PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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“We are all Greens now” unattributed quote, Hajer 1995:14
3.1 Introduction: The Notion of a Dominant Discourse
Sustainable development is a rhetorical concept that is interpreted differently
depending on the overarching framework people operate in. As we will see in the
following chapters, sustainability definitions used by the European Union tend to favor
interpretations that place economic growth at the center of the agenda. I will show how
this is part of a particular environmental discourse related to the overall framework of
ecological modernization, i.e. a framework that sees growth and environmental protection
as compatible and a positive sum game. The overall aim of the next chapters is to
categorize, question and/or re-interpret different underlying “rationalities” of planning
and policy-making, focusing on the sectoral realm of sustainable transport and the
geographical realm of the European Union.
Chapter 2 confirmed the “Ill-Defined
Concept” Proposition. It demonstrated the inherently vague nature of the terms
sustainability and sustainable transport, and warned us that definitions and statements
with regard to the two concepts are inherently contradictory. This provides us with a
partial explanation of why EU decision-making in the transport sector is not consistent:
there is still no proper definition of what a sustainable transport policy would entail.
However, rejecting the concept of sustainable transport on the grounds that it is simply an
ill-defined and internally contradictory concept does not help us to explain the nature and
direction of the contradictions and inconsistencies in the case of EU transport policy. For
example, how do we explain the fact that so many EU policy documents define modes
such as combined transport, rail, and public transit as “more sustainable” yet ultimately
concentrate EU transport infrastructure investments on highways and high-speed rail? In