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The role of goal-setting in urban climate governance
No full textThis article argues that goal-setting is an important, albeit understudied, part of urban climate governance scholarship. By using goal-setting theory, the article introduces concepts and perspectives capable of shedding new light on the political aspect of cities' climate strategic work. Climate goal-setting is studied within a wider urban governance context, as a way to activate a multitude of internal and external actors for shared goals and purposes. The article analyses levels of ambiguities of urban climate goals, and in light of different politico-institutional settings it explores possible contextual implications for cities’ climate governance. Through a comparative analysis of four cities – Copenhagen, Cape Town, Oslo and Gothenburg, the article identifies two distinct approaches. An inclusive approach containing ambiguous all-encompassing climate goals, consensus-oriented political decision-making, a broad administrative entity with weak mandate and close and long-term stakeholder collaboration. An efficiency-oriented approach including clear and problem focused climate goals, instrumental political decision-making, a special-purpose administrative entity with a wide and clear mandate and targeted and temporary stakeholder collaboration. The article concludes by posing some key questions that should guide further research on the exact relationship between these variables.publishedVersio
Safety equipment use and crash involvement among cyclists – Behavioral adaptation, precaution or learning?
Get PDFThe present study has investigated relationships between cyclists’ safety equipment use, crash involvement, and other safety relevant behavior. The main focus is on relationships that indicate either behavioral adaptation (safety equipment use leads to riskier behavior) or precautionary behavior (safety equipment is used for cycling in risky situations). Three consecutive surveys were conducted in 2015, 2016, and 2017 years among 650 Norwegian cyclists. Most items were dichotomized and analyzed with logistic regression models. In contrast to the behavioral adaptation hypothesis, regular use of safety equipment (bicycle lights, high-visibility clothing, and helmets) was found to be negatively related to some types of high-risk behavior (listening to music and taking chances while cycling). Regular use of bicycle lights and high-visibility clothing is also negatively related to collision involvement. Safety equipment use was found to be positively related to regular winter cycling and cycling in mixed traffic (not on sidewalks), and it is most likely used as a precautionary measure in such situations. Some cyclists learn from crash involvement by starting to use safety equipment after a crash, but the results do not indicate that crash involvement deters from cycling. The main conclusion from the study is that recommending, promoting or even mandating safety equipment for cyclists can be expected to improve safety and that behavioral adaptation is not likely to occur, at least not to an extent that will outweigh the positive safety effects. The results do not support reservations against the use of “sporty” (well-equipped) models in campaigns for promoting cycling.publishedVersio
Urban contractual agreements as an adaptive governance strategy: under what conditions do they work in multi-level cooperation?
Get PDFThe Norwegian urban growth agreement (UGA) is a governance platform combining transport-infrastructure development with land-use and transport policy. It is a policy package of measures involving network cooperation between national, regional and local government levels established to coordinate transport and land-use development. Shared responsibility for goal achievement, autonomy and learning and adaptation as new knowledge and experience arise are clear prerequisites for the UGAs. This makes it relevant to investigate the conditions for the UGAs to work as an adaptive governance strategy because their central features are in line with the attributes of adaptive governance. Further, adaptive governance is an approach to handle complex problems like transport development issues. The study shows that UGAs have several strengths in terms of autonomy and learning. However, the multi-level cooperation in the UGAs is framed by complex underlying structures of roles and powers, which challenge the working and legitimacy of the governance structures. Multi-level adaptive governance processes like the UGAs require attention to issues of power and legitimacy. Securing transparency and democratic anchorage is paramount in bringing such processes in line with the intended benefits of adaptive governance.acceptedVersio
Battery Electric Vehicle Fast Charging–Evidence from the Norwegian Market
Get PDFNorway is the largest Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) market in the world per capita. The share of the passenger vehicle fleet passed 9.4% at the end of 2019, and users have access to 1500 Combined Charging System (CCS)/Chademo standard fast chargers located in more than 500 different locations. This paper analyses the usage pattern of these fast chargers using a dataset from two large operators covering most of their charging events between Q1 2016 and Q1 2018. The target of the analysis was to understand the fundamental factors that drive the demand for fast charging and influences the user experience, so that they can be taken into account when dimensioning charge facilities, and when designing vehicles. The data displays clear variations in charge power, charge time and charged energy between winter and summer, and a large spread of results due to the BEV models different technical characteristics. The charge power is clearly reduced in the winter compared to the summer, while the charge time is longer. Some charge events have a particularly low charge power which may be due to users fast charging a cold battery at a high State of Charge (SOC) in a vehicle with passive battery thermal management.publishedVersio
The Impact of Electric Vehicle Density on Local Grid Costs: Empirical Evidence from Norway
Get PDFWhile a rapid shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) will contribute to reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector, there are concerns that uncoordinated charging of EVs might impose challenges for the local electricity grid. Our study is the first to investigate this empirically in a country-wide analysis, using data from the country with the highest market share of EVs, namely Norway. We present the regulatory framework in which Norwegian grid companies operate and discuss the possible impact of EV charging. Using panel data on 107 grid companies over the period 2008–2017, we then estimate the effect of local growth in EVs on local grid costs. We find that increases in EV stock are associated with increases in costs which are both statistically and economically significant. However, there is a lot of heterogeneity in these results, where the effect on grid costs are higher for small grid companies in rural areas.acceptedVersio
Does capacity increase compliance? Examining evidence from European cooperation against air pollution
Get PDFScholars commonly hypothesize that enhanced capacity—improved ability to do as agreed—increases states’ compliance with international agreements. In contrast, using a novel dataset that covers 31 states and three decades of cooperation, I find a negative effect of capacity on compliance. To help explain this seemingly counterintuitive finding, I offer a novel conjecture of the capacity–compliance relationship. In particular, I argue that the effect of capacity may vary substantially across states, because states’ intention to comply constitutes a crucial intervening variable. Among reluctant states pursuing policy goals that affect compliance negatively, high capacity may in fact cause noncompliance. I exemplify the conjecture through evidence from a high-capacity noncompliant state (Norway).publishedVersio
Are helmeted cyclists taking more risk at signalized intersections?
