The (tedious) making of change: investigating agency dynamics in the sustainable mobility transformation of Wuppertal, Germany

Abstract

This study addresses the need for a deeper, more empirically grounded understanding of agency dynamics in processes of change by examining successful sustainability-related projects in the mobility domain of the medium-sized German city of Wuppertal in the early stages of its sustainability transformation. Using a grounded-theory approach, based on document analysis and 15 semi-structured interviews, the article analyzes the general mobility development as well as three cases: the construction of a 23-kilometer (km) multifunctional path for cycling, walking, and recreation (Nordbahntrasse), the implementation of a neighborhood mobility station/hub (MiQ), and the pedestrianization of a city square (Laurentiusplatz). The results conceptually describe the continuous agentic making of change under challenging circumstances and particularly suggest the importance of proactive, persistent, and resilient leading agents. Key agents completed the project through strategies of communicative pragmatism to mobilize and secure additional resources, as well as intentional spatial management to curb and prevent the emergence of destructive conflicts. While the article shows how individuals can initiate and drive substantial change in the mobility development of a constrained city, it also points out how intensive, demanding, and often tedious the process can be. Conceptual findings are critically discussed in relation to four key literatures on individual agency and agency dynamics: institutional/transition work, intermediation, the trinity of change agency, and urban transformative capacity. This comparative inquiry highlights the advantages of conceptual integration, as well as the need to advance theorization by linking the explicit study of individuals’ agency and their constitution to the collective making of change.