The Production and Politics of Urban Knowledge: Contesting Transport in Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Expert technical knowledge has a central role in decision-making for urban transport and is subject to public scrutiny for major investments. This paper examines how expertise is produced and contested by advocacy groups in Auckland, New Zealand. A network of advocates has emerged, garnering considerable influence as “experts” on urban transport and planning. In response to the perceived over-reliance on outdated approaches to transport, advocates mobilised alternative expertise using blogs and social media. Internet platforms enabled groups to extend the public sphere online, creating spaces for deliberation and contestation. Their activities targeted the technocratic logics embedded in forecasting models, reasserted transport infrastructure’s function as urban space, and highlighted how transport infrastructure shapes everyday experience. This case shows how advocates countered the postpolitical condition by re-ordering the polity of transport in Auckland. Advocates have been instrumental in appropriating globally mobile policies and successfully promoted improvements to public transport and cycling. However, those interviewed showed limited consideration of equity issues related to income, race and gender. This raises questions over whether the expertise mobilised favoured privileged groups, as advocates may be unaware of marginalisation that they rarely experience themselves. Alliances with community groups and local researchers can support broader engagement with distributional issues.

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