“Turns out it’s nicer”: Reflections of successful political actors on implementing controversial urban mobility policies

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Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Engineering | Master's thesis

Authors

Date

2025-09-02

Department

Major/Subject

Sustainable Urban Mobility Transitions

Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Urban Mobility

Language

en

Pages

93

Series

Abstract

The adoption of Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVAR) has been slow, despite evidence highlighting improvements in safety and livability. This study examines the successful implementation of thirteen cases in various European and international contexts to understand how political leaders navigated the process. Semi-structured interviews with key decision makers, complemented by a multimodal analysis including government documents and media articles, suggested a common pattern: public opposition peaks around implementation, but declines afterwards due to firsthand experiences gained by the public. Assertive political leadership and context adaptation, supported by a combination of narrative shifts, policy experimentation, and stakeholder participation, emerged as influential factors in the successful implementation of UVAR polices. The study concludes that future political decision makers should build a network of loyal alliances and proactively manage predictable resistance patterns to enable the long-term acceptance of UVAR policies.

Description

Supervisor

Mladenovic, Milos

Thesis advisor

te Brömmelstroet, Marco

Keywords

before-and-after, cross-case analysis, car-reducing policies, policy design, public opinion, low-car

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Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202510208289

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[dipl] Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu / ENG