Organising integrated urban mobility: actions, roles and identities in an evolving landscape

Abstract

Multimodal integration is currently being discussed as a way to challenge the dominance of automobility by providing attractive alternatives to private car ownership. Combining critical organisation studies with a mobilities perspective, this article maps actions taken towards integrated urban mobility in two Swedish cities over the course of a year and explores how these actions shape the roles and identities of the actors involved. The results demonstrate that integration is a relational process enacted through diverse practices, from the development of new concepts such as ‘collective mobility’ and the piloting of new infrastructure such as mobility hubs, to the everyday processes of operating public transport and facilitating active travel. These relations develop with varying degrees of formalisation, ranging from regulations and contracts to participation in reference groups. We show that through these actions, public sector actors are continuously making sense of themselves and others within an evolving urban mobility landscape, reflecting not only on potential new roles and organisational identities, but also on the distribution of responsibilities and tasks. Despite concerns about institutional silos and organisational inertia, public sector actors are gradually (albeit hesitantly) emerging as co-producers of integrated urban mobility, even though these efforts often lack systematic coordination.