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Transnational Niches: the global mushrooming of Bus Rapid Transit

Transnational Niches: the global mushrooming of Bus Rapid Transit. Frans Sengers (Eindhoven University of Technology). 1: Research question and approach (questions, methods, contribution) 2: What is BRT? (characteristics, representations) 3: The global mushrooming of BRT

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Transnational Niches: the global mushrooming of Bus Rapid Transit

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  1. Transnational Niches: the global mushrooming of Bus Rapid Transit Frans Sengers (Eindhoven University of Technology)

  2. 1: Research question and approach (questions, methods, contribution) 2: What is BRT? (characteristics, representations) 3: The global mushrooming of BRT (a mapped history of materialized systems and social actors, global -> local) 4: Examples on the ground (Thailand) (the Thai case: alternative storylines with space for friction, resistance and failure, local -> global) 5: Interpretations and implications (niches, spaces, geographies) Presentation Outline

  3. How did BRT diffuse globally? (2) Who / what kind of actors facilitated this process and how are their ideas re-worked in practice on the ground? (3) … from this study on ‘BRT as a global niche’, what are the broader implications arise for research on the geography of sustainability transitions? from a few operational systems in one region … … to a multitude of operational systems world-wide from the ‘where’ of operational systems … …to the ‘where’ of BRT knowledge production and advocacy 1: Research Question from a ‘global niche’ and its network of actors/advocates … … to what happens when this knowledge ‘lands’ and BRT really‘comes to town’ … to the BRT case as a lens applied to transition theory From transition theory as a lens applied to the BRT case … B R T transition

  4. Interrogating codified knowledge: a systemic analysis of the most important articles, planning guides, reports and databases with the help of software. Conducting interviews: interviewing globally recognized BRT experts / advocates about the global mushrooming of BRT Immersed in fieldwork: observations and engagements on the ground in Thailand (4 cities) to see how BRT ideas land / materialize 1: Mixed Methods

  5. 2: What is Bus Rapid Transit ? • Definition 1: “a flexible, rubber-tired form of rapid transit that combines stations, vehicles, services, running ways and information technologies into an integrated system with strong identity” (Levinson et al. 2003) • Definition 2: “a high-quality bus based transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective urban mobility through the provision of segregated right-of-way infrastructure, rapid and frequent operations, and excellence in marketing and customer service. BRT essentially emulates the performance and amenity characteristics of a modern rail-based transit system but at a fraction of the cost. A BRT system will typically cost four to 20 times less than a light rail transit (LRT) system and 10 to 100 times less than a metro system” (Wright & Hook 2007) • Interviewed advocates present BRT as: • amodernizedhybrid sociotechnical configuration that combines elements from traditional bus systems as well as urban rail systems (a ‘surface metro’ or ‘metronized bus’), which provides direct ‘on the road competition’ to the private car so as to foster a transition towards a more livable city

  6. 2: What is Bus Rapid Transit ? Q: How is BRT expert advocacy discourse structured? A: If we look at a representative sample of scientific articles on BRT with the help of software, the following thematic clusters / discourses emerge: modelling, BRTvsCar, Global-South-projects

  7. 2: What is Bus Rapid Transit ? Q: Which BRT cities are most important / most often mentioned to in expert discourse? A: Bogota is referred to most often, it is also in the heart of the semantic co-occurrence network and this means that it is often mentioned in relation to other BRT systems/cities

  8. 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT Q: Whereare these BRT systems located? A: 169 BRT systems all over the world: Africa (3), Asia (39), Europe (43), Latin America (55), Northern America (22), Oceania (7)

  9. 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT Q: where is BRT really re-shaping everyday urban travel practices? A: cities of the global south (BRT systems in Europe, the US and Australia are insignificantly small). Mainly in Latin America (e.g. Brazil and Colombia) and Asia (especially in China, but also in Tehran and Istanbul). (Node Size proportional to nr. of passengers / day transported by each system)

  10. 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT

  11. consolidation (2011 - 2013) explosivegrowth (2001 - 2010) 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT emergence (1972 - 1976)

  12. 1: Emergence (1972-1976) BRT emerges within Latin America and remains confined to this region. This period starts with important BRT precursors within Latin America and the construction the incredibly relevant BRT system in Curitiba. It ends when BRT / BHLS systems become operational in Europe and the US as well 2: Growth (1977-2000) It remains mainly a Latin American phenomenon, but Europe (through BHLS) and the US are also constructing comprehensive bus systems. This period starts when BRT / BHLS systems become operational outside of Latin America. It ends with the world's most comprehensive BRT system in Bogota becoming operational. 3: Explosivegrowth (2001-2010) Systems are adopted all over the world and the number of systems grows very rapidly. This period starts when the system in Bogota becomes operational and consequently big systems are being adopted, now throughout Asia as well. This period ends in 2010 when a highly comprehensive BRT system becomes operational in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, which rivals the Latin American systems in scope and quality. 4: Consolidation (2011-2013) It seems past its peak of growth, but keeps spreading. Efforts in the West seem to have stagnated, but growth continues in cities in the developing world. The emphasis shifts to institutional work to consolidate earlier gains. Efforts to classify system types and disseminate lessons are becoming ever more important.