Get PDFObjective The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between bicycle helmet use and safety behavior at signalized intersections. Two hypotheses were investigated: The first states that bicycle helmet use leads to risker behavior because of the increased sense of protection (risk compensation), the other states that helmeted cyclists have a general inclination toward safer behavior (safety package) and that helmet use is one of several behaviors for improving safety. Method Based on video recordings of 1031 cyclists at 12 signalized intersections in Denmark, two indicators of risky behavior were compared between helmeted and unhelmeted cyclists: Speed and time after the onset of yellow at which the cyclists crossed the stop line. Linear regression models were developed with gender, type of bicycle, and intersection characteristics as predictor variables, in addition to helmet use. Results Helmeted and unhelmeted cyclists do not differ in how many seconds after the onset of yellow they cross the stopping line. This is consistent with the absence of both risk compensation and safety package, alternatively with a general inclination of helmeted cyclists toward safer behavior which is about offset by risk compensation. Helmeted cyclists had higher speed on average, which indicates that risk compensation may occur. However, the higher speed may also be due to the generally better fitness of helmeted cyclists which is likely to result from larger cycling volumes. Moreover, the effect of helmet use on speed may be overestimated because of a lack of control for potential confounding variables. The results show further that, regardless of helmet use, before-red (lights on a separate bicycle signal shift to red before the main signal) is related to later crossings of the stop lane after the onset of yellow and that cyclists stop earlier on average at intersections with right-turn signals. Conclusions The results do not provide support for the position that promoting or mandating bicycle helmet use will have adverse safety effects because of more risky behavior among helmeted cyclists.publishedVersio
Recruitment, Stabilization and Defection; Exploring Car Sharing Pathways of Young Urban Households
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Safety culture, safety management and accident risk in trucking companies
Get PDFThe Safety ladder for goods transport describes an approach with an increasing prevalence of safety structural measures at four Safety ladder levels in trucking companies. This paper validates the Safety ladder approach in empirical research by comparing safety structure, safety culture and accident risk for trucking companies. The study has four aims: 1) To map the safety structure at the different levels of the Safety ladder, 2) Examine whether safety culture is improved with increased structural measures at each Safety ladder level, 3) Examine whether the accident risk decreases at each Safety ladder level, and 4) Discuss practical implications. The study is based on survey data (N = 533) from 17 companies at different levels of the Safety ladder, a Reference sample, and qualitative interviews (N = 30) with management and employee representatives in the companies. Based on the interviews, we describe the safety structural measures at each level of the Safety ladder. Survey results indicate increasing safety culture scores at each level of the Safety ladder, while the accident risk decreases. The safety culture level was 12 points higher at Level 4, than in the Reference sample, and the accident risk at Level 4 was half the risk of Level 2. We conclude by suggesting the concrete management practices related to each level. Thus, the current study identifies and describes management practices in trucking companies that are associated with high safety culture scores and low accident risk.publishedVersio
E-bikes - good for public health?
No full textIt is well established that physical activity (PA) is health enhancing, and that active travel can increase total PA. The e-bike demands lower levels of intensity for the same pace and distance as a conventional bicycle, due to the assistance of the electrical motor. Still, the e-bike provides PA of at least moderate intensity, for both inactive and active individuals. The net volume of PA from starting to use an e-bike depends almost entirely on the transport mode it replaces, and the changes in travel patterns and other PAs. Overall, people tend to ride longer and more often when they switch from a CB to an e-bike. The impact of psychological health arising from riding an e-bike is still inconclusive.acceptedVersio