Speaker
Description
The current discourse around mobility transition sits on a spectrum that stretches between decarbonization objectives and inclusionary agendas. As a result, scholarship has argued for a just and equitable transition towards low-carbon modes (Martens, 2017; Sheller, 2018; Schwanen, 2021). In this transition narrative, micromobility is promoted as a sustainable means of transport for short trips. Micromobility can be defined as a class of personal transport vehicles with limited speed, dimensions and capacity (International Transport Forum, 2020). Compared to carbon-based mobility, it offers public health benefits, a carbon emission and air pollution reduction, a potential redistribution of public space and advancements in liveability agendas in general (Cupples and Ridley, 2008; Pucher and Buehler, 2017). An equitable transition towards low-carbon mobility does not only rely on technical innovations, but also on shifts in socially constructed practices and representations (Glachant and Behrendt, 2024). Micromobility is framed and discursively constructed through media representation and communication by policymakers, lobby groups and other organisations. Popular media plays a significant role in presenting mobility transitions to a wider audience. In Flanders (Belgium), as well as in other urbanised parts of the Global North, the introduction of new forms of micromobility, including electrically assisted and shared ones, led to the formation of multiple narratives, either legitimising or delegitimising their existence and use (Petzer, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2020). This paper is therefore structured around three main research questions: 1) How is micromobility framed in popular media? 2) What main discursive narratives can be distinguished? 3) What differences between the narratives of different types of micromobility can be identified? To achieve this, a discourse analysis of articles from mainstream newspapers and media portals published in the Dutch speaking press in Belgium is performed using the Nexis Uni database (Hajer, van den Brink and Metze, 2006; Fairclough, 2013). Articles published between January 2018 and December 2024 are considered because in this period, the rapid introduction of new shared micromobility agents and the growing market share for electrically assisted bicycles led to a spike in popular media coverage. All news outlets target to the Dutch speaking community in Belgium are taken into account to make sure contrasting ideological and political views are included in the analysis. The hypothesis is that e-scooters are perceived in a more negative light than regular bicycles, with a strong emphasis on safety concerns, both for users and their surroundings, as well as the impact on public spaces and the use of bike lanes. It appears that e-scooter users are less positively framed in the media compared to cyclists, which may lead to stricter regulation, reduced allocation of urban space for their use, or even the stigmatisation of their users.
References
Cupples, J. and Ridley, E. (2008) ‘Towards a heterogeneous environmental responsibility: sustainability and cycling fundamentalism’, Area, 40(2), pp. 254–264. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4762.2008.00810.x.
Fairclough, N. (2013) Critical Discourse Analysis. 0 edn. Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315834368.
Glachant, C. and Behrendt, F. (2024) ‘“Social Darwinism has moved to the cycle path”: framings of micromobility in the Dutch and British press’, Mobilities, 19(6), pp. 1054–1075. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2024.2366850.
Hajer, M.A., van den Brink, M. and Metze, T. (2006) ‘Doing Discourse Analysis: Coalitions, Practices, Meaning’. Utrecht: Koninklijk Nederlands Aardrijkskundig Genootschap.
International Transport Forum (2020) ‘Safe Micromobility’. OECD/ITF. Available at: https://www.itf-oecd.org/safe-micromobility.
Martens, K. (2017) Transport justice: designing fair transportation systems. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Petzer, B.J.M., Wieczorek, A.J. and Verbong, G.P.J. (2020) ‘Dockless bikeshare in Amsterdam: a mobility justice perspective on niche framing struggles’, Applied Mobilities, 5(3), pp. 232–250. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/23800127.2020.1794305.
Pucher, J. and Buehler, R. (2017) ‘Cycling towards a more sustainable transport future’, Transport Reviews, 37(6), pp. 689–694. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2017.1340234.
Schwanen, T. (2021) ‘Achieving just transitions to low-carbon urban mobility’, Nature Energy, 6(7), pp. 685–687. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00856-z.
Sheller, M. (2018) Mobility justice: the politics of movement in the age of extremes. London ; Brooklyn, NY: Verso.
| Keywords | Micromobility; Inclusiveness, Flanders; Framing |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
