Environmental sustainability in Dutch transport policy.

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Environmental sustainability

in Dutch transport policy

Rick Last

Master Thesis

August 18, 2014

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Master Thesis project University of Amsterdam Name: Rick Last

Student number: 10002870 Supervisor: Luca Bertolini Date: 18-08-14

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changed; it has become the vehicle for a functioning society. However, the sustainability of the car system is questioned. This raises the question: what happens when today’s petrol driven car is no longer here? The answer is a different approach to transport problems: the environmental sustainability discourse has grown in importance. The focus of this research is the role of government organizations in changing or sustaining the car system through policy. A discourse analysis is done to investigate which discourses limit or support the

environmental discourse. The region of Utrecht, centrally located in the Netherlands, is used as a case to investigate what changes in discourses occur in the policy documents over a period of 20 years.

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6 [Samenvatting]

De samenleving is steeds autoafhankelijker geworden in de laatste paar decennia. Aan het begin van de 20e eeuw diende de auto enkel en alleen als consumentenproduct. Vandaag de dag is de rol van de auto compleet veranderd: het is een drager geworden voor het

functioneren van onze samenleving. Echter, de duurzaamheid van het autosysteem is

bekritiseerd. Dit roept de vraag op wat er zou gebeuren als dit product, dat afhankelijk is van fossiele brandstoffen, er niet meer is. Het antwoord is een andere benadering voor

transportproblemen: de milieuduurzaamheid discours. De focus van deze studie ligt op de rol van overheidsinstellingen in het veranderen of het behouden van het autosysteem door beleid. Een discourse analyse is uitgevoerd om te onderzoeken welke discourses het

milieuduurzaamheidsdiscourse limiteren of aanmoedigen. De regio Utrecht, die centraal gelegen is in Nederland, is gebruikt als casus om te onderzoeken welke veranderingen er zijn opgetreden en welke interacties er hebben plaatsgevonden in de beleidsdiscoursen over een periode van 20 jaar.

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1. Introduction

Car dependency is increasing in the Netherlands. The number of kilometers traveled by bicycle in 1960 was equal to the number of kilometers traveled by car (Geels et al, 2012). Since then, the number of kilometers traveled by car dramatically increased in this

comparison. The total number of kilometers by bike is now about equal to number of kilometers traveled by train (respectively 14.1 million compared to 15.4 million in 2007) (Geels et al, 2012: 7; see also figure 1). The kilometers traveled by car greatly exceed these numbers. In terms of car dependency, growth is predicted for the future (Jeekel, 2013: 92). This growth has been predicted on the basis of the growth in the number of car dependent locations, activities, and people rides. Jeekel states that car dependency (in kilometers) is growing faster than car use. The Dutch society will reach a car dependency of above 50 percent between 2007 and 2020 if growth in car dependency is equal to the growth in the last 12 years. This is based on estimation, but it does indicate that there is a trend going on which states that people are becoming more and more car dependent.

The graph in figure 1 on the next page shows that the car is most used by far in terms of passenger kilometers. However, there is stabilization in the amount of kilometers. De growth of passenger kilometers by car occurred mainly in the late eighties and nineties. Since 2000, the number of passenger kilometers by car increased, but less rapidly than before. This development is the result of the passenger choice in travelling door to door. Half of all journeys are done by car. There is a growing awareness of the social and environmental costs of increasing problems of congestion, traffic accidents, climate change, local pollution, social exclusivity, land fragmentation, noise pollution and oil dependence (Geels, et al, 2012: 8). Curtis & Low (2012) argue that a transport vision is not sustainable if it does not adjust to the reality of climate change and peak oil. It is necessary to search for other forms of

transportation.

Policymakers search for new forms of transportation often named the pursuit of sustainability (Banister, 2008). Sustainability is a discourse (Curtis & Low, 2012), meaning the

interconnectedness of ideas about what is ‘important’ in the society and what is the ‘problem’ and how do we get to the solution. Discourses in policy making can form a barrier to get to new ideas of what is ‘important’ and what is the ‘problem’, because the old ideas are constantly reproduced in actual practices (Hajer, 1997). These practices tend to have a high degree of salience (Hajer, 1997). The focus of this study will be on discourses in transport policy which are influencing the environmental sustainability discourse in Dutch transport policy.

Structure of this study

This study aims to understand how different discourses evolve over time and how they interact with the environmental sustainability discourse. The literature review explains why sustainability in transport policy is growing in importance for both policy makers and

scientists. Then, we will see how policy makers are implementing sustainability in transport. The review pays also attention to institutions in society and how these play a role in the formation of transport discourses. After the review, the problem statement argues that there is a need for environmental sustainability in transport, but there are discourses which limit or support this shift. Subsequently, the methodological choices of the study are explained in the

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Figure 1: The development of passenger kilometers in transport modes between 1985 and 2009 in billions of passenger kilometers

Source: Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid (2010)

research design. The study makes use of storylines in order to operationalize transport

discourses. The storylines are originally Australian and come from the work of Curtis & Low (2012). The context in which the storylines are obtained is different from the Dutch context. For this reason, chapter 5 gives a short historical background of transport policy in the Netherlands. In the next part of the study, the storylines are explained by giving the

definitions of each storyline in chapter 6. This chapter serves as the theoretical framework for the transport policy document analysis in chapter 7 and 8. In the concluding chapter, the research question is answered. The discussion offers opportunities for further research and discusses the limitations of this study.

Relevance of this study

This study offers a discourse analysis of the transition to environmental sustainable transport in transport policy. This study focuses on the automobility system. Transport and

automobility may well be the most difficult cases for a transition to environmental

sustainability, because there are many processes and tendencies that point in the direction of more cars and more motor vehicles on roads worldwide. Insight is needed to understand how policy discourse leads to more cars, but also how policy discourse leads to more sustainability in transport. It is also good to know how decisions are made in the past for making the right decisions in the present. Policymakers should be aware of the discourses they use to solve transport problems. This study helps to understand how several transport discourses evolve over time and how they interact with each other.

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2. Literature review

According to Jeekel (2013), the days of conventional car are numbered. They are not compatible in the field of finance and resources or climate change to continue to grow and follow the patterns of the past. Also according to Urry (2004), the car technology of the 19th century is not sustainable enough to continue its use. In his view, we are reaching a turning point where the car will disappear (p. 36). This means that our society is dependent on an object and a system that will not last forever. Here arises a paradoxical situation: the car is essential, but driving is problematic. There is a growing awareness of the social and

environmental costs of increasing problems of congestion, traffic accidents, climate change, local pollution, social exclusivity, land fragmentation, noise pollution and oil dependence (Geels, et al, 2012: 8). Curtis & Low (2012) argue that a transport vision is not sustainable if it does not adjust to the reality of climate change and peak oil. The car of today is no longer a consumer product. The car is a carrier of today’s functioning society. Society has to change when driving a car is no longer possible.

