Aims of the research

This research aims to 'deconstruct' examples of present-day social practice and activity engagement that involve travel, and to understand how and to what extent these have been influenced by enduring and emerging non-transport technologies.

Lead institution: Lancaster University

Technical Summary

This research examines socio-political conditions that have influenced, positively or negatively, the uptake and impact of non-transport technologies on social practice – and thus travel. A mixed-methodological approach is adopted to classify/cluster the different forms of non-transport technology according to their impacts and examine how these technologies, if they turn into specific products, can combine and interact so transforming patterns of demand for travel. The research constructs and examines different future scenarios (framed by social, political and technological assumptions) in order to assess the scope for non-transport technologies to have a major impact upon travel demand in a ‘climate change’ future. The project will conclude by developing policy recommendations and initiate consideration of how understandings from this and related research could be used to inform the modification/development of policy-support tools used to assess or predict future patterns of travel.

Data, Methods and Planned Outputs

Research Team Biographies