This thesis explores how political parties influence mobility policy at the municipal level in the Netherlands. While existing literature has primarily focused on national politics, this study investigates how party ideology, political strategies and external factors interact in the local policy-making process. Drawing on partisan theory from a party family approach and the Multiple Streams Framework, the research aims at understanding how mobility challenges are defined, framed, prioritized, responded to and translated into policy. A qualitative comparative case study design was adopted in this study and focused on the municipalities of Leiden and Zoetermeer. These municipalities differ in their political composition and mobility policy approaches. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews with local council members, aldermen and civil servants, supported by a review of policy documents and municipal plans. Findings indicate that there is a relationship between the political party composition of a coalition and the direction of mobility policy that is pursued. However, this relationship is influenced by a broader political context. By demonstrating the interplay between party preferences, political strategies and structures and local institutional contexts, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of urban mobility policymaking and the role that local politics play in shaping this.

Cities are responsible for a great amount of CO2 emissions related to transportation (CBS). However, the greatest amount of CO2 is caused by private transport and is mainly associated with peri-urban (the peri-urban area is a common place to live for the natural environment and also near accessibility to city facilities) and rural areas due to the lack of public transport, proximities to Services of General Interest (SGI) and access to jobs. This problem is especially evident in the cross-border regions.
When zooming in on North-West Europe, more specific issues around transport, mobility and battling CO2 arise. The European railway network, which spreads across national borders, is a patchwork filled with gaps around those national borders. Considering that a large share of the European Union’s territory consists of border regions and includes more than one-third of the EU’s population, this fact is rather alarming (European Mobility Atlas, 2021). The spatial vision and strategy presented in this report will focus on the challenge of carbon emissions caused by the transport and mobility sector with a focus on cross-border and last-mile connectivity of peri-urban areas.
The region of Maas-Rijn is used as a case study. This project explores how the region can become a place where what is not in your direct vicinity, is still within reach in the next 30 years. In saying this, the project is not only referring to physical proximity to amenities, services and (infra)structures but also to the possibility of accessing job opportunities, education, social networks, communities and other intangible resources.
Based on our analysis, the relevant trends and values are identified for a region covering three different scales: Local scale within national borders, Cross-border scale, