Towards transformation-oriented planning: what can sustainable urban mobility planning (SUMP) learn from transition management (TM)?

Figures & data

Table 1. Comparative overview of TM and SUMP contexts.

Sub-category	TM	SUMP
Origin
Background	Academic (sustainability transition studies)	Policy (European Commission as initiator) and practice (best practice as conceptual foundation)
Scientific knowledge	Concepts based on scientific evidence on governance procedures
Governance structures
Where the approach is applied	Own structures, complementary to established governance structures	Within established governance structures
Governance tasks addressed	Complementary to existing and local governance activities	Tasks of local transport planning authorities
Initiation of processes	Public administrations or engaged societal actors in a city (e.g. grassroot initiatives, citizens)	Public administrations (esp. sectoral mobility departments)
Facilitation (implementation and moderation of processes)	Independent of public authorities (e.g. science, consultancies)	Public authorities and their partners (e.g. consultancies, science)
Legitimation
Sources of legitimation	Scientific knowledge on the need for sustainability transitions and transformative change	Representative participation, approval by democratic institutions (e.g. city council)

Table 2. Comparative overview of TM and SUMP contents.

Sub-category	TM	SUMP
Normative for change
Normative orientation	Sustainability as explicit objective
Definition of sustainable mobility	Negotiated at the local level	Basic definition given, priorities negotiated in context
Scope of mobility systems
Characteristics of mobility systems	Complex systems (multi-mode, multi-actor, multi-level and multi-sector)
Definition of system boundaries and elements	Based on complex system concepts and negotiated at the local level	Based on guidance regarding relevant system elements (e.g. modes of transport, infrastructure, regulation)
Theory of change
Characteristics of change	Complex and dynamic nature of change (multi-mode, multi-actor, multi-level, multi-sector)
Theoretical concept	Explicit: transition theory	Not explicitly given
Mechanisms to influence developments
Overall approach to foster change	Two-pronged approach: supporting sustainable mobility options and restricting car use
Intended changes	Radical / path-deviant change	Accepted changes
Commitment (voluntary or legal)	Voluntary commitment of actors willing to support sustainability transitions	Partly legal commitment of public administration and voluntary commitment of actors
Intended changes in actors and actor constellations	Strengthening coordination and cooperation between actors
	Social learning, empowering and network-building to shift power constellations and support certain actors	Gaining acceptance and ownership

Table 3. Comparative overview of TM and SUMP processes.

Sub-category	TM	SUMP
Process structure
Basic structure of the process	Cyclic structure including participatory, strategic, tactical, operational and reflective governance activities
Iterative nature of the process	Highly iterative and modular process evolving over time	Iterative and modular to some degree, following a rather clear structure
Involvement of actors
Actor participation	Embedded along the process to improve process outputs and outcomes
Rationale for participation	Learning and changing power constellations	Gaining acceptance and ownership
Participation approach	Mainly selective involvement	Selective involvement and open citizen participation
Main criterion for selecting participants	Innovation and change ("change agents")	Representation (all groups of society)
Strategic activity: gaining system insights
System analysis	Analysing the mobility system and stakeholder constellations
Focus of analysis	Dynamics of change (evolutionary perspective on developments)	Sustainability problems and opportunities
Guidance for analysis	Transition theories	Multitude of methods and tools
Strategic activity: visioning and foresight
Developing long-term visions (desirable futures)	Characterizing a desirable future state of urban mobility
Developing long-term scenarios (possible futures)	Backcasting scenarios: focus on transition pathways and concrete actions	Exploratory scenarios: including external uncertainties and local strategies
Focus of foresight activities	Identifying actions to trigger change and overcome path-dependencies	Coping with uncertainties to identify realistic and effective actions
Connection of visions and scenarios	Transition pathways are based on the vision	Vision is within the range of futures deemed possible
Type of data	Primarily qualitative	Qualitative and quantitative (using transport simulation models)
Tactical activity: agreeing on short – and mid-term actions
Agreeing on actions	Outline of actions to clarify responsibilities, summarised in the …
	… transition agenda	… final SUMP document
Focus of action plans	Developing transition narratives to motivate	Appraisal of measures using established assessment tools for justification
Responsibilities for actions	Voluntary commitment of actors	Mainly municipal responsibilities
Operational activities: experimenting and implementing
Type of operational activity	Transition experiments (radical, uncertain)	Planned measures (well-appraised)
Focus of operational activity	Testing innovative solutions, learning about uncertainties and triggering broader change	Effective implementation of measures
Reflective activities: monitoring and evaluation
Aspects of monitoring and evaluation	Development of the mobility system, effects of operational activities and the TM/SUMP process
Focus of reflective activities	Tangible and intangible outcomes (e.g. dominant thinking and visions)	Tangible developments (e.g. effects on GHG emissions)