A transition towards sustainable strategy making: integrating land use and transport knowledge types

Abstract

As extensively discussed by other scholars, there is a growing awareness that the integration of land use and transport (LUT) planning is a crucial prerequisite for the transition towards more sustainable transport patterns and urban development that foster interaction between people, support a sustainable business climate and reduces negative effects on the environment and climate (see, for example, Banister 2002, 2005; Cervero 1998; Meyer and Miller 2001; TRB 2004). However, in the Netherlands (and in other countries), such integration is scarcely present in daily planning practice (see, for instance, Hull and Tricker 2006). If anything, one can speak of policy coordination rather than âintegrationâ; i.e. it is dialogue or information exchange which is geared at avoiding conflicts between projects, but does not seek to establish similar policy goals (Stead et al. 2004). Achieving integration in earlier phases of planning (for example, strategy development, goal orientation or visioning) can potentially produce shared policy goals, which would promote mutually reinforcing (instead of obstructing) land use and transport measures. However, for this to happen, a transition on its own is needed.