The establishment by the current Government of the Social Exclusion Unit and the subsequent initiatives stemming from the Unit have propelled the concept of social exclusion/inclusion to the forefront of the policy debate in a number of fields, including transport. Although social exclusion and related concepts have been extensively discussed in the social science literature (see DfT, 2000a for a review of some of this material) it remains the case that in many policy domains, including transport, the concept still lacks a clear operation definition. Moreover, there does not yet exist an operationally tractable methodology informing on how transport provision influences social exclusion or promotes social inclusion. Without an operational definition of social exclusion or a methodology relating transport provision and social exclusion, it is difficult to assess the extent to which current transport provision is or is not “inclusive” in nature or to formulate in an effective manner new policy measures to address any shortcomings believed to in exist in this provision. In particular, the lack of a clear operational definition of the transport-related aspects of social exclusion disconnects the concept from standard transport modelling and appraisal methodologies, making it difficult for transport policies aimed at addressing problems of social exclusion to be appraised on a consistent basis with other policies. It is clear that these are challenging problems, many of which raise issues that are beyond the immediate scope of the current project. However, our work has been framed against this background. The overall aim of the project Social Inclusion: Transport Aspects was to identify ways in which social inclusion (and related concepts) might be better integrated into the Department’s current transport modelling and appraisal techniques, with a particular focus on potential modifications to the NATA framework. (Author/publisher)
Abstract