2.1 Sustainability

With an emphasis on increasing social problems, as defined by Geels, et al (2012), a new trope arises. A trope is defined as a word or a phrase that is designed to evoke an emotion. This emotion shows us whether something is good or bad. Sustainability is a trope (Curtis & Low, 2012). It justifies many policy documents and plans (Curtis & Low, 2012). In the 70’s, environmental scientists warned for the enormous use of environmental resources. There was a conflict between the environment on the one hand and economic growth on the other hand. This conflict is confirmed by Mazza & Ridyn (1997). They have analyzed the policy process of traffic restrictions, locations of retail and landscaping. Their research has found the

following limitation in the reinforcement of the sustainability element to the existing policy. In each four cities, they found a strong tendency that dominant economic interests limit the implementation of environmental sustainability in policy. It is not surprising that there seems to be a conflict between economic interests and environmental interests. The underlying concept of sustainable development is the need to restore the balance between economic, social and environmental priorities (Banister, 2005; Stead, 2008). In the past, economic interests are much more important than environmental interests (Banister, 2005). The environment was subordinated to economic growth.

2.2 Environmentally sustainable transport

A lot of effort is put into defining the concept of ‘sustainability’. Banister (2005) focused on three elements of sustainability: economic development (relates to the growth of the economy and is reflected in the wealth of individual countries), social development (distribution of wealth between individuals and in space) and environmental development (Banister, 2005). The focus in this review is on environmental development, because the environmental impact of unlimited growth becomes evident in the form of climate change (Solomon et al, 2007). This element of sustainability is becoming more important in the future. Environmental sustainable development implies that the environment is protected. It implies that there is a need for preservation of the current stock of natural resources that are used as an energy source in transportation. Secondly, the definition includes issues as retaining biodiversity, quality of the water, sanitation, pollution and waste management.

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10 A sustainable transport system is the answer to the present system. This system is

characterized by many social and environmental problems. The broad objective of a sustainable transport strategy should be that the outcome of the strategy offers the same benefits of transport, but at the same time reduces the negative effects of transport, for example the energy consumption of transport, particularly in terms of the use of non - renewable resources. This objective is in line with the values of environmental development. Thus, environmental sustainable transport can be defined as transport which offers a reduction in emissions, an improvement of the air quality and increased use of alternative resources (Banister, 2007).

2.3 Push and pull measures in sustainable transport

In terms of the environmental aspect of sustainability, the car seems to be an unsustainable transport mode (Banister, 2005). The increase of car ownership results in greater consumption of environmental resources (materials and oil) and more (local) pollution of the air. Therefore, cities limit the opportunities for car owners to use their car. And this is happening in the contemporary discourse of transport policy, in particular in cities. The city focuses on limiting traffic that poses a threat to the health of its inhabitants. Therefore, a sustainable approach to transport policy in cities today is certainly present (Banister, 2008; Curtis & Low, 2012; Mazza & Ridyn, 1997; Marsden & Docherty, 2013). Black (2005) argues that the negative impacts of care use are increasingly the focus of contemporary policy making. There are, for example, car free developments, which mean that there are no parking lots at the site.

Sometimes, cars are not even permitted at the site. The reduction of car-use through policy is a measure to promote more sustainable modes of transport. Stradling (2000) gives a list of measures to reduce car use (see table 1).

Table 1: Push and pull measures for encouraging motorists to reduce car use

‘Push’ measures ‘Pull’ measures

Increase costs:

Raise fuel prices Raise parking charges Tolls by place (motorways) or time (peak hours)

Persuasive communications:

Anti-car use propaganda

Spread or reduce demand:

Stimulate flexi-time and teleworking

Decrease availability: Reduce procedural uncertainty:

No city centre car access Improve availability of information Reduce or eliminate city centre parking Well published role modelling No new road building

Speed limits Improve alternatives:

More and better cycle paths, carpool lanes Improved public transport vehicles and interchanges – cheap, clean, comfortable, convenient, fast, frequent, reliable, safe, weatherproof

Source: Stradling, 2000 Table 1 shows that there are two different types of measures to reduce car use. Push measures are forcing the driver out of the car. The motorist has no choice to and has to adapt to the new situation of increased costs or decreased availability. Pull measures are more soft

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11 more likely restraint measures (Mazza & Ridyn, 1997). Restrictions for car-use in a particular part of the city can improve the site, but too much of these measures can also restrict the trade. The question is who will benefit and who will suffer loss from a new situation out of the push measures. The answer on this question is reached through the conflicts between interested parties in the policy process (Mazza & Ridyn, 1997).

However, there are limits to sustainability in transport. Local public transport, cycling and walking have become less attractive. This in turn has resulted in increased use of the car. Car dependency and increased decentralization of cities are difficult processes to manage

(Banister, 2008). According to Curtis & Low (2012), these processes are difficult to manage because the institutions in policymaking form a barrier. In the following part, the institutions in policymaking will be discussed.

2.4 Institutions

The act of an institution is described as an act of communication (Bourdieu, 1991: 121). Institutions are formal (norms and rules) and informal (values, conventions, codes of

behavior) and they are based on communication. A collective belief in society is maintained by an institution (Buitenlaar, et al, 2007). The concept of rules is central to the definition of an institution: the rules of the political game. In the field of transport policy, the institutional dimension takes a variety of forms in the political formation. In this way, the attitude of the government can be affected by the acceptance of neo-liberalism (Swyndegouw, et al, 2002) belief about how a government should behave when it is making transport policy. Thus, institutions can be regarded as rules, standards, values, conventions and codes for making transport policy. They can limit the implementation of sustainability in transport because the rules indicate for example which solutions are used for which problems. One example is the reduction of congestion. A rule may be that reducing congestion can only be achieved by building more roads. This approach to congestion remains unchanged as long as key actors support it. In this case, a sustainable solution is a different solution to the problem.

2.5 Institutions and discourses

Through time, these institutions change. These rules and conventions constitute the social order and are constantly reproduced and reconfirmed in discourses (Hajer, 1997: 55). Discourses are defined as ‘an ensemble of ideas, concepts and categories through which meaning is given to social and physical phenomena’ (Hajer & Versteeg, 2005). For example, the environmental sustainability discourse suggests that the deterioration of the environment deserves attention. So, when the institutions change, the discourses change also. However, a discourse can also affect the creation of institutions. Environmental discussion can lead to revision of rules (Hajer & Versteeg, 2005). Arguments in the environmental discourse are meaningful and affect the outcomes, laws and institutions (p. 176-177). In conclusion, actual discourses (the discussion) in policy can lead to new institutions, and the creation of

institutions can lead to new discourses. This relationship is illustrated in figure 2 on the next page.

