motivations in transport and development projects through
discourse at Battersea Power Station 198
Christine Hannigan
15 MaaS unmasked: how local leaders think they are resisting
(and are thereby accelerating) the neoliberalisation of transport policies 211
Nacima Baron
16 Anything that can reasonably be automated will be: analysis of
transport automation imaginaries in the Finnish context 228
Janne Olin and Miloš N. Mladenović

PART IV CONCLUSIONS
17 Next steps for discourse analysis in transport and urban development 242
Christine Hannigan and Robin Hickman

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