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Event Details

Future Automobility

Scientifique
-
Workshop
Start date : 2 June 2014 11:00
Date de fin : 2 June 2014 21:00
Where : Oxford
Hosted by : Cumberland Lodge

Information sources :

http://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/Programme/Forthcoming%20events/Future%20Automobility

Car ownership has become synonymous with economic prosperity, personal independence and participation in mainstream society. But cars have detrimental impacts on society: pollution and social exclusion for non-car owners are two on going concerns. For good or for ill, the future of the car will play a key role in the future of society.

Future innovations in automotive technology and alterations in social practice have the potential to reduce the detrimental social and environmental impact of cars. Increasing levels of vehicle automation alongside the introduction of new fuels and powertrains have the potential to combine with novel forms of collective ownership to create a socio-technical transition which brings into question the prevailing model of car based mobility.

A number of challenges and potential barriers may hinder society from achieving this transition to a sustainable future for the car. There is a need to explore key issues such as power dynamics and governance to determine how policy can be structured to enable a smooth transition. Specifically, identifying which institutions are responsible for enabling this transition and determining the manner in which enabling actions can be conducted is of significant importance. Additionally, discussions are required on the topics of responsibility and social inclusion to explore if the future of the car is compatible with an equitable society.

‘Future Automobility’ will provide a multi-disciplinary perspective on these key issues, bringing together experts from a wide range of backgrounds and possessing differing opinions and skill-sets to help develop the mechanisms required for a smooth transition to a sustainable and ethical future for the car. This colloquium will ask tough questions about this coming transition, taking into account the possibility of disproportionate effects on different groups in society whilst investigating the implications for sustainability and exploring how potential transition barriers can be addressed.

Steering Committee Profiles

Dr Craig Morton

Craig has recently completed his doctorate at the University of Aberdeen which investigated consumer demand for low emission vehicles in the UK. Currently, Craig is employed as a Research Fellow working on a project which explores how uncertainty has manifested in reference to demand for electric vehicles and assessing government policy response to reduce uncertainty.

Dr Thomas Budd

Tom is a Research Fellow based at the University of Aberdeen and has recently completed his doctorate, based at the Loughborough University, which investigated surface access travel behaviour of air passengers. Currently, Tom’s research focuses on exploring people’s responses to disruptions in the transport system whilst also conducting an evidence review of business travel practices.

Dr Dan Calverley

Dan is a Research Associate at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research based at the University of Manchester. His doctoral research investigated the cumulative emissions reductions in the UK passenger car sector and examined the impacts of near term technology interventions. His current research explores the concept of resilience in electricity networks with the aim of determining the influence of new energy consuming technologies.

Ms Gillian Harrison

Gillian is a PhD researcher based at the University of Leeds and investigates ethical considerations concerning the uptake of low carbon technologies. Recently, Gillian has been successful in an application to conduct research at the Joint Research Centre based in The Netherlands.

Ms Lucy Mahoney

Lucy is currently completing her doctoral thesis which examines sustainable mobility practices and the potential of behavioural change to multi-modal travel which is based at the University of Oxford. Alongside this, Lucy is employed as a Research Associate of the UK Energy Research Centre and is an administrator of professional short-courses exploring global challenges in transport based at the Transport Studies Unit in Oxford.

Dr Giulio Mattioli

Giulio is a Research Fellow based at the University of Aberdeen having recently completed his doctoral research which inspected the concept of car dependence gaining insights on issues concerning social exclusion, mobility rights and transport justice. Currently, Giulio’s research involves a historical perspective of energy demand in an effort to establish future projections of energy consumption.

Speakers confirmed to date

Professor Dame Julia King - Keynote

Professor Dame Julia King is the Vice-Chancellor of Aston University. In March 2007 Julia was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to examine the vehicle and fuel technologies that, over the next 25 years, could help to reduce carbon emissions from road transport.

Contact us

For more information, or to be added to the mailing list for this event, please send an email FutureAuto@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk

 

Mobility

For the Mobile Lives Forum, mobility is understood as the process of how individuals travel across distances in order to deploy through time and space the activities that make up their lifestyles. These travel practices are embedded in socio-technical systems, produced by transport and communication industries and techniques, and by normative discourses on these practices, with considerable social, environmental and spatial impacts.

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