Access to mobility : In northern circumstances

Abstract: Transport and mobilities contribute majorly to our global emissions of greenhouse gas, while at the same time is necessary for citizens to travel for jobs and recreation. A shift of more sustainable development is adopted within the EU and sustainable mobilities play a key part in this. Both for societal growth but also mitigation. Regional organizations usually take care of the questions of transport within the region, but how can local circumstances and municipal planning for a shift towards a more sustainable development in a northern environment look like? And what local circumstances need to be considered? Especially when there can be organizational limitations. This descriptive study aims to answer that through a deductive document analysis of official documents and interviews with officials from different municipalities, which is coded thematically from a theoretical framework of previous studies. In this process, the term “access to mobility” is also constructed to clarify what this study aims to describe within those broad fields. Circumstances that were present were found usually concluded in prolonged distances and complexities for alternative choices of mobilities than the car. On top of this measures were focused on decreasing distances and time, while at the same time encouraging citizens to use and value more sustainable mobilities, since these are seen to contribute to all dimensions of sustainable development.