Abstract Dependence on road transport, private passenger cars, and related infrastructure defines mobility in sparsely populated European areas. The ambitious goal of the European Union to reach sustainability in the road transport sector has therefore strong implications for mobility and accessibility in these regions. Nevertheless, sparsely populated areas have received less attention than urban areas in sustainability transitions research. This article highlights the context-specificity of sustainability transitions through a qualitative case study. The Region of Finnish Lapland stands as an example of a sparsely populated region, where sustainability goals set in the Green Deal of the European Union are to be met in the road transport system. The aim is to (a) find out barriers, which obstruct the transition process in Lapland, (b) point out potential future risks and (c) describe, what implications this has for sparsely populated areas in Europe in general. Analysis of barriers and risks is based on 13 thematic interviews and five policy documents. The road transport in Lapland is analysed as a socio-technical system, comprising social and technical elements, while the environment is presented as the basis for the system to operate. Findings of the research indicate that the electrification of private passenger cars in sparsely populated areas is problematic and sustainable road transport cannot be reached with a single solution. Highly electrified and digitalised transport system puts sparsely populated areas in an unequal position, due to high car dependency. With sparse infrastructure, inadequate funding, lack of local know-how to fix vehicles and insufficient supply of electricity in remote environments, there is a high risk of deteriorating accessibility in these areas. It is crucial to acknowledge in policy-making that different regions follow different paths of development. This underlines the importance of finding locally suitable solutions in a global transition process and calls for further research.
Barriers and risks of socio-technical transition towards sustainable road transport in sparsely populated areas: case of Finnish Lapland
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev.
European Transport Research Review ; 17 , 1
2025-04-05
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Springer Verlag | 2025
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