A qualitative exploration of actors' power resources and relations in Swiss transit station district planning. Issue 1 (31st December 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Müller, Stefan Markus
• Is Part Of: Urban, planning and transport research. Volume 11:Issue 1(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-12-31
• Subjects: Planning practice -- power relations -- power resources -- transit-oriented development -- transit station districts; City planning -- Periodicals; Cities and towns -- Growth -- Periodicals; Urban renewal -- Periodicals; Cities and towns -- Research -- Periodicals; Urban transportation -- Periodicals; Cities and towns -- Growth; Cities and towns -- Research; City planning; Urban renewal; Urban transportation; Periodicals; 307.116
• DOI: 10.1080/21650020.2022.2151504
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2165-0020

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Cross-sectoral collaboration between actors is essential when planning station districts for transit-oriented development. However, power relations and the resulting dominance of selected actors complicate collaborative processes and the necessary integration between transportation and urban planning. Despite the previous problematization of power in planning, dedicated research is lacking on station districts. This article aims to tackle this literature gap through qualitative case studies of two station districts in Switzerland. The findings suggest that municipalities and public transport providers use power resources to assume institutional roles outside their traditional planning domains, partly as a tactical response to initiatives that they contest. For planning practice, the article proposes that process organizers grasp actors' power potentials early and, if mobilized, integrate them in favor of broadly supported station district development.