Integrating three diverse perspectives into the proposed role for cooperation in sustainable transport policymaking
A reply to commentaries on ‘From “I” to “we”: an exploration of how theories of cooperation might inform policymaking around sustainable travel behaviour’ by Brendan Donegan et al
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13006607 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brendan Donegan (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, corresponding author), Niv Gold (0000-0003-0706-1618, London School of Economics and Political Science), P L Dyson (0009-0008-7423-0948, University of Bath), Caroline Bartle (University of the West of England) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 285-289 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Discourse (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2043-7897 • E-ISSN: 2326-9995 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1332/20437897y2023d000000019 |
| OpenAlex | W4388558052 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
This article considers how theories of social cooperation might be helpful in developing policy levers for changing travel behaviours towards environmentally beneficial outcomes, especially in reducing private car use.'Theories of cooperation' can be described as a shift away from a 'traditional' economic focus on selfish individuals to one where individuals care what those around them are doing and even sometimes identify with, and think as, groups.We use a simplified 'game' to show how game theory offers a very constrained backdrop to thinking about cooperation in a transport setting: it neglects important social factors, both strategic ones and the general social interactions and ease that may be required as a backdrop to cooperation in real life.We then apply this to 'use cases' (lift sharing, on-site travel planning, safe cycle storage and peer-to-peer information sharing) that bridge the gap between the abstractions of theories of cooperation, on the one hand, and the practicalities of policymaking and lived reality, on the other.In doing this, we show how cooperation in travel behaviour can develop in two different ways: as emergent social phenomena (for example, the informal-economy approach to car or bicycle repair) and purposeful policy initiatives (for example, rail-fare discounts for two people travelling together, such as the UK's 'two together' railcard).Somewhat reductively, these could be described as 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' elements within behaviour-change processes.The article shows that: (1) cooperation exists 'naturally' in the 'travel-behaviour policy space'; (2) there is a wealth of opportunities for policy to help make cooperation happen more and/or work better; and (3) this includes opportunities to create the conditions required for cooperation to exist and flourish. Key words social cooperation
Economics · Environmental ethics · Management science · Political science · Regional science · Sociology · Sustainable development · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Law · Philosophy · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Sustaining cooperation in laboratory public goods experiments
Normative Influences on Altruism
Attitude-behavior relations
From ‘I’ to ‘we’
Personal norm rather than social norm
To defect or to cooperate? That is the question! A reply to ‘From “I” to “we”
Feedback, experience, design – considering social cooperation in practice in transport policy
Behavioural science is unlikely to change the world without a heterogeneity revolution
| Highly cited | No |
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