A change in discourse occurs very slowly in time (Marsden & Docherty, 2013). The framing of a ‘transport problem’ changes through time, but the individual actions are habitual: ‘they are robust and resilient to change’. In the 60s, the engineering discourse was the dominant discourse to solve the transport problems, by building many roads to increase the accessibility and decrease the congestion. Thereafter, the economic discourse became dominant which assumes that the construction of roads is good for the economy. The emerging sustainability

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Figure 2: interaction between discourses, institutions and implementation

discourse in the 90s gives a different perspective on problems and solutions in the transportation system of cities. A solution in the present tense should be formulated

differently than in the 60s, simply because there were different institutions and discourses in society and policymakers. A change from an engineering discourse to a sustainable discourse in policy making can occur very slowly through time because of the habitual character of policymakers. When change occurs, the ‘old discourse’ still can play a role on the background of policy making. An old discourse can still affect the outcomes of contemporary

policymaking. 2.6 Summary

In summary, the environment has grown in importance for society. For a long time, the environmental aspect of sustainability was subordinated to the economic discourse.

Nowadays, there is a growing awareness of environmental costs of increasing problems of congestion, climate change, local pollution, noise pollution and oil dependence. This

awareness is reflected in the contemporary transport policy discourse. Cities are focusing on limiting traffic that poses a threat to the health of its inhabitants. In particular, the car is considered as an unsustainable mode of transport and car-use is limited by push and pull measures. However, there are limits to sustainability in transport. The process to more environmental sustainability is a difficult process, because other discourses in policymaking can form a barrier. Institutions play a role in the creation of discourses. At the same time, a new discourse can create new institutions. A change of discourse in policymaking occurs slowly through time. The environmental discourse in transport policy has grown in

importance, but there is awareness that old discourses can still play a role in the outcomes of contemporary transport policy.

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3. Problem statement

The discourse of environmental sustainability has grown in importance. Nevertheless, this shift to a new discourse is a difficult process, because institutions (standards, routines,

procedures) are embedded in the organizations of the political economy. It is difficult to break through the conventional standards. Even if there are new standards for transport policy making, the old discourses still can play a role on the background in the decision for a certain solution. The ideas of the past can form a barrier for the implementation of environmental sustainability in transport.

It is argued that the use of the car is not sustainable enough to continue to function in the future as it functions now. Based on estimation, the car dependency in the Netherlands is increasing in the future. The social and environmental problems arising from the use of cars in cities are recognized by policy makers. They will focus on new sustainable forms of transport. They promote public transport and non-motorized transport modes and try to make the car less attractive. However, according to Mazza & Ridyn (1997), the standards in discourses of the past can limit the new sustainability discourse in transport. Their study shows that the economic discourse is considered as more important than the sustainable discourse. It seems to be easier to stick to the old ways of policy making, using the same solutions for the same problems in the past. However, the environmental impact of unlimited growth is now becoming evident as climate change. The process to more environmental sustainability is a difficult process, because discourses from the past are present in contemporary policy and these are not always taking the environment into account. However, it is a necessary process because unlimited growth is not possible anymore.

This makes it interesting to get insight in how different transport discourses are evolving over time and to discover what the possibilities and limitations are of the new environmental sustainability discourse in transport policy. Assuming that the car dependence will increase and that the existing system of the car is not sustainable enough to continue to function, there will be an examination of how government organizations are moving their policies towards environmental sustainability and how other discourses enhance or impede this shift.

The main guiding question of this study is:

To what extent do government agencies in the Netherlands move their policy towards environmental sustainability and which policy discourses limit or support this move?

The main question is divided into two sub-questions:

1. What policy discourses are dominant in transport policy?

2. Which of these policy discourses limit or support the move towards environmental sustainability in transport policy?

The central hypothesis of this study suggests that the economic policy discourse limit the environmental sustainability discourse (according to Mazza & Ridyn, 1997). This hypothesis is confirmed or disproved by this study. The next chapter describes which research design and which methods are used to answer the main question and sub-questions.

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4. Research design

This chapter offers a general methodological approach in section 1. The methodological choices for sub-question 1 and 2 are explained in section 2 and 3.

4.1 General methodological approach

This research examines one particular policy domain, transport, in order to examine to what extent government organizations move their policies towards more environmental

sustainability and which policy discourse limit or support this move. The focus in this domain is especially on car-based mobility. Because the automobility system is dominant in

developed countries and also emerging in the contemporary developing countries in Asia. A shift to environmental sustainability cannot avoid taking car-based transport into account. The focus in policy will be on emerging discourses. Although, institutions are connected to

discourse and play a role in the formation of the discourse as shown in the theoretical framework (figure 2), institutions are not examined in this research. Therefore, the research question will be answered by an analysis of solely transport policy discourses.

Discourse can be seen as a synonym of discussion (Hajer, 1997). It is best understood as a ‘way of talking’ about the problem and the solution. In discourse analysis, the ‘discussion’ becomes an object of analysis (Hajer & Versteeg, 2005: 175). The political conflict in policymaking is hidden in the definition that is given to the problems, and the solutions that are at hand to solve these problems. Discourse analysis aims to understand why a certain discourse is dominant and why other discourses are not. Understanding these discourses cannot be achieved through looking at one particular moment. It requires an analysis of the evolution of discourses over a certain period of time. In this study, it is assumed that policy discourses are not consistent and are dependent on the institutional environment in which they are created.

An analysis of evolution of discourses is done by using a single case study design with a longitudinal analytical approach. The purpose of this approach is to follow the same sample over time to track changes and to relate them to variables that might explain why the changes occur within the case. A longitudinal design is appropriate for this kind of question, because it can capture a particular trend in a given period. Longitudinal data shows us the duration of particular phenomena, in this case, the presence and dominance of transport policy discourses. Change or differences in patterns of this presence is measured in one period to another. The empirical focus of this study will be on the transport policy documents of three

organizations: the city of Utrecht, the province of Utrecht and the national government of the Netherlands. These three organizations influence the transport policy in the region of Utrecht on different scales. Utrecht is an interesting and important case for it is centrally located in the Netherlands and is characterized as an important link on traffic and transport between

different regions in the country (Verder, 2010). A Dutch case is considered as a suitable case for answering the research question for the reason that car dependence in the Netherlands is growing. The pressure on the roads in and around the city and the province of Utrecht is increasing, caused by an expected increase in traffic in the future (Gemeente Utrecht, 2004: 24, and 2005: 58). It is inevitable that the car plays a key role in a shift to environmental sustainability in transport in the city and the province of Utrecht. Therefore, this case will be used to answer the research question for the Netherlands.

