Car-dependent Society

Hans Jeekel, Rijkswaterstaat (National Road and Water Agency), The Netherlands.

• Contents: Frequent car use and car dependence in the risk society: an introduction; Part 1 Setting the Scene: Modern risk society and car mobility; Attitudes and motives for car use; From frequent car use to car dependence. Part 2 Problems and Perspectives: Frequent car use: energy and sustainability questions; Frequent car use: societal questions; Scenarios for the governance of car mobility; The social and cultural aspects of mobility: towards a research agenda; Summary and conclusions; Addendum; References; Index.

'From the point of view of urbanism, Jeekel points out something key relating to space: the trend towards building new highway locations should be reversed. Restructuring existing areas would be wiser than creating new businesses and housing areas, while letting older and poorer areas lose their identities and positives. These changes will lead to less car dependent societies, raising the quality of life and hence accessibility for carless and poorer households. Some will say that this is easier said than done, but Jekeel points where to start. This book is recommended for those interested in how the world’s growing population will attempt to face one of its biggest challenges.' LSE Review of Books 'There is much to like about The Car-Dependent Society. Jeekel begins with an ambitious theoretical framework related to modernism and risk that he carries forward throughout the book and links to growing auto mobility and dependence. He develops his arguments by reviewing an extensive body of literature on a wide array of topics. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the book is his use of descriptive data. ...' Journal of Regional Science