Work

Visions of life with less mobility. Can the doughnut model gain legitimacy?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Avoiding exceeding planetary boundaries, while still achieving a decent standard of living for all is a global challenge represented in the so-called doughnut model. Policies for local mobility in line with the doughnut model, will lead to less and slower mobility for many people. This paper contributes to doughnut literature with insights regarding people’s visions of life with doughnut-inspired mobility and accessibility patterns as well as the preconditions required for visions of less and slower mobility to gain legitimacy. This matter was studied in workshops attended by Swedish citizens. Two preconditions are crucial to gain legitimacy. First, visions have to address issues of proximity, freedom, flexibility and spontaneity and a sense of community and second, visions must be tangible and more broadly focused on preferable visions of life and not just mobility.

Source: International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development

DOI: 10.1080/19463138.2025.2575206

Authors: Claus Hedegaard Sørensen, Fredrik Pettersson-Löfstedt

Institutions: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, K2, Lund University

Language: English

Topic: Urban Transport and Accessibility

Subfield: Transportation

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,270