Document analysis

3.2.1 Review of literature

The purpose in conducting a review of the literature is to identify and synthesise key debates and concepts relevant to the research questions (Hart, 1998). In regards to the topic of transport planning more generally and the particular object of inquiry of road space allocation, several limitations and issues were clarified in Chapter 1. It is worth briefly summarising them here again as they help justify what literature was reviewed, and how such literature was interrogated. First, the term urban studies was introduced as it covered transport planning from a variety of angles related to policy, practice and governance. Second, as we saw in Chapter 2, urban studies draw different theories from academic disciplines such as geography and sociology, or economic, political or organisational studies. This results in divergent theoretical accounts for understanding how transport planning practice is constrained and constituted. Third, road space allocation is discussed principally in transport planning under specific programmes and road measures. The mobilities paradigm broadens the world view to include road space allocation.

Therefore, the literature review conducted for this study specifically involved identifying literature which could help broaden the scope in which to view road space allocation.

In so doing, it was central to ensure elements traditionally understood and analysed in urban studies were accounted for, but that such elements were read with a critical lens given the worldview outlined by a mobilities paradigm. Specifically, literature was sought out with the objective of ensuring a broad overview and understanding of issues related to governance, professional practice and policy was achieved as such concerns relate to transport planning. Literature included international research, but focuses remained primarily on important urban studies specific to the Australian context in general, and Victoria in particular.

3.2.2 Archival research

The review of literature is supported by archival material. Historical urban studies have increasingly begun to provide new insight into how early urban street life was contested, both well before, as well as after the car’s arrival (Clapton, 2005;

Ehrenfeucht & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2007; Norton, 2008). Evidence from this growing body of research clearly underscores viewing conflicts such as the clearway controversy as the tip of a much larger iceberg whose history led to the controversy.

This history is not the product of a path-dependent line of debates, but a web of ebbing debates that society and professionals have travelled. As revealed in Chapter 5, the clearway controversy clearly highlights, ebbing public debate is once again questing the car’s place in urban society more generally and its place on increasingly constrained road space specifically.

To develop greater insight into the clearway controversy, newspaper articles from The Argus, The Age and The Sun between 1900 and 1970 are examined. Given the nature of the clearway controversy, selection of newspaper articles is based on specific search terms (i.e. parking regulation, parking problem, traffic, kerb parking, parking ban, trams, angle parking owner-onus and clearways). Based on these search words, approximately 694 articles (The Argus – 425; The Age – 248; The Sun – 21) are reviewed. The articles are evaluated against the contingent conditions and authenticity based on the authorial observer (Howell & Prevenier, 2001). Although there are clear differences between early road space controversies and those found today, conducting archival research help shed light on themes common to both historical and contemporary debates.

3.2.3 Policy analysis

Analysing pertinent policy and legislative documents provides a bridge to the archival research, and builds on previous historical studies of Melbourne (Curtis & Low, 2012;

Mees, 2000; Stone, 2008). Document analysis focuses specifically on government documents relevant to road space allocation, annual reports for state authorities charged with road space allocation and legislative acts that delineate governing responsibilities for allocating road space. Annual reports are examined to compare benchmarks against measurement criteria and to identify themes in governance.

Compared to the UK or North America, in Australia, states and territories have significantly more authority and responsibility for public service provision (Parkin, 1982). This institutional landscape has significant implications for how urban space is

regulated in Melbourne (Low, 1994). Legislative acts are therefore examined to understand the broad rules that determine how road space is allocated in Melbourne (summarised in Appendix 3). Tabulating the legislative acts provides a method to identifying acts meriting further analysis of related Hansard Parliament summaries. A total of 10 Hansard summaries are examined for the: 1909 Motor Car Act; 1912 Victorian Country Roads Act; 1928 Local Government Act; 1932 Transport Regulation Act; 1953 Parking of Vehicles Act; 1956 Rod Traffic Act; 1970 Road Traffic (Road Safety and Traffic Authority) Act; 1983 Transport Act; 2004 Road Management Act;

and 2010 Integrated Transport Act.

3.3 Interviews

Analysing scholarly literature, government documents and archival materials is important to provide context to understand road space allocation. However, the fine-grained analysis advanced by a case study methodology requires research methods suitable to reveal more nuanced aspects of professional practice. Face-to-face interviews are ideal for such research needs.

3.3.1 Connecting interview questions with literature

Significant energy has been given to studying and theorising professional urban planning practice (Forester, 1989, 1999; Healey, 2009a; Hoch, 1994; Watson, 2002).

In comparison, urban studies of transport planning practice tend to focus on failed projects (Flyvbjerg, 1998), explain disagreements (Tennøy, 2010) or to supplement policy analysis (Curtis & Low, 2012; Langmyhr, 2001; Vigar, 2002). However, everyday practitioners face questions that have yet to be resolved by scholars, but which require using processes yet to be formally institutionalised (Healey, 2009a, 2009b). Thus, insight from interviews can reveal the reflections and experiences of professionals that were, metaphorically speaking, working directly on the firing lines or at the ‘coalface’ of transport planning (Healey, 1997; Hoch, 1994; Lash, 1976).

Given today’s complex mobility challenges, professionals are re-examining their place in the wider planning arena (Evans, et al., 1999). In many countries including Australia, the trend towards increased privatisation transfers planning skill sets and knowledge from the public to the private sector (Alford & O'Flynn, 2012; Aulich & O'Flynn, 2007).

This has resulted in a hybridised planning profession, where practitioners are questioning what it means to be a professional (Steele, 2009; Vigar, 2012).

Understanding to what extent, if any, this hybridisation can be seen in transport

planning practice, and if so, to what extent does disciplinary knowledge constrain transport planning practice.

Urban studies of transport planning have applied different interview selection criteria.

Flyvbjerg (1997) selected interview subjects based on their key positions and knowledge, often interviewing participants on multiple occasions. Vigar (2002) used the term stakeholder, to encompass professionals, policy makers, advocates and general public. The aim was to highlight groups that often remain absent from policy debates. Based on the topic of inquiry guiding this thesis, professional transport planners active in road space allocation are determined as most appropriate to interview (per definition of transport planning identified in Chapter 2).

It was mentioned in Chapter 2 that urban studies have begun to recognise how the dominance of traffic engineering and economics in transport planning might constrain and constitute transport planning. Yet, such findings are often not critically examined in any extensive detail. Table 3.1 identifies the educational qualifications for each of the transport planners interviewed.

* Note: Applied sciences include Speech Pathology, Graphic Design, Astrophysics, Computer Science, Public Health or Policy, Social Work

The importance that knowledge held within different disciplines is discussed in more detail in Chapter 8. On average, more than half of the interview participants had either/both a civil or traffic engineering degree. The two primary state authorities of VicRoads and DOT contain a large proportion of transport planners with traffic engineering degrees, compared with DPCD, which had none. This does not suggest that DPCD staff do not hold engineering degrees, but this reflects two points: 1. the types of transport planning topic of this research, and 2. the separation of land use and transport.

In total, 61 interviews were conducted. Roughly 20 transport planners are interviewed regarding the Clearway controversy, 35 regarding SmartRoads, 5 are in conjunction with participant observation, and 5 are conducted with retired transport planners. Data from all 61 interviews as well as data collected from observation study are coded and analysed through the use of QSR NVivo 10.0 software, a qualitative data analysis software package.

3.3.2 Anonymity

Interview participants are anonymous in this study. Anonymity is achieved by categorising interview participants into three categories of project manager, junior manager and senior decision maker which are identified in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Grouping of interview participants TOTAL STATE

(VicRoads, DPCD, DOT)

LOCAL