The political economy of car dependence

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image credit: Michael Kerbow

Last year, Giulio Mattioli (TU Dortmund University) and colleagues published a great literature review paper on the political economy of car dependence. The study has over 320 references (!) and yet the authors do a great job in 1) systematizing the reasons why it is so hard to reduce car ownership and use, and 2) casting a critical eye over sustainable transport research and discourse.

• Mattioli, G., Roberts, C., Steinberger, J. K., & Brown, A. (2020). The political economy of car dependence: A systems of provision approach. Energy Research & Social Science, v66, 101486.

I believe this paper will soon be recognized as a classic on the topic, so you should probably read the whole study (it’s open access). If you don’t have time, you may read this funny Twitter thread with some key points of the study, or this one-slide summary.

Now, if if the reason why you don’t have time to read any of the above is because you procrastinate are on Twitter, you should probably follow the authors there: Giulio Mattioli, Cameron Roberts and Julia Steinberger.

btw, Giulio is one of my favorite people on Twitter, and you only need to read a few of his papers to realize he’s one of the best scholars of our generation.
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