  13. 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT Q: where does the production of codified BRT knowledge take place? A: respresentation of the citieswherehighly ‘performative’ BRT knowledgeproduction/transfer agencies are located. The codified expert knowledgetheyproduce is ‘packaged’ in the form of planning guides, consultancy reportsandjournalarticles; ittravelsand is picked up bycitiesthroughout the world.

  14. 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT operational system sites vs. codifiedknowledgeproduction sites Note the disparity between the sites of BRT systems and the sites of knowledge transfer organizations. This means that something else is going on, besides just learning directly from best practice sites ...

  15. 3: The global mushrooming of BRT A strong transnationaladvocacynetwork of experts: they drive the productionanddissemination of codifiedknowledgeandactively push for the globalmushrooming of BRT

  16. Actors and storylines are transformed by the processes of up-scaling and diffusion 3: The globalmushrooming of BRT 1985 vs. 2012 The nature of BRT and its best practices are objects of interpretation and contestation. It is a highly flexible niche-configuration - what BRT represents changes from time to time and from place to place and best practices can become bad examples and adoption can hamper further diffusion. As BRT principles and their advocates travel the world, they are themselves transformed in the process.

  17. (1) Bangkok: from big visionary ideas of foreign advocates to a small watered-down system. The eventual material system is embedded in a web of transnational linkages . It was also and arena for broader struggle. “The BRT network planned for Bangkok … may be even more successful than the Bogota project” (Enrique Penalosa 2004) 4: Examples on the ground (Thailand) (2) Korat: lack of success in Bangkok and certain associations has tainted the term BRT in Thailand, therefore planners chose to drop the term. Going head to head with a politically powerful car-owing middle class can be avoided through an elevated “sky bus” system “We will not calling it BRT, we’ll call it Sky Bus” (head consultancy 2013)

  18. (3) KhonKaen: sometimes BRT is viewed as the central element of much broader plans for ‘liveable streets’. Besides notions of BRT, public awareness campaign strategies are also transferred across the globe. Ideas of local identity and ‘place making’ are also part of this plan 4: Examples on the ground (Thailand) (4) ChiangMai: the efforts of planners are sometimes thwarted, when incumbent informal operators mount a serious resistance campaign. New alternative pathways to modernize bus transit arise. International NGOs step in to mediate

  19. 1: Towards transnational niches The notion of a ‘global niche’ is highly elusive in the context of a geography of sustainability transitions (e.a. global as an aggregated socio-cognitive dimension, the misunderstanding of this as MLP levels as conflated with geographical scales). Therefore niches like BRT might better be classified as ‘transnational’ in order to highlight (1) cross-border linkages and flows, (2) the agency of globally active non-state organizations such as experts, NGOs and businesses, (3) breaking out of the national (though keep in mind that national governments are still crucially important as actors in this transnational arena) 2: Re-thinking ‘classic’ SNM insights on niche internal processes ‘Classic’ SNM insights suggest that successful niche building occurs when (1) networks should be broad and inclusive, (2) expectations should be shared and specific, (3) second-order learning should enable changes in cognitive frames. But the highly successful BRT ‘global niche’ shows that (1) networks can be narrow, expert-driven and exclusive, (2) expectations are on what BRT is/does are marked by interpretative flexibility and differ from actor to actor and from place to place, (3) second-order learning does not seem to unfold for the advocates as BRT spreads, but a change in mindset is assumed always BRT implies as a starting point 3: Different ‘wheres’ of niche-levels The ‘where’ of codified knowledge production and dissemination (e.a. aggregate level / global niche) is very different from the ‘where’ of system adoption (e.a. level of tangible local projects) 5: Interpretations and implications

  20. 4: Towards a more subtle view of how a variety of alternatives interact When a niche-configuration like BRT ‘comes to town’ (e.a. when knowledge lands and seeks to materialize) it has to contend with a locally specific ‘transport ecosystem’, which is in no two cities the same. BRT is not pitted against one clearly delineated monolithic regime; but it’s relationships to other sociotechnical configurations are far more complex. One BRT-system-to-be might be locked into combat with incumbent systems (an automobility regime or incumbent informal transport system) and with alternative options (a metro or an upgraded informal transport system), another one might be very complementary with all of these. 5: A spatial perspective on transitions entails an intertwining of stories told from multiple perspectives It should allow us to bring the politics back in and it should include friction, resistance and failure. An all alleged success story of global diffusion/up-scaling should also be approached from specific local contexts and from ‘below’ … So in the context of BRT, space can be viewed as: protective space: a socially constructed environment, emphasizing institutional work, for shielding, nurturing and empowering of a global niche. physical space:(1) a scarce resource in the battle for road space; (2) the objective re-shaping land-use in the city as part of ‘transit oriented development & place-making’ and as part of ‘the livable city’ paradigm; (3) a surface area or a void-to-be-crossed when talking world-wide diffusion ‘a simulaneity of stories-so-far’: according to Doreen Massey space is (1) the product of inter-relations between actors, between scales as part of relational economic geography; (2) multiplicit in the sense of a sphere where multiple trajectories coexist; (3) always ‘becoming’ since it is, embedded in material practices, fundamentally open-ended and rife with politics 5: Interpretations and implications

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