A Crack in the Automobility Regime? Exploring the transition to sustainable urban mobility in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Cities account for the majority of greenhouse gases emissions worldwide with a great part of that coming from the energy sector, and particularly from transportation. At the same time, urban areas are the places from where responses to climate change are emerging from. This research examines how city governments are addressing climate change through the implementation of urban mobility policies. To achieve this, the research uses a qualitative case study of the Brazilian city of São Paulo, employing both primary and secondary data sources, namely policy document analysis and semi-structured interviews. It is argued that São Paulo has played a leading role in addressing climate change in Brazil through sustainable urban mobility policies. This has been enabled by two key moments: the 2013 demonstration and the change in local administration following the 2012 elections. These events converged and supported the implementation of policies such as exclusive bus lanes, cycling infrastructure, and the creation of a participatory body in urban mobility planning. The findings suggest that, by enabling sustainable urban mobility policy implementation, these two moments have created a crack in the dominant urban mobility regime of automobility in São Paulo. Nonetheless, it is found that, despite the implementation of innovative policies, automobility is still dominant because of lock-in mechanisms. As a result, São Paulo is only in the early stages of a socio-technical transition to sustainable urban mobility.