Neoliberal Rationality and Neohygienist Morality. A Foucaldian Analysis of Safe and Sustainable Urban Transport Policies in France

Reigner, Hélène

doi:10.1080/21622671.2015.1123647

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…More precisely, neoliberal reforms are the outcome of struggles and new power relationships within the bureaucratic field, and the resulting 'tilting of state priorities and actions from the Left hand to the Right hand, that is, from the protective (feminine and collectivizing) pole to the disciplinary (masculine and individualizing) pole of the bureaucratic field' (WACQUANT, 2012, 73; see also DEZALAY and GARTH, 1998, emphasis is in the original). Third, scholars inspired by the seminal writings of FOUCAULT (2004) have defined neoliberalism as a new regime of governmentality and neoliberalization within which the rise of technologies and devices constructing competition and economic calculation have become new moral standards (REIGNER, 2016; see also LARNER, 2000LARNER, , 2003CLARKE, 2008;ONG, 2007;DARDOT and LAVAL, 2009;HIBOU, 2013;EPSTEIN, 2013;BROWN, 2003BROWN, , 2015. Here, the scientific project consists of deciphering and documenting a new rationality, a new set of arts of governing rather than in establishing the causal mechanisms that gave birth to this rationality.…”

Section: Genesis Of a Thesismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neoliberal City – Theory, Evidence, Debates

Pinson¹,

Journel²

2016

Territory, Politics, Governance

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International audienceFor almost two decades now, neoliberalism and neoliberalization have become the object of increasing interest not only in political debate but also in the social sciences, and in particular urban studies. Because the definition of neoliberalism (or neoliberalization) is itself one dimension of this debate, we provisionally define it here as the set of intellectual streams, policy orientations and regulatory arrangements that strive to extend market mechanisms, relations, discipline and ethos to an ever-expanding spectrum of spheres of social activities, and all this through relying on strong State intervention. These streams and orientations are far from constituting a coherent and stable ensemble. That is the reason why many scholars prefer the notion of neoliberalization in order to depict the inherently fuzzy, diverse, contingent, ever-mutating and pathdependent processes of regulatory change that have been inspired by neoliberal ideas (BRENNER and THEODORE, 2002)

show abstract

Section: Genesis Of a Thesismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neoliberal City – Theory, Evidence, Debates

Pinson¹,

Journel²

2016

Territory, Politics, Governance

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Stressing users' individual responsibility and their capacity to adopt economically rational behaviours, and conveying moral injunctions for them to adopt the 'right', safe, healthy, sustainable mobility behaviours, a depoliticized framing of issues characterizes these public policies. Referring to theoretical frameworks related to neoliberalisation as a rationality (Foucault, 1994;Brown, 2003Brown, , 2006, our hypothesis is that a neoliberal rationality feeds these policies by ignoring a certain number of macrosocial determinants (Reigner, 2016). Moreover, the use of morality works as a powerful democratic anaesthetic that dissolves any objection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Safe, sustainable… but depoliticized and uneven – A critical view of urban transport policies in France

Reigner

Brenac²

2019

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article offers a critical view of the contemporary urban policies undertaken in France in the name of safe, sustainable urban transport strategies. It seeks to show how a spatially and socially selective ordering is under way in French transport planning and policies by presenting an overview of research and empirical results dealing with the narratives and the implementation of these policies. Firstly, urban transport policies were analysed as narratives. Stressing users' individual responsibility and their capacity to adopt economically rational behaviours, and conveying moral injunctions for them to adopt the 'right', safe, healthy, sustainable mobility behaviours, a depoliticized framing of issues characterizes these public policies. Referring to theoretical frameworks related to neoliberalisation as a rationality, our hypothesis is that a neoliberal rationality feeds these policies by ignoring a certain number of macrosocial determinants. Moreover, the use of morality works as a powerful democratic anaesthetic that dissolves any objection. Secondly, we studied how these policies, legitimated by 'noble causes' and depoliticized, influence the organization of traffic in the city, and to what extent they lead to a selective and uneven treatment of urban spaces. While sustainable mobility is frequently presented as a major objective in the field of urban planning for transport and travel, contemporary policies do not seek to reduce polluting modes of travel overall. They rather seek to direct them onto bypass road infrastructures to reduce their negative impacts on the city's main sites. 'Sustainable' policies oppose the car only in certain spaces and for certain uses. With reference to theoretical frameworks related to the entrepreneurial mutation of urban policies, our interpretation is that these policies are part of urban marketing strategies of cities engaged in inter-urban competition processes. These policies lead to an increase in the value and attractiveness of strategic areas of the city, and tend to displace problems (cars, noise, pollution…, and deprived populations) to other parts of the urban territory.

show abstract

“…Thus, by contrast with the French case where a Foucauldian governance of conduct is associated with smart mobility buzzwords and a consequent depoliticisation of discourse (Reignier, 2016), Valencia illustrates a moralisation and politicisation of mobility discourses. Twitter propagates a set of terms, ideas and symbols that shape a discursive political space which needs to be explored with the tools of discourse analysis.…”

Section: Occupation Of Townhall Plaza Staging Of Sustainable Mobilitiesmentioning

confidence: 68%

Bike mobilities, democratic revival and the local fix

Baron¹

2019

belgeo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study is part of a multiannual research programme funded by the Institut des Hautes Etudes Hispaniques et Ibériques-Casa de Velazquez «Métropoles espagnoles, crises et mutations». It follows on directly from a conference held on 30 th May 2018 at Valencia University and a visit to the Municipality. Some aspects of this event have been published under the title "Territorial culture and social innovation: towards a new metropolitan model in Southern Europe?" (see references). It was also undertaken following a guest programme funded by Université Paris Est and awarded to Juan Miguel Albertos Puebla in June and July 2018. The author would like to thank all the institutions mentioned, and in particular Professor Albertos Puebla for his scientific collaboration.

show abstract

Neoliberal Rationality and Neohygienist Morality. A Foucaldian Analysis of Safe and Sustainable Urban Transport Policies in France

Abstract: International audienc

Cited by 14 publications

References 21 publications

The Neoliberal City – Theory, Evidence, Debates

The Neoliberal City – Theory, Evidence, Debates

Safe, sustainable… but depoliticized and uneven – A critical view of urban transport policies in France

Bike mobilities, democratic revival and the local fix

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About