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Navigating the Transition Towards Climate-Neutral Cities: Transformative Governance and the Sustainable Mobility Transition in Bratislava

Szabóová, Dominika LU (2026) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM01 20261
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
In the current era of worsening climate impacts on a global scale the drive for sustainable
solutions to address the climate crisis has increased across all levels of governance. Globally
cities house most of the population leading to significant impacts on the environment with
urban mobility representing one of the major sources of GHG emissions. As cities start to
implement solutions to address these challenges this study explores the role of Transition
Management (TM) principles in the processes of transformation towards sustainable mobility
governance in Bratislava, Slovakia. More specifically it examines how envisioning, collaboration,
experimentation and learning practices are applied within the city's governance methods.... (More)
In the current era of worsening climate impacts on a global scale the drive for sustainable
solutions to address the climate crisis has increased across all levels of governance. Globally
cities house most of the population leading to significant impacts on the environment with
urban mobility representing one of the major sources of GHG emissions. As cities start to
implement solutions to address these challenges this study explores the role of Transition
Management (TM) principles in the processes of transformation towards sustainable mobility
governance in Bratislava, Slovakia. More specifically it examines how envisioning, collaboration,
experimentation and learning practices are applied within the city's governance methods. Using
a qualitative case study design, empirical data was collected through eleven semi-structured
expert interviews with professionals from the fields of transport, urban planning and
governance. The data was then analysed by combining deductive and inductive thematic analysis
methods. The findings show that while Bratislava has established a clearly defined vision for
sustainable mobility and displays alignment with TM principles in the envisioning and
collaboration stages, significant gaps were identified in the experimentation and learning stages.
The study concludes that experimentation lacks a formal definition and regulatory framework,
monitoring and evaluation practices are underdeveloped, and learning is not embedded across
the governance system. These limitations, combined with the structural fragmentation across
governance levels and an implementation gap between strategic ambition and the capacity to
act, considerably affect the necessary conditions for systemic transformation. The study
highlights the need for integration of participative processes, the establishment of
experimentation as a governance tool, and the standardisation of monitoring and evaluation
frameworks to advance sustainable mobility transformations in Bratislava. The findings
contribute both to the academic understanding of TM application in urban governance contexts
and to the practical knowledge available to policymakers navigating sustainability transitions
within comparable environments. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Szabóová, Dominika LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEM01 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
transformation, urban governance, transition management, sustainable mobility, Bratislava
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2026:26
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
9247554
date added to LUP
2026-08-10 10:49:16
date last changed
2026-08-10 10:49:16
@misc{9247554,
  abstract     = {{In the current era of worsening climate impacts on a global scale the drive for sustainable
solutions to address the climate crisis has increased across all levels of governance. Globally
cities house most of the population leading to significant impacts on the environment with
urban mobility representing one of the major sources of GHG emissions. As cities start to
implement solutions to address these challenges this study explores the role of Transition
Management (TM) principles in the processes of transformation towards sustainable mobility
governance in Bratislava, Slovakia. More specifically it examines how envisioning, collaboration,
experimentation and learning practices are applied within the city's governance methods. Using
a qualitative case study design, empirical data was collected through eleven semi-structured
expert interviews with professionals from the fields of transport, urban planning and
governance. The data was then analysed by combining deductive and inductive thematic analysis
methods. The findings show that while Bratislava has established a clearly defined vision for
sustainable mobility and displays alignment with TM principles in the envisioning and
collaboration stages, significant gaps were identified in the experimentation and learning stages.
The study concludes that experimentation lacks a formal definition and regulatory framework,
monitoring and evaluation practices are underdeveloped, and learning is not embedded across
the governance system. These limitations, combined with the structural fragmentation across
governance levels and an implementation gap between strategic ambition and the capacity to
act, considerably affect the necessary conditions for systemic transformation. The study
highlights the need for integration of participative processes, the establishment of
experimentation as a governance tool, and the standardisation of monitoring and evaluation
frameworks to advance sustainable mobility transformations in Bratislava. The findings
contribute both to the academic understanding of TM application in urban governance contexts
and to the practical knowledge available to policymakers navigating sustainability transitions
within comparable environments.}},
  author       = {{Szabóová, Dominika}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{Navigating the Transition Towards Climate-Neutral Cities: Transformative Governance and the Sustainable Mobility Transition in Bratislava}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}