Why do cars get a free ride? The social-ecological roots of motonormativity
From Transport Knowledge Wiki
 Journal article record
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| Title
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Why do cars get a free ride? The social-ecological roots of motonormativity
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| Journal
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 Global Environmental Change vol. 91 no. 102980
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| Abstract
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Motonormativity is a shared bias whereby people judge motorised mobility differently to other comparable topics. This works against societies addressing climate and public health crises effectively. A social-ecological explanation has been suggested for the phenomenon, in which motonormativity is shaped by people’s environments, but this has not been tested. Here we used a large international sample (N = 2035) and novel within-participants testing to show, for the first time, at least two environmental pathways linked to judgement biases: one related to people’s social surroundings and linked with their explicit views on transport, and a separate, more implicit pathway related to higher-level structural influences such as nationality, and living in rural areas. Additionally, respondents dramatically underestimated public support for non-motorised transport relative to their own, a pluralistic ignorance effect likely reflecting another facet of motonormativity. The social-ecological explanation, with its nested environmental influences, helps explain the ‘stickiness’ of automobility, and implies change will be most likely when multiple facets of a person’s social, physical and cultural surroundings align in supporting non-motorised mobility.
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| Authors
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 Ian Walker Marco te Brömmelstroet
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| Date
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 May 2025
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| Keywords and locations
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| Keywords
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 Car dependency
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| Locations
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 Netherlands United Kingdom United States
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| How to find and cite this journal article
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| Publication
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 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102980
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| Access
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This journal article is open access and can be read for free as of 20 February 2025.
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| Citation
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Walker, I., & Brömmelstroet, M. te. (2025). Why do cars get a free ride? The social-ecological roots of motonormativity. Global Environmental Change, 91, 102980.
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