A Transdisciplinary Inquiry Into Sustainable Automobility Transitions

Abstract

The over-reliance on private cars carries significant environmental and societal costs. International accords call for low-carbon automobility transitions, particularly in cities. Understanding how, why and where this global dependency could shift is crucial for sustainability, natural resource use, and climate change. This research hones into a geographically isolated and automobile-dependent enclave in Cape Town. Various social actors and residents contributed to a collaborative transdisciplinary inquiry. The qualitative research relied on documentation, semi-structured interviews, and social media research (Facebook) as sources of evidence. The latter method enticed residents to contribute to a solution-driven online debate, thereby aiding e-participation around a pressing urban issue. True to the essence of transdisciplinary design research, science was produced with society. In terms of sustainability transition theory, it stresses the importance of contextually appropriate low-carbon transitions (science) while highlighting community interest in bottom-up solutions (society).