Holger Dalkmann, Martin Lanzendorf und Joachim Scheiner (Hg.): Verkehrsgenese. Entstehung von Verkehr sowie Potenziale und Grenzen der Gestaltung einer nachhaltigen Mobilität. Mannheim 2004 (Studien zur Mobilitäts- und Verkehrsforschung 5). 279 S.
The current volume shows the scope of research studies, which deal with the topic of transport geneses. Issues on transport geneses, on (background) reasons and main causes for the emergence and differentiation of transportation, have become an idiosyncratic research field since the 1990s and have gained importance for practical applications. At the same time, with the development of a transportation plan and transport science as a model of sustainability changed not only their disciplinary composition, but also their methodical nature in terms of contents.
The contributions gathered originate from the most variable disciplines, beginning from the classical or rather transport sciences in engineering terms concerning town and country planning and geography and culminating in sociology and psychology. The main focus of the 14 contributions in total lies in the domain of passenger transportation and its sustainable configuration.
Most of the contributions are based on lectures, which were held on the occasion of the 2003 Annual Symposium of the Working Committee of Transport of the German Society for Geography at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. The geneses of transportation in its various aspects cannot still be considered as scientifically clarified, even if important stages of the route are dealt with. Impact analyses clarify that successes in terms of a sustainable transport development under the present framework conditions can only be achieved in small steps.
After an introductory-overview contribution, contributions then follow from predominantly sociological and psychological, and subsequently from transport and regional planning points of view. This comparison cannot be equated with basic principle-oriented and inventionist or even "theoretical-" and "practical-"oriented approaches. In fact, both basic principle-oriented socialscientific and basic-principle-oriented planning contributions emerge, just as applied social-scientific and applied planning contributions. This may be considered as an indicator for the increasing alternating penetration of disciplines, which has continued to be conveyed a little further via the interdisciplinary orientation of the symposium.
The contributions viewed altogether demonstrate the broad scope of research approaches on the topic of transport geneses and the disciplines dealt with by this topic. At the same time, impact analyses clarify that successes in terms of a sustainable transport development under the present framework conditions can only be achieved in gradual stages. The geneses of transport is thus in its various facets everything but as scientifically clarified, even when important stages along the route have already been overcome.
Autor: Thomas J. Mager