Towards Walkability Transitions in Latin America. Disentangling policy rationalities, institutional path dependencies and technical solutionist projects.

Despite international support for the implementation of urban policies, plans and projects that promote walkability as a mode of transport, there has been limited success, particularly in Latin America. Some explanations highlight the conflicting policy and planning rationalities that inform what walkability entails, and the difficulties in translating them into action. Others highlight the complex institutional arena in which implementation takes place. In addition, some research highlights the challenges of incorporating novel concepts such as walkability into policy and decision-making at all levels of government, given the rigidity of institutional structures. Finally, some research affirms that mobility projects tend to be framed within engineering-based solutions that favour motorised over non-motorised responses. Although these are valuable conclusions, there is still uncertainty about how international conceptual structures (i.e. policy and planning mobility rationalities), national political-institutional structures (i.e. institutional path dependencies), and local professional practice structures (i.e. engineering solutionist projects) interact and feed back into each other to shape the organisational routines that impede walkability transitions in Latin America. This project addresses this issue by asking how conceptual, institutional, policy, planning, and professional practice structures relate to each other and to stakeholder agencies and how these linkages condition walkability transitions. It uses a qualitative methodology to study the Peruvian case. This country is not only under-researched in Latin America but also provides an illustrative policy and decision-making arena to examine the policy- and decision-making interactions between the international, national and local levels that frame the implementation of walkability strategies. The theoretical and methodological choices made here would increase the value and significance of this research project, as it will help to understand the high level of institutional complexity of policy and decision making in Latin America, thus the expected findings could enrich the current academic and policy knowledge on walkability transitions in the region.

Research Question How do conceptual, institutional, policy, planning, and professional practice structures relate to each other and to stakeholder agencies? And, how do these linkages condition walkability transitions? The project examines the Peruvian case

Four specific objectives are envisaged to answer the proposed research question: O1. Identify the notions of walkability and its preconditions contained in international policy documents, methodological guidelines, and good practices promoted by international funding, global knowledge and expert circles. O2. Examine the ways in which institutional, policy and planning structures shape the thinking and actions of high-level officials, consultants and experts in the development of Peruvian mobility policies and planning guidelines. This will serve to identify the organisational bottlenecks, misalignments and gaps that influence the routines of these actors. O3. Recognise the extent to which Peruvian professionals, local consultants, and municipal officials engage in reflective practice processes when developing and implementing walkability urban projects. This will serve to uncover the degree to which their interests, understandings and motivations influence their decisions. O4. Outline the institutional trajectories that transitions to walkability could take, based on existing implementation capacities and stakeholder thinking and action within Peruvian national and local governments.

Projects funded by VREF are expected to result in at least one scientific publication concerning research results, as well as a summary of findings and reflections on project experiences according to a VREF report template attached to the cover email, see attachment 3.

Investigacion basica

Disciplinario

ADMINISTRADO

AREQUIPA - AREQUIPA - AREQUIPA | LIMA - LIMA - SAN MIGUEL

• 46 — Estudios territoriales y ciudades intermedias

Ciencias sociales - Geografía social, Geografía económica - Estudios urbanos

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