This review provides a critical overview of what has been learnt about commuting’s impact on subjective wellbeing (SWB). It is structured around a conceptual model which assumes commuting can affect SWB over three time horizons: (i) during the journey; (ii) immediately after the journey; and (iii) over the longer term. Our assessment of the evidence shows that mood is lower during the commute than other daily activities and stress can be induced by congestion, crowding and unpredictability. People who walk or cycle to work are generally more satisfied with their commute than those who travel by car and especially those who use public transport. Satisfaction decreases with duration of commute, regardless of mode used, and increases when travelling with company. After the journey, evidence shows that the commute experience “spills over” into how people feel and perform at work and home. However, a consistent link between commuting and life satisfaction overall has not been established. The evidence suggests that commuters are generally successful in trading off the drawbacks of longer and more arduous commute journeys against the benefits they bring in relation to overall life satisfaction, but further research is required to understand the decision making involved. The evidence review points to six areas that warrant policy action and research: (i) enhancing the commute experience; (ii) increasing commute satisfaction; (iii) reducing the impacts of long duration commutes; (iv) meeting commuter preferences; (v) recognising flexibility and constraints in commuting routines and (vi) accounting for SWB impacts of commuting in policy making and appraisal.

(2018). The Autonomous Vehicle Revolution: Implications for Planning/The Driverless City?/Autonomous Vehicles – A Planner’s Response/Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Challenges and the Need for Government Action/Three Signs Autonomous Vehicles Will Not Lead to Less Car Ownership and Less Car Use in Car Dependent Cities – A Case Study of Sydney, Australia/Planning for Autonomous Vehicles? Questions of Purpose, Place and Pace/Ensuring Good Governance: The Role of Planners in the Development of Autonomous Vehicles/Putting Technology in its Place. Planning Theory & Practice: Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 753-778.

This paper provides a theoretically informed empirical analysis of how Narendra Modi’s claim of ‘more governance, less government’ is felt in practice in India. It does so through a qualitative case study of the Smart Cities Mission and its implementation in four cities, applying multilevel governance theorizing. It finds centralizing dynamics at play through the use of ‘special purpose vehicles’, which bypass local-level institutions. The paper highlights how multilevel governance dynamics can be shaped through institutional design, a point overlooked in the literature. It also raises questions about the risks of such arrangements for long-term, democratic development.

This paper responds to calls for greater empirical investigation of the interrelationships between depoliticisation and repoliticisation processes. It does so by applying the 'three faces' (governmental, societal and discursive) organising perspective to a longitudinal analysis of transport policy in the UK. This case is important because acceptance of the current dominant policy solution - infrastructure spending - appears to have come full circle over a 30-year period. The research finds that today's focus on infrastructure is enabled through intersecting and reinforcing depoliticisation processes, supporting the 'three faces' perspective. However, the paper also highlights the need for greater recognition of the state as a meta-governor of depoliticisation and the need for clarity on which aspect of a policy solution or problem (or the connections between them) is being depoliticised and repoliticised to better elucidate politicisation processes.

This chapter provides an introduction to the Handbook of Transportation and Public Policy, which aims to bring politics, policy and transportation research into greater dialogue. In laying the foundation for the multiple, rich contributions to the Handbook, the chapter has three aims. First is to examine why, despite the ongoing interplay between politics and transportation across scales, transport studies to date minimise the role of politics. We identify two reasons for this: the effect of neoliberalism on the transport sector and the myth of objectivity in transport planning. The chapter’s second aim is to examine why the policy studies literature rarely focuses on transportation. We argue this is due to a number of factors, including the pervasiveness of New Public Management and research fashions. The third and final aim is to justify why focusing on politics and policy in the transportation space is necessary and valuable.