Between cost acceptance and opposition: On the limits of perceived costs as explanations of policy acceptability in street transformations
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Street-space reallocation interventions are increasingly promoted to reduce car dependence, improve environmental quality and reclaim street space for everyday public life. Yet these measures also redistribute access, convenience and control over street space, making them politically contentious when residents anticipate personal costs. Importantly, perceived negative impacts do not necessarily coincide with opposition. Understanding why perceived losses are associated with non-acceptance for some individuals but not for others is crucial, because visible backlash can shape the political viability of urban sustainability transitions. This paper examines what distinguishes individuals who oppose street transformations while anticipating personal costs from those who remain non-oppositional despite such costs. Drawing on a survey of 2000 adults in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, we analyse four built-environment interventions: superblocks, pedestrianisations, bicycle lanes, and protected schools programmes. By crossing perceived personal impact with policy acceptability, we identify four attitudinal profiles and focus on two groups anticipating negative impacts: Self-interest opponents and Cost-accepters . Drawing on previous literature, respondents' justifications for anticipated negative impacts are grouped into four interpretative frames and analysed alongside socio-demographic, household and personal value orientations using intervention-specific binary logistic regression models. Results show that the factors distinguishing opposition from non-opposition are highly intervention-specific. Automobility concerns are associated with greater opposition to superblocks, while conviviality concerns with opposition to bicycle lanes. In contrast, gentrification concerns are consistently associated with lower opposition levels. These findings show that perceived personal costs and political opposition should not be treated as equivalent and highlight the importance of how anticipated losses are interpreted across different forms of urban transformation.
Source: Journal of Transport Geography
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,990
OpenAlex ID: W7225140215