Moving People and Goods with Future Mobility Devices. The Challenge of Adaptive Transport Infrastructures

Abstract

New types of vehicles will soon revolutionize transports and mobility but how current transport infrastructures will absorb or cope with these new mobility devices is unclear. We argue that the new generations of vehicles will require ‘agile transport infrastructure management’ methods in the future. A transport infrastructure project is subject to path-dependency due to long lag-time, hefty administrative frameworks and budget voting, and yet it is expected to be agile enough to accomodate new mobility devices. To discuss this duality, we combine the theoretical frameworks of path-dependency, isomorphism, dynamic capabilities and agile project management methods so to discuss the practicality of ‘agile transport infrastructures’. We hereby intend to provide food for thought and paths for the action for transports planners, policy-makers and mobility innovators.