IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socres/v24y2019i2p235-250.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experiments in Everyday Mobility: Social Dynamics of Achieving a Sustainable Lifestyle

Author

Listed:
  • Senja Laakso

Abstract

This article presents the results from an experimental project in Jyväskylä, Finland, in which five ‘pioneer households’ aimed to reduce their environmental impacts by a variety of trials in different domains of daily consumption. The article analyses this ‘home lab’ experiment from a practice-theoretical perspective, focusing particularly on everyday mobility and the social interplay that occurs in mobility practices in different contexts. In so doing, the article explores the reasons behind the various outcomes of experimentation and discusses the potential of such experimentation to facilitate transformation in mobility practices. The results suggest that in order to shift daily mobility onto a more sustainable path, the social dynamics related to mobility practices should be better addressed. For example, the negotiations both inside and outside the participating households proved important in challenging the ways of doing mobility. Moreover, the potential for the diffusion of alternative mobility practices was shown to depend on a variety of factors that maintained the normality and acceptability of private driving. Utilising practice-theoretical insights in living laboratories can open new areas for experimentation and facilitate understanding of the shift in everyday practices towards greater sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Senja Laakso, 2019. "Experiments in Everyday Mobility: Social Dynamics of Achieving a Sustainable Lifestyle," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 24(2), pages 235-250, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:24:y:2019:i:2:p:235-250
    DOI: 10.1177/1360780418823222
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1360780418823222
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1360780418823222?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eva Heiskanen & Kaarina Hyvönen & Senja Laakso & Päivi Laitila & Kaisa Matschoss & Irmeli Mikkonen, 2017. "Adoption and Use of Low-Carbon Technologies: Lessons from 100 Finnish Pilot Studies, Field Experiments and Demonstrations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Cass, Noel & Faulconbridge, James, 2016. "Commuting practices: New insights into modal shift from theories of social practice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-14.
    3. Michael Nye & Tom Hargreaves, 2010. "Exploring the Social Dynamics of Proenvironmental Behavior Change," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 14(1), pages 137-149, January.
    4. Elizabeth Shove & Gordon Walker, 2007. "Caution! Transitions Ahead: Politics, Practice, and Sustainable Transition Management," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(4), pages 763-770, April.
    5. Shove, Elizabeth & Walker, Gordon, 2010. "Governing transitions in the sustainability of everyday life," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 471-476, May.
    6. Jennifer L. Kent, 2015. "Still Feeling the Car - The Role of Comfort in Sustaining Private Car Use," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(5), pages 726-747, December.
    7. Kent, Jennifer L. & Dowling, Robyn, 2013. "Puncturing automobility? Carsharing practices," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 86-92.
    8. Heiskanen, Eva & Johnson, Mikael & Robinson, Simon & Vadovics, Edina & Saastamoinen, Mika, 2010. "Low-carbon communities as a context for individual behavioural change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7586-7595, December.
    9. Aldred, Rachel & Jungnickel, Katrina, 2014. "Why culture matters for transport policy: the case of cycling in the UK," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 78-87.
    10. Birtchnell, Thomas, 2012. "Elites, elements and events: Practice theory and scale," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 497-502.
    11. Watson, Matt, 2012. "How theories of practice can inform transition to a decarbonised transport system," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 488-496.
    12. Anna R. Davies & Ruth Doyle, 2015. "Transforming Household Consumption: From Backcasting to HomeLabs Experiments," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 105(2), pages 425-436, March.
    13. Graham-Rowe, Ella & Skippon, Stephen & Gardner, Benjamin & Abraham, Charles, 2011. "Can we reduce car use and, if so, how? A review of available evidence," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 401-418, June.
    14. Hoffmann, Matthew J., 2011. "Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195390087.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sakari Höysniemi & Arto O. Salonen, 2019. "Towards Carbon-Neutral Mobility in Finland: Mobility and Life Satisfaction in Day-to-Day Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kent, Jennifer & Dowling, Robyn & Maalsen, Sophia, 2017. "Catalysts for transport transitions: Bridging the gap between disruptions and change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 200-207.
    2. Sunio, Varsolo & Fillone, Alexis & Abad, Raymund Paolo & Rivera, Joyce & Guillen, Marie Danielle, 2023. "Why does demand-based transport planning persist? Insights from social practice theory," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Elisabeth M. C. Svennevik, 2021. "Providers and Practices: How Suppliers Shape Car-Sharing Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    4. Skeete, Jean-Paul, 2018. "Level 5 autonomy: The new face of disruption in road transport," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 22-34.
    5. Dowling, Robyn & Kent, Jennifer, 2015. "Practice and public–private partnerships in sustainable transport governance: The case of car sharing in Sydney, Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 58-64.
    6. Camilleri, Rosalie & Attard, Maria & Hickman, Robin, 2022. "Understanding barriers to modal shift in Malta: A practice-theoretical perspective of everyday mobility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Kent, Jennifer L. & Dowling, Robyn, 2013. "Puncturing automobility? Carsharing practices," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 86-92.
    8. Cherunya, Pauline C. & Ahlborg, Helene & Truffer, Bernhard, 2020. "Anchoring innovations in oscillating domestic spaces: Why sanitation service offerings fail in informal settlements," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    9. Mattioli, Giulio & Anable, Jillian & Vrotsou, Katerina, 2016. "Car dependent practices: Findings from a sequence pattern mining study of UK time use data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 56-72.
    10. Maeder, Stefanie & Stauffacher, Michael & Knaus, Florian, 2023. "Zooming in and out on everyday mobility practices in a rural, mountainous area of Switzerland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    11. Sersli, Stephanie & Gislason, Maya & Scott, Nicholas & Winters, Meghan, 2020. "Riding alone and together: Is mobility of care at odds with mothers' bicycling?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    12. Barr, Stewart & Lampkin, Sal & Dawkins, Laura & Williamson, Daniel, 2022. "‘I feel the weather and you just know’. Narrating the dynamics of commuter mobility choices," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    13. Bardsley, Nicholas & Büchs, Milena & James, Patrick & Papafragkou, Anastasios & Rushby, Thomas & Saunders, Clare & Smith, Graham & Wallbridge, Rebecca & Woodman, Nicholas, 2019. "Domestic thermal upgrades, community action and energy saving: A three-year experimental study of prosperous households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 475-485.
    14. Filippo Corsini & Rafael Laurenti & Franziska Meinherz & Francesco Paolo Appio & Luca Mora, 2019. "The Advent of Practice Theories in Research on Sustainable Consumption: Past, Current and Future Directions of the Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, January.
    15. Kevin Maréchal, 2018. "Recasting the understanding of habits for behaviour-oriented policies in transportation," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/270475, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    16. Jonas Larsen, 2017. "The making of a pro-cycling city: Social practices and bicycle mobilities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(4), pages 876-892, April.
    17. Luca Nitschke, 2020. "Reconstituting Automobility: The Influence of Non-Commercial Carsharing on the Meanings of Automobility and the Car," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    18. Paula Quentin & Jost Buscher & Thomas Eltner, 2023. "Transport Planning beyond Infrastructural Change: An Empirical Analysis of Transport Planning Practices in the Rhine-Main Region in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, June.
    19. Christopher M. Chini & James F. Canning & Kelsey L. Schreiber & Joshua M. Peschel & Ashlynn S. Stillwell, 2017. "The Green Experiment: Cities, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, January.
    20. Schneider, Paul R., 2023. "From elements to policies: A Shovian social practice perspective on pathways to facilitate daily E-bike commuting," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 36-45.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:24:y:2019:i:2:p:235-250. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.