My dissertation journey has been one of struggle, turmoil, enlightenment, and joy. I have made lasting friends, underwent surgery to remove my thyroid gland leaving me to deal with the resulting health issues, and found my passion for a topic I love. I was not always focused on city processes but I always had a keen interest in small business development and entrepreneurship and how these two subjects impacted small and medium sized cities. In fact, I began my PhD studies focused on international trade and small business development. I intended to continue my graduate work on the impact of free trade policy on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and cities. Then, I took an interest in a new company, Uber, and what it meant for SME business development while taking a class on social entrepreneurship.

The questions I began to ask opened many avenues of research, and more questions. As I learned about peer-to-peer platforms and transportation technology I discovered my questions turned to the city, and how city governments and the people living in cities were coping with, benefiting, and not benefiting, from these new mobility modes and services. Further questions of social exclusion and equity arose, of innovation diffusion and knowledge spillovers, and of governance.

As I grew more interested in these new companies creating the 'sharing economy' I realized I had stumbled upon a topic I found profoundly fascinating - the struggle of city governments to accommodate these new types of businesses. I found transportation to be the sector most affected. I posit that cities do not function well if there is not a well functioning transportation sector, nor does innovation and the sharing of new ideas easily happen without transportation. As the national discourse has moved from transportation network companies, to automated cars, to micro-mobility I found the concept of the 'smart city' to envelop all. But the early smart city discussions centered on a techno-centric approach, and enlargements about definitions, and I was frustrated. Technology will drive the conversation, and we will be arguing for years about what smart city is, but the policy problems surrounding how we actually realized integrate the technology into the urban realm is the topic that deserves the foremost thought. From my perspective, the policy goals need to balance a future where people actually benefit from, and are at the same time protected from, all of this new technology. This is not an easy task. But one that with proper planning and collaboration between all sectors can be realized. In the context of the city, its not the built environment, nor the technology that truly matter. It's the people who matter. After all, cities are all about people. So, I turned to the policy process behind the implementation of enabling technology at the local level of government, and a dissertation topic was born. Hopefully, one day soon it grows up and I can set it free.

Hacking the Bureaucracy

Micro-mobility and the policy process: Policymaking in the age of the smart city

Lauren N. McCarthy

Overview

Many city governments are seeking policy solutions to congestion, including strategies to decrease car dependence and provide safer streets. Among these are efforts to promote complete streets, “vision zero” policies, and improved walkability. The market is stimulating the development and implementation of new transportation modes such as those collectively referred to as shared micro-mobility. Micro-mobility devices like docked bikeshare and dockless bicycles, e-bicycles and e-scooters, typically hold one to two people and are generally fueled by either electric or human power.

In response to the deployment of these micro-mobility devices, the government is trying to develop policies to preserve and enhance the safety and attractiveness of public space. The current struggle is little different then what occurred during the “dawn of the motor age” articulated by Peter Norton (2008). The early 20th century forced localities to establish policies to govern the street with the introduction of the automobile. Now, local governments are attempting to incorporate new policies to govern the sidewalk, curb space, and the street into the existing set of policies that already govern these public spaces. Further complicating the process are private sector companies entering local markets, often prompting reactive policy-making and angering citizens.

To understand this process, I employ the policy process literature to explore the relevance of existing theories to the local level of government. Political scientists generally focused on the effect of specific institutions or external groups on policy, policy scholars recognized a need to combine these two dimensions to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the study of policy (Sabatier 1991). Thus, public policy scholars focused on the combination of political actions and institutional structure. From there, the policy process literature has since evolved to consider multiple elements of the process including networks, identification of stakeholder groups and the role of information, politics, and people. The literature has evolved. But the debate over the best or most relevant model continues (Shanahan et al., 2013). I argue, therefore, the most recent policy process models have evolved to a point where each policy process model is relevant, but none offers a complete picture. Thus, the existing policy process models each contribute to the understanding of the modern policy landscape.

With that said, there is limited application of the models to local government policy practices and limited understanding of the role of the private sector influencing local policy processes. Therefore, I include the role of the individual, such as the policy entrepreneur and the development of narratives to further unpack the policy process. By considering the actions of policy entrepreneurs and political actors who promote policy ideas, the private sector actors, and the role of the narrative shaping public opinion and the policy process, this research offers important insights into the evolution of the policy process and the process at the local level.