Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city

Gothenburg city has bold ambitions of becoming carbon neutral. School commuting is one piece of the puzzle in reducing emissions. While the literature on school transportation is extensive, the issue of climate change has been overlooked. This article explores how parents in the district of Majorna...

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Main Authors: Beniamin Knutsson, Sofie Hellberg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2023.2184823
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author Beniamin Knutsson
Sofie Hellberg
author_facet Beniamin Knutsson
Sofie Hellberg
author_sort Beniamin Knutsson
collection DOAJ
description Gothenburg city has bold ambitions of becoming carbon neutral. School commuting is one piece of the puzzle in reducing emissions. While the literature on school transportation is extensive, the issue of climate change has been overlooked. This article explores how parents in the district of Majorna understand mundane choices of school transportation in a context of increasing recognition of climate change. The article shows that school transport is a contentious issue, entangled with subjectivity, emotions, and notions of responsibility. The findings also highlight some complexities: (1) Although most parents are concerned with climate change it is not a significant factor in daily transportation. (2) There is a discourse in favour of active transportation where climate change is explicitly downplayed, on the other hand regular car use merges with deep climate concerns. (3) Informants’ anticipations of future urban traffic conflict with their hopes, yet it seems difficult to imagine something otherwise.
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spelling doaj.art-09bf225af0f84ac8be7db2858c0b76e92023-09-21T15:28:41ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Urban Sustainable Development1946-31381946-31462023-12-01151486210.1080/19463138.2023.21848232184823Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg cityBeniamin Knutsson0Sofie Hellberg1University of GothenburgSchool of Global Studies, University of GothenburgGothenburg city has bold ambitions of becoming carbon neutral. School commuting is one piece of the puzzle in reducing emissions. While the literature on school transportation is extensive, the issue of climate change has been overlooked. This article explores how parents in the district of Majorna understand mundane choices of school transportation in a context of increasing recognition of climate change. The article shows that school transport is a contentious issue, entangled with subjectivity, emotions, and notions of responsibility. The findings also highlight some complexities: (1) Although most parents are concerned with climate change it is not a significant factor in daily transportation. (2) There is a discourse in favour of active transportation where climate change is explicitly downplayed, on the other hand regular car use merges with deep climate concerns. (3) Informants’ anticipations of future urban traffic conflict with their hopes, yet it seems difficult to imagine something otherwise.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2023.2184823urban climate policyurban sustainabilityclimate changeschool commutingactive transportationcar transportationautomobilitytrafficgothenburg
spellingShingle Beniamin Knutsson
Sofie Hellberg
Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development
urban climate policy
urban sustainability
climate change
school commuting
active transportation
car transportation
automobility
traffic
gothenburg
title Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
title_full Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
title_fullStr Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
title_full_unstemmed Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
title_short Ways to go? (Un)sustainable school commuting in Majorna, Gothenburg city
title_sort ways to go un sustainable school commuting in majorna gothenburg city
topic urban climate policy
urban sustainability
climate change
school commuting
active transportation
car transportation
automobility
traffic
gothenburg
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2023.2184823
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