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15 In order to answer the main question, a discourse analysis will be carried over a certain period of time. The rapid rise of the number of privately owned cars was evident from the late 1950s (Annika & Garvill, 2003: 339, Geels et al, 2012: 88). Since this time, many roads are

provided to stimulate the development of the private car. Negative social and environmental impacts were overlooked until the 1990s, when the World Commission on Environment and Development produced the Brundtland report in 1987 (Geels et al, 2012: 91). Crucially, the report introduced the concept of sustainable development in transport. Since this time until now, transport policies adopted sustainable development. This period of time is suitable for the recognition and interaction of different discourses and the shift to environmental

sustainability in transport policy. Thus, this study looks at documents, published by

governmental organizations on different scales in the last 20 years. The units of analysis are the transport policy documents. The documents are published for the region of Utrecht and originating from the national government, the province of Utrecht and the municipality of Utrecht. The hypothesis is only tested by the analysis of written text.

To get a better understanding of the presence of discourses in the written text, key informants at different governmental scales are interviewed by semi-structured interviews (Bryman, 2008: 196) to explain the outcomes of the analysis. Semi-structured interviews are used because the questions are clear from the outcomes in the analysis, but the answer of the key informant can be unexpected and confusing. It is thus necessary that there is a possibility for the interviewer to vary the sequence of the questions and to ask further questions in response. These informants give insight to the outcomes of the analysis. The information from the interviews is only used as background information and as potential for further research. In conclusion, the methods to obtain data concern a content analysis of policy documents and semi-structured interviews. The following part explains the methodological choices per sub-question.

4.2 Methodological choices sub-question 1

Sub-question 1 states: ‘What policy discourses are dominant in transport?’ This question is answered by means of a content analysis of documents published in a period of 20 years. Discourse can be indicated by storylines (Hajer, 1997). Storylines are metaphors, analogies, historical references and clichés, which hold discourse together, but they are also “prime vehicles of change” (Curtis & Low, 2012: 5). This study will investigate which storylines, are present in the policy documents. This study uses a deductive approach (Bryman, 2008: 10), which means that the storylines have been obtained from Curtis & Low (2012). In fact, this study will not search for new storylines in policy documents. The storylines (Curtis & Low, 2012) are defined by years of experience in the field of transport planning at the government. For this study, the time to define new storylines is too limited. Therefore, the study makes use of storylines from other research.

In the Australian context, four different transport policy discourses exist, namely engineering, economics, urban planning and the environment (Curtis & Low, 2012: 104). These are chosen on the fact that a road building program is justified by a network of storylines from these professional sources. Thus, each discourse contains several storylines. Key policies which are relevant to traffic and transport in the Netherlands, are defined by Van Wee & Annema (2009: 254). They argue that relevant key policies in the Netherlands include the construction of roads (engineering), spatial policies (urban planning), economic policies (economics) and environmental policies (environment). Thus, an application of the storylines from the Australian context might be applied in the Dutch context. The content analysis will show if

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16 this is possible. Curtis & Low (2012) have used a purely inductive investigation (p. 103) to define their storylines. This study is using the same inductive approach when their storylines are not applicable to the Dutch context. The following steps will be taken to answer sub-question 1.

Methodological steps

The content analysis for the first sub-question is based on the framework of storylines of Curtis & Low (2012). In other words, the storylines which are defined by Curtis & Low (2012) are extracted from the written text in the selected policy documents. They also analyze figures and tables in their study. This study is not including figures and tables, because

assessing which storyline fits which figure or table is highly subjective.

The first step is to elaborate on these storylines, which is done in chapter 6. The second step is to set up the coding manual for the content analysis. The coding manual is “a statement of instructions to coders that also includes all the possible categories for each dimension being coded” (Bryman, 2008). According to Bryman (2008), the decisions of what is being counted in the analysis are bound by the nature of the research question. Discourse can be examined by the means of storylines. Storylines are not only words. However, words can indicate a particular storyline. Bryman argues here that frequent occurrences of certain words can suggest a certain type of discourse (2008: 281). Thus, storylines (Curtis & Low, 2012) can be defined by a combination of words in the text (Bryman, 2008: 282). For example, the words ‘economy’ and ‘infrastructure investments’ are not reflecting a storyline when they are not connected in the text. But when they are, they are telling a story about the importance of infrastructure investments for the functioning of the economy. So, the combination of words in the text is reflecting a particular storyline. The combination of words for each storyline is prepared in the coding manual in Appendix I.

This study counts how many times a particular storyline is reflected in policy documents. The storylines are count in the text by using the instructions in the coding manual in appendix I. The appearances of storylines are analyzed in chapter 7 and 8. The dominance of a discourse is determined by the number of appearances of a storyline that belongs to that discourse.

Selection criteria of documents

Many transport policy documents are published between 1990 and 2014. Analyzing all the documents would be an enormous task and time consuming. There is simply not enough time to analyze all the documents. Therefore, a selection is made in order to reduce the number of documents. Only major transport plans concerning the province and the city of Utrecht are analyzed. The selection criterion for a major transport plan is that it contains a vision for a certain period of time. Documents that meet this criterion are the key planning decisions (planologische kernbeslissingen) from the national government, the strategic plans from the province and the structure visions (structuurvisies) of the municipality. These policy

documents are reflecting the most important decisions that are made on different scales. That is why these documents are selected for the content analysis. In the following part of this section, concrete choices about the policy documents, key informants, coding manual and coding schedules will be discussed.

Selected documents

Table 2 shows a list of the year of publication and the titles of the selected documents for the analysis. The national government provides access to all its documents via the internet. All the documents are key planning decisions for transport. The national government uses these

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17 documents to summarize the plans on transport in the Netherlands. A key planning decision is indicative, which means that local authorities had to adapt their plans to the national plans. This means that discourses in national visions and plans may also appear in the provincial and municipal plans. The policy documents, derived from the province of Utrecht, are transport plans for the province of Utrecht. Documents from 1991 till 1995 are found in the archive of the province of Utrecht. The other two are published on the internet. Finally, the table shows the titles of transport plans of the municipality of Utrecht. The document from 1991 is found in an archive and the other documents are published on the internet. It can be noted that some governmental organizations use more publications for publishing their policies than others. The content of each document will be discussed in chapter 7.

