This conceptual paper critiques transport decarbonization strategies that over-rely on coordination, optimization and prediction. Drawing on wu-wei, qi and yin-yang, it proposes governance as attunement to mobility systems that are emergent, contested and continually changing.
Key findings
- Mobility is reframed as circulation, policy as provisional and revisable intervention, modelling as interpretive rather than purely predictive, and governance as responsive to plurality, rebound effects, infrastructure lock-in and uncertainty.
Why this matters globally
Questioning the assumptions behind governance and models is relevant where social backlash and implementation gaps persist despite greater resources. The framework may inform participatory and iterative policy design.
Thai researcher contribution
The OpenAlex record links Shirley Chan with Eastern Asia University in Thailand and Macquarie University. The Thai connection is therefore part of a cross-institutional conceptual contribution rather than Thai empirical data collection.
Limitations to consider
There is no empirical test or policy outcome measurement. Philosophical concepts risk becoming broad metaphors, and the paper does not yet specify measurable conditions under which attunement outperforms conventional governance.