Road space re-allocation

Halpern Charlotte (1) , Jenny Mcarthur , Juliette Thijs , Francesco Sarti

1 CEE - Centre d'études européennes et de politique comparée (Sciences Po, CNRS)

The development of new, alternative, diverse road uses challenges existing forms of allocating space on urban road networks. Different actors and stakeholders hold differing views on how space should be allocated across different transport modes and non-transport activities. These differing views are made material through the claims that are made by a wide range of stakeholders about the allocation and use of road space. What are these claims about? How are they mobilized? To what extent are these claims channelled by formal consultation processes? What similarities can be found across cities? How are these views represented at EU level? While some actors may promote the shift from roads as traffic-enabling infrastructure to a multifunctional urban asset, others resist this transformation. By purposefully using the notion of contestation, this report assumes that claims about the future of roads’ functions and uses contribute to reshaping the politics of space allocation as well as the ability of existing institutional arrangements and policy processes to accommodate such claims. It contributes to the work done in the MORE project by providing an analysis of the politics of road space allocation.

Mots clés: Urban mobility; Urban governance; Street space contestation; EU multi-level directive; Claims; Mobilizations.

Domaines: Science politique

Halpern Charlotte, Jenny Mcarthur, Juliette Thijs, Francesco Sarti. Road space re-allocation: Streets as contested spaces. Cross city findings report.. [Research Report] Deliverable 2.3, MORE - Multimodal Optimization of Roadspace in Europe - project, funded by the EU Commission under the H2020 programme., Sciences Po, CEE. 2020, pp.5-70. ⟨halshs-02990779⟩