Table 2: selected documents, derived from the national government, the province of Utrecht and the municipality of Utrecht

National

1989 Tweede structuurschema verkeer en Vervoer 2001

2004 2011

Nationaal Verkeers- en Vervoersplan: van A naar Beter Nota mobiliteit

Structuurvisie Infrastructuur en Ruimte Province

1991 Nota hoofdlijnen provinciaal verkeer- en vervoersplan 1992

1995 2004 2010

Provinciaal verkeers- en vervoersplan Provinciaal verkeers- en vervoersplan

Strategisch mobiliteitsplan provincie Utrecht 2004 – 2015 Definitief VERDER pakket 2010-2020

Municipality

1991 Hoofdlijnen verkeers- en vervoersbeleid Utrecht 2005

2012

Gemeentelijk verkeers- en vervoersplan 2005 – 2020 Utrecht aantrekkelijk bereikbaar

Key informants

After conducting the content analysis, key informants at different governmental scales are interviewed through semi-structured interviews. The information from the interviews is only used to get a deeper understanding of the results of the content analysis. It is assumed that key informants reflect their own opinion and not the opinion of the organization they working for. Besides, the respondent is asked to give an answer that closely resembles the opinion of the organization. Three key informants are interviewed. No names will be mentioned for privacy reasons. First, respondent 1 is working in the environmental movement, especially involved in the actions against the construction of highway 27 through Amelisweerd. Besides, he is involved in the discussion about all kind of traffic plans in the city. He is working for the ‘Kracht van Utrecht’, a group of residents and experts, thinking about the strengths of the city in areas of environment, health, mobility and accessibility in the 21st century. De Kracht van Utrecht is an interdisciplinary team of independent experts with no business or bureaucratic interests. Key informant 1 is an interesting respondent, because his answer is independent and not shaped by bureaucratic interests. Respondent 2 is working for the province of Utrecht. She started at the department of environment and is now working at the department of mobility, economy and culture. Her focus is on sustainable mobility. She knows the effects of mobility on the environment and how the province is dealing with this issue. Finally, respondent 3 is

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18 working as mobility policy advisor at the municipality of Utrecht. He always worked at the intersection of spatial planning and mobility, which means in practice, parking, public transport, park and ride and the relationship with spatial developments. It is interesting to know how town planning in the municipality of Utrecht plays a role in the shift to

environmental sustainability.

The purpose of the interviews is to get a better understanding of the development of discourses over time. An important question is why certain discourses are dominant in a particular period of time. When there are differences in dominance between periods of time, an important question is: what happened in the meanwhile? The interviews are added in Appendix III.

Coding manual

This part describes how the coding manual is developed. The definitions of the storylines in chapter 6 are the guidelines in recognizing storylines in the text. Definitions are using words to describe the storyline. These words and the synonyms of these words are used to assign the codes to a particular storyline. The development of the coding manual is done as followed. Two random transport policy documents are taken to make a start with coding. But before that, the definitions in chapter 6 must be well-studied. The coder must have an overview of all possible storylines that can be recognized in the text. Thereafter, the coder assigns codes to the storylines. He uses the words as codes that best describes the storyline. When a storyline is not present in the document, the coder uses the definition in chapter 6 to code the storyline. When new codes are found during the content analysis, they are added to the coding manual.

Coding schedules

When the coding manual is prepared, the content analysis can be conducted. Every single policy document (see table 2) has its own coding schedule. The analyst uses the coding schedule to note how many times and on which page a storyline is apparent. The appearances are indicated in column N (page). N stands for the amount of appearances in the document. Behind N, the page numbers are indicated.

4.3 Methodological choices sub-question 2

Sub-question 2 states: ‘Which of these policy discourses limit or support the move towards environmental sustainability in transport policy?’ Each storyline in sub-question 1 reflects one of four discourses (engineering, economics, town planning or environment). This part of the study is searching for the relation between the storyline ‘environment’ and the other

storylines. The relation suggests whether there is limitation or support.

The coding schedules in appendix II indicate storyline appearances through page numbers. Page numbers are used to find where different storylines ‘meet’ in the text. In other words, different storylines that were found on the same page in the documents will be further analyzed in this part of the study. When different storylines are present on one page, the assumption is that they have interaction. For example, the interaction might be that one storyline is excluding the other. The relationship between these storylines is indicated with: ‘negative’, ‘positive’ or ‘no relationship’. When a relation is negative, the assumption is that the storyline will limit the shift to environmental sustainability. When a relation is positive, the assumption is that the storyline will support the shift to environmental sustainability. When there is no relationship, the storyline is neither limiting, nor supporting the shift. Each choice is explained in the analysis.

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19 Also, it is important to note that different storylines can meet on different pages. A storyline on a page might continue on the following page. Thus, the page before and the page after are also included in the analysis in comparing the page numbers between different storylines.

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5. Dutch context

Before performing the analysis, a description of the Dutch and Utrecht’s context is required for background information. The storylines are defined in an Australian context. It might happen that these storylines in Australian transport policy are less important or maybe not even occur in Dutch transport policy. A brief explanation of the Dutch context might help to explain differences in outcomes in the Australian and Dutch context. This study is not about comparing the Australian and Dutch context, but insight is needed to elaborate on the findings of this study. Paragraph 5.1 describes the context of the Netherlands. Paragraph 5.2 focuses on Utrecht.

5.1 Netherlands

The provision of road infrastructure has always been the task of the Dutch national government. The classical theory describes that large investments in infrastructure are the basis for economic growth (De Hoo, 1982). Improvements in infrastructure reduce costs for those who use it. Few initiatives come from the private sector, because a single investment in infrastructure is not productive. The infrastructure network is only productive as a whole. Therefore, the government plays a central role in the preparation, implementation and financing of infrastructure projects (De Hoo, 1982).

In the years after the Second World War, the Netherlands were in reconstruction. The incentives of the government had as one main objective: the resuscitation of the economy (Van der Cammen & De Klerk, 2003: 208). In course of the 1960s, the population was growing as expected. The wealth was increasing and there were positive economic

perspectives. In these years, there was agreement on the need to build more national roads to accommodate the growth of the economy. Housing and employment were becoming

separated. This led to a doubling of the number of commuters between 1960 and 1971 (Van der Cammen & De Klerk, 2003: 173). In the period 1970-1987, the intensities of motor vehicles more than doubled on the national motorways in the Randstad (Gemeente Utrecht, 1991). The term ‘Randstad’ needs some explanation. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht are the four major cities in the west of the country. They were previously seen as four separate entities. The term ‘Randstad’ connects these cities and considers them as a whole. The characterization is used after 1945 (Van der Cammen & De Klerk, 2003: 154). The increase of intensities on the national motorways had major negative environmental impacts. In the beginning of the 1980s, environment was becoming more important. The protection of the environment was put on the policy agenda during the elections in 1989 (Van der Cammen & De Klerk, 2003: 347). One of the main objectives was to reduce passenger traffic with eighteen percent and freight with thirteen percent. In the 1980s and 1990s, policymakers expected that traffic would not increase as fast as before. The highways that were built in this period had little road reservations for future expansion. The oil crisis of the 1980s made an end of large-scale road construction programs. Only missing links in the road network were added. However the growth of the car-network continued and was allowed to grow, because of the trade-off between viability and profitability (De Hoo, 1982: 14). From 2007, the government invested extensively in broadening existing highways, in particular in the Randstad area. Accessibility of the Randstad area is important for the functioning of

mainports as Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam (Rijksoverheid, n.d.). Schiphol is an hub for passengers. Rotterdam is an important hub for the transit of goods to Germany and

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21 other European countries. Mainports provide the economic growth and therefore priority is given for investment in infrastructure (Rijksoverheid, n.d.).

