Space, power, and mobility: car traffic as a controversial issue in neighbourhood regeneration

Mobility, especially for car traffic, is a contested spatial phenomenon in contemporary cities. It contributes to processes of segregation and inequality, and the power-geometry of mobility is an integral part of the conflicting rationalities inherent in contemporary urban space wars. Internationally, Copenhagen is often seen as a successfully planned city. However, a case study of a participatory planning initiative in Copenhagen reveals inert and unequal power relations. It illustrates how residents experience their living conditions as being reduced by heavy car traffic, and how they oppose the multidimensional side effects caused by traffic overload. To increase the welfare of everyday life, urban policies thus ought to focus much more on the spatial distribution of mobility and the ways that mobility influences place-bound living conditions. Integrating bottom-up initiatives and participatory planning processes oriented towards empowerment could be a vital part of democratic urban planning.