74/ The Political Economy of Car Dependence: Understanding Systems of Provision (with Giulio Mattioli & Julia Steinberger)


This is a conversation with Giulio Mattioli and Julia Steinberger about their article ‘the political economy of car dependence: A systems of provision approach‘ published in the ‘Energy Research & Social Science‘ journal. We also discussed the topics below.

Topics Discussed:

  • The five key elements of what we’re calling the ‘car-dependent transport system’: i) the automotive industry; ii) the provision of car infrastructure; iii) the political economy of urban sprawl; iv) the provision of public transport; v) cultures of car consumption
  • The problem with focusing too much on consumption and the importance of covering the production side
  • How where we live can influence our politics, and how suburban car-oriented lifestyles are actually subsidized by the state
  • The importance of network planning
  • Looking for decoupling and finding degrowth instead
  • The problem with ‘sustainable’ growth
  • How the car industry shows the necessity of degrowth
  • Why more equitable societies are easier to decarbonize
  • The problem with the argument that personal choices do not matter
  • Dealing with climate anxiety through activism, work, research, learning
  • How come we knew so much and did so little?
  • Working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  • What is ecologial economics?

Recommended Books

Episodes referenced:

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Music by Tarabeat.

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

One response to “74/ The Political Economy of Car Dependence: Understanding Systems of Provision (with Giulio Mattioli & Julia Steinberger)”

  1. […] feel the strain, mental health suffers. The poorest are hit hardest, but we all start to feel powerless and disenfranchised. The next pandemic is car-owner […]

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