5.2 Utrecht

The city of Utrecht is centrally located in the Netherlands (see figure 3 below) and is the capital of the province of Utrecht. The city is located in the Randstad and functions as a transport-hub for roads, railways and waterways. In 1956, the city council of Utrecht already worried about future traffic problems. It was expected that 20 million people should live in the Netherlands in the year 2000, meaning that traffic congestion traffic congestion in and around the most central city of the Netherlands would increase (Van der Kammen & De Klerk, 2003: 212). Accessibility of the city is essential in ensuring its functioning in the future. In April 1970, experts and professors wrote a report which describes a global vision for transport within the city, which describes the development of spatial structures for man, that offer a great diversity of choices to engage in different activities and experiences (Visser, 2001). The rapid expansion of the transport system in Utrecht was therefore inevitable. When Utrecht becomes part of the Randstad, Utrecht receives a particularly important role as national distribution, knowledge and congress center (Visser, 2001). The central location of Utrecht is the reason why it nationally plays an important role in transport of knowledge and goods.

Figure 3: The Netherlands, divided into counties. The province of Utrecht has an orange color. The Randstad area is indicated with a blue circle.

Source: Kaartboekenoverzicht (n.d.)

http://cartography.geo.uu.nl/kaartboeken/click ablemap.html (edited)

5.3 Conclusion

This chapter provides a brief introduction in the Dutch transport planning. Investments in road infrastructure in the Netherlands are always considered as the basis for economic growth. Accessibility plays a crucial role in the vitality of important transport hubs in the Randstad. The increasing intensities of vehicles on the roads and the amount of car users resulted in congestion on the existing road network. The capacity was not adequate and expansion was

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22 needed. From 2007, the government invested extensively in broadening existing highways, in particular in the Randstad area. The region of Utrecht, as a crucial link in the road network of the country, has to deal with increasing pressure on the roads in the county. Different interests on different scales play a role in managing traffic and transportation in the Utrecht area. On national scale, it is important that the Randstad and the mainports remain accessible.

Accessibility in terms of profitability is justifiable on national scale. On a lower scale, the city of Utrecht thinks more in terms of viability, because the negative effects of transport on a smaller scale are more apparent in the form of local pollution and public health. Thus, building roads in the province and the municipality of Utrecht remain a trade-off between profitability and viability.

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6. Storylines in transport policy

The first step of answering the first sub-question is an elaboration of existing storylines in transport policy. Storylines are the idea’s that hold discourse together. Curtis & Low (2012) have invented different storylines in transport policy in Australia. This study uses those storylines. In this part, four different discourses in transport policy will be discussed and summarized. The discourses are engineering, economics, town planning and environment. Each discourse has several storylines which legitimate a political stance or position (Hajer, 1997). The reasoning of each storyline is explained below. All storylines are found in the work of Curtis & Low (2012: 104-109).

6.1 Engineering

The engineering discourse knows seven storylines. Each of them is recognized in Australian transport policy. The first storyline is predict and provide. This storyline in policy is based on the prediction of future trends in transportation and providing the right amount of needed infrastructure. The provision has to accommodate the demand of transport. The storyline is grounded in the behavioral sciences. This is leading up to the second storyline: chronic congestion versus free movement. This storyline assumes that the ideal situation is a situation of 'free movement' in which individuals and firms can travel without congestion. Congestion is therefore always seen as ‘bad’. In this storyline, congestion is an abnormal, unhealthy situation, which has to become a normal situation, which is free movement. This is a powerful story because it is associated with human disease. It is “some threatening disturbance of a bodily system” (p. 106) which has to be solved. The next storyline in the discourse of engineering suggests that there is a need of ‘balance’ in transport policy. This weighted balance is defined as integrated transport policy. It suggests that there must be a balance in investments between various modes of transport. But the word equal or even is carefully avoided. Balanced transport therefore appears to mean equality, but in fact, it is always in favor of the car.

The following storylines are much smaller apparent in Australian policy than the previous three. The fourth is the bypass and bottleneck storyline, which tells that road capacity must be increased through bypasses when bottlenecks in the transportation network occur. The

bottlenecks are the congested areas and justify a by-pass to solve the congestion problems. The fifth storyline is called ‘future technology’. This story tells us that road building must accommodate new technologies. The current problems with roads must be solved through new technologies that are available in the future. This includes also technological innovations used in vehicles that make use of the transport network. Possible solutions are low-energy vehicles, non-polluting fuels, advanced traffic management, and so forth. The sixth storyline of ‘missing links’ is about the network of transportation. A good road network is efficient when there are no missing links. Finally, the last storyline is about safety and shows that we must invest in new roads, because of safetyissues. The social costs of accidents on the road are high and every accident is one too much. Investment in roads is justified by too many road accidents. The storylines of the engineering discourse are summarized in table 3.

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24 Table 3: storylines in the engineering discourse

Engineering discourse Predict and provide

Chronic congestion versus free movement Balanced transport

Bypass and bottleneck Future technology Missing links Safety

6.2 Economics

The economics discourse knows eleven storylines that were found in Australian transport policy. The first storyline is traveling as possibility. This story assumes that a transport network provides travel opportunities for people and firms to improve their conditions of life and health because they have the right to travel. The underlying idea is that traveling is a 'good' to everyone. This is connected to a number of assumptions: (1) the best way to provide for the right of people is to let private parties or residents provide for that good, (2) that perfect competition must take place in a free market (assuming that the car is representing a modern lifestyle), (3) and that the construction of transport infrastructure is to satisfy the demand with a higher valuation of the user. The public interest in transport means bringing together individual preferences expressed in the choice of the journey each individual makes. Individuals are rational. This represents the second storyline. When individuals are confronted with the full price of their journey, they will choose the best option. This rational thinking is used to justify a road pricing system. This is a system where the user pays no general tax, but only pays when he makes use of the road. When costumers are aware of costs, they think about their decision and what is best for them. The third storyline in economics tells that investing in infrastructure means that it contributes to economic growth for the city or a region as a whole. The functioning of the economy is closely related to traffic and transport and is often used to reinforce the (local) economy. Chapter 5 also explains that this is true for the Netherlands. The fifth storyline is called ‘separate markets’. It represents the assumption that each mode of transport has its own market to serve. They have their own qualities and they cannot compete with each other. So, there is a need to invest in all modes of transport, depending on the size of the market and the target group which they serve. The sixth storyline is about the running deficit of public transport. Public transport must always be covered by state budget and therefore not profitable. Another storyline about public transport is the story of welfare transport. Public transport serves the travel needs for people who cannot afford to run a car, and equals welfare. The latter storyline can be used to recognize that public transport is needed in society, even though it is running deficit.

The following storylines are the minor storylines in the Australian context. Number eight is about modern lifestyle: driving is part of our modern society. It shows that choosing the car is the best option nowadays. The ninth storyline is closely related to modern society. In this modern society, we need flexibility. We make our own decisions and plan our own timetables. The transport network has to adjust to our timetables. The following storyline is the story of ‘the people’s choice’. People have chosen cars for mobility, and no other means of transport. That is why we have to invest in cars. The last storyline is the ‘expert vs citizen’. It find its roots in the 1980s, when public participation was growing and the public was getting more influence in the decision making process. The last storyline is about freight. We must keep freight moving. The movement of freight is growing faster than the movement of persons,

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25 because of increased prosperity and ICT developments. Congestion is allowing more trucks to be deployed to still be able to deliver on time. This storyline is also linked to the storylines of congestion and economic growth. Table 4 summarizes all storylines in the economics

discourse that are mentioned above.

Table 4: storylines in the economic discourse Economic discourse

Travel as opportunity

Social rationality from the aggregate of individual decisions Infrastructure investments causes economic growth

Separate markets Public transport deficit

Public transport equals welfare

Modern lifestyle, way of life, right to drive Flexibility

The people’s choice Expert versus citizen Freight

6.3 Town planning

The storylines of the discourse of town planning are grounded in the idea that strategic plans should always seek to reduce the travel time for individuals in the urban system. This

manifests itself in several spatial and social dimensions. The town planner’s tale knows seven storylines. The first one is about areas with low population, or rural areas. These areas cannot be effectively accessed by public transport and the poorly accessible areas with low density should be compensated by investments in public roads. The difference between areas in a city of a region is leading to the next storyline, which assumes that there is an unbalance of costs and benefits for residents in different parts of the city. Residents should not suffer

disadvantage in terms of accessibility or vitality because of where they live. The benefits of the road system should be available for everyone. The third storyline contains an argument which states that mobility is necessary for modern life. Mobility is achieved by use of the private car, but cars decrease amenity. They cause nuisance in the form of local pollution of emissions and noise. Therefore, the best solution is to guide the car to arterial or main roads of the city to preserve amenity. In other words, the city is using push measures, which are

introduced in paragraph 2.3, to protect the amenity of a city.

The following storylines are the minor storylines in the Australian context. Number four argues that the good functioning of the city center depends on good road links to the suburbs. The term suburb is not often used in transport policy in the Netherlands, but is particularly relevant in Australia. The suburbs are the surrounding housing areas of the city. The city center must be good accessible for her residents. The next storyline is called ‘urban corridors’. This means that urban development should be done along the major transport axes in the city, because car accessibility is best in these areas. The sixth storyline assumes that better roads are needed to connect households to sites with employment. Some city regions are described as key regions for economic growth and much economic potential for the future. This storyline is therefore called ‘growth poles’. The last storyline in the discourse of town planning tells that the development of suburbs and highways can simply go on because the land is reserved for this purpose. Table 5 summarizes all storylines in the discourse of town planning.

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26 Table 5: storylines in the town planning discourse

Town planning discourse

Low urban density can only be served by roads (planning) Locational equity (social democracy)

Balance between mobility and amenity Central business district vitality

Urban corridors

Growth poles (significant existing employment locations) Inner freeways bad, outer good

6.4 Environment

The discourse of environment counts four storylines. The first storyline argues that an environmentally sustainable city cannot be achieved by a government which continues to invest in road transport for private car use above all alternative modes of transportation. Moreover, the scarcity of fossil fuels makes it necessary for the city to change its

transportation system in the future and to look at alternative forms of transportation. Freedom of movement for all people and all freight in cities cannot be achieved without the increase of traffic congestion, loss of life and environmental values. It is argued that economic benefits can be achieved if accessibility is increased. This is better than maximizing mobility. So, the environmental storyline is taking the environmental values into account.

The following storylines are minor in Australian transport policy. The second storyline is called ‘buses are best’, which argues that buses are the most flexible and the cheapest option to accommodate public transport in the city. They use roads, so we have to invest in roads to accommodate the development of bus systems in the city. The third storyline is about the political pressure from the (local) community. The community wants more investments in roads, so we built more. This is especially due in case of capacity shortage on the road network. The last storyline is the story about car dependency. Car dependency is a sign that we have to invest in roads, because everyone depends on it. Car dependency is stated as a problem in the introduction of this study. But it is also used as a measure to justify more road building. Australian policymakers have used this storyline in the past to support the ‘buses are best’ and ‘separate markets’ storylines. Now it is stated that Australian cities are

unnecessarily dependent on car transport and roads. The storylines of the environment discourse are summarized in table 6.

Table 6: storylines in the environment discourse Environment discourse

Sustainability (environment)

Fixed rail systems are obsolete/buses are best Community pressure

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7. Dominant discourses and storylines

This chapter explores the presence of discourses in transport policy. The storylines, which are described in chapter 6, are extracted from the selected documents by means of content

analysis. The documents were published by governmental organizations on three scales: national, province and municipality level. A complete list of these documents is found in section 4.2 of this study. The next sections elaborate on the documents and the dominance of discourses and storylines. The approach is to identify the presence, or the absence, of the storyline in the document.

7.1 National level

20 years ago, the population growth in the Netherlands was high, compared to other European countries (Van Duijn, 2009:17). The unexpectedly large increase of car-use in the Randstad and particularly the negative effects for business traffic and transport were the main

considerations to write an accessibility plan (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, 2002). There were two approaches. One solution was to only build roads in order to meet the demand of transport. However, this was creating a specter that was dominated by an impressive cost (around 30 billion euros) and many negative side effects, especially the unacceptable harm of the environment. The other solution was to heavily tax traffic. According to the

memorandum, this would have serious consequences for our economy (especially in the transport sector) and furthermore, it would isolate us from the rest of Europe. The

accessibility issue was an interesting debate and ended in a strategy in which business and freight should continue to drive, but the latent demand should decrease. The strategy was presented in Tweede Structuurvisie Verkeer en Vervoer (Second structure vision traffic and transport) in 1989.

In 2001, a new policy proposal appears. Van A naar Beter is a national traffic and transport plan and contains a vision until 2020. The objective states: “The Netherlands offers everyone an efficient, safe and sustainable functioning transport network, where the quality of the individual user has a good proportion to the quality of society as a whole”. The publication of this transport plan is asking all other governmental agencies to adapt their policies to the national policy. They have the responsibility for the main infrastructure within their own domain. 2001 was the year of economic downturn. The United States had a small recession and some countries had a small temporary slowdown of the economy. The Netherlands, however, struggled to recover from the recession (Van Duijn, 2009). Three years after, Nota Mobiliteit is published in place of Tweede Structuurvisie Verkeer en Vervoer. An important objective of Nota Mobiliteit is to improve accessibility in order to improve the economic situation of the country. In 2011, a new edition of national policy in the field of traffic and transport appears with a vision for 2040.

The documents mentioned above contain discourses. The storylines are abstracted from the documents. Table 7 and figure 4 give an overview of discourses, published by the national government, which popped up over time in the policy documents. The information in table 7 is derived from the coding schedules 1 till 6 in appendix II. The coding schedules show which storyline belongs to the engineering, economic, town planning or environmental discourse. All the storylines that pop-upped in one discourse are summed up in table 7. For example, Tweede Structuurvisie Verkeer en Vervoer (1989) contains 16 storylines from the engineering discourse. The publication Van A naar Beter is published in several parts. That is why several

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28 parts are included in table 7. Tweede Structuurvisie Verkeer en Vervoer contains also several parts, but part A was sufficient enough in terms of content to leave the other parts. The graph in figure 4 uses the absolute numbers in table 7.

Table 7: discourses in documents, published by the national government

Figure 4: discourses over time, published by the national government

The period of analysis starts in 1989, when Tweede Structuurvisie Verkeer en Vervoer is published. One thing is immediately evident from the information in table 7 and figure 4: all four discourses have maintained a presence throughout the 20-year period. The town

planner’s tale is very constant and hardly plays a role in the story of traffic and transport. On the other hand, the engineering’s tale plays a dominant role in the years 1989-2001, but then gives way to the economics’ tale in 2004. As already said above, the economy was growing in importance and infrastructure was a measure to stimulate the growth of the economy. A change of objectives is the explanation for the growth of the economic discourse in 2004. It is striking that the environment discourse is becoming less important from 2001. From 1989 Publication title Year Engineering Economics Town planning Environment Tweede Structuurvisie

Verkeer en Vervoer

1989 16 (40%) 8 (20%) 3 (7%) 13 (33%)

Van A naar Beter: Nationaal verkeers- en vervoersplan 2001-2020 (Deel A)

2001 18 (43%) 10 (24%) 5 (12%) 9 (21%)

Van A naar Beter: Nationaal verkeers- en vervoersplan 2001-2020 (Deel B)

2001 2 (29%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 2 (29%)

Van A naar Beter: Nationaal verkeers- en vervoersplan 2001-2020 (samenvatting) 2001 5 (50%) 3 (30%) 0 (0%) 2 (20%) Nota Mobiliteit 2004 18 (34%) 27 (51%) 5 (9%) 3 (6%) Structuurvisie infrastructuur en ruimte 2011 4 (45%) 1 (11%) 3 (33%) 1 (11%) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1989 2001 2004 2011 Environment Town planning Economics Engineering

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29 until 2001, the environment’s tale was more dominant in the documents than the economics tale. But then, from 2001, the environment discourse is becoming less important. Respondent 1 gives a possible explanation for this appearance in the analysis. The following information is derived from the interview in appendix III. In 1989, milieu was becoming a hot topic in society. The reason was the Brundtland-rapport in 1987. The main conclusion of this report was that the most important global environmental problems were due to poverty in one part of the world, and the unsustainable consumption and production in the other part of the world. The report called for the first time on sustainable development. Ministers wanted to be

committed to the environment at that time. But, in 2001, the sustainable discourse is no longer exciting enough. In 2000 is the introduction of the euro. The growing economic competition is becoming an important criterion again. Respondent 1 is relating to a new hedonism, an attitude that sees pleasure as the highest goal of life, which was also apparent in the 1990s. Environment is becoming less important and is pushed to the side by the economics tale from 2001. Policy takes here the role of a public window: it reflects the trends and needs in society at that time.

Besides the importance of economy, engineering was also an important discourse since 1989. Respondent 2 argues that the problems with too many cars on the highways were growing. The expansion of the national road network in the north and the south of the country have resulted in more and more pressure on the highways in the region of Utrecht. The car was becoming more attractive, because the road network throughout the country became more and more intricate. Investments in highways in Utrecht were needed to accommodate the growing mobility demand of people from the north and the south who were using the car to reach their destination within the Randstad. Utrecht was and is an important link between the Randstad and other parts of the country. Respondent 2 argues also that the national government was reluctant to increase the capacity of highways in the Randstad in the last fifteen years, while the number of cars actually increased. The growing problems with congestion and, thereby, economic costs were the result to increase the road capacity dramatically in the Utrecht area since 2007.

Figure 5 on the next page divides the discourses into storylines. The information in this graph is derived from the coding schedules 1 till 6 in appendix II. An overview of storylines means that every single storyline is displayed in the graph. Some storylines seem to be more present than others. The discourse environment has exactly the same size as in figure 4. It is more interesting to look at the economics’ and the engineering’s tale, because they are held together by a set of recurring storylines as seen in figure 5. In fact, the chronic congestion versus free movement storyline underpinned the transport strategy, where it was argued that the traffic jams have to be solved (Nota Mobiliteit, 2004: 31) in order to reduce economic loss (p. 34). The national traffic and transport plan from 2001 (Deel A) argues that foresight studies indicate a continuing growth in traffic and transportation. The aim is to meet the need of growing mobility, not to fight against it (p. 12). This objective reflects the ‘predict and

provide’ storyline, which is very important from 1989 until 2001. Future technology is also an important storyline in 2001. Technology is seen as a measure to decouple the economic growth and the negative effects on the quality of life (p. 135). Then, in 2004, the economics tale is growing in importance, and the ‘infrastructure investments causes economic growth’ storyline in particular (figure 5). There is a variety of storylines popping up in the economics tale at this time, but the latter is most often seen. It is the only storyline that has the fastest growth in the period 2001 and 2004. The storylines which were first dominant (environment, future technology, chronic congestion versus free movement and predict and provide) are declining in this period.

Environmental sustainability in Dutch transport policy.