Towards a Holistic Perspective on Future Transportation Systems: A Swedish Case and a Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Critical infrastructure systems—such as transportation—are the backbone of society. Infrastructure development can thus be acknowledged as a common societal concern in the field of governance, and its recognition as a policy problem is crucial to proper decision making. This study aims to build an in-depth understanding of the multi-level system concerned with transportation and applies a soft systems methodology to structure the investigation. The system analysis and conceptual modelling rests on publicly available documents and policies, group meetings and a workshop with stakeholders from the local, regional and national levels. The paper provides a thorough analysis of the Swedish transportation system through public policy and the perceptions of municipal officials. In addition, it proposes a novel conceptual framework of the transportation system, including a detailed discussion of stakeholders, activities and perspectives. Although transportation is vital for many stakeholders, improving only transport infrastructure does not guarantee regional growth. Therefore, the proposed framework constitutes a novel basis for constructive dialogue among concerned parties regarding improvements to transportation. Thereby, the paper provides an understanding of a society’s transportation system that can be used to inform agenda setting for critical infrastructure governance. Further discussion in the scientific community and with officials entrusted with public administration could further validate and deepen the proposed understanding of the perspectives and constraints in the examined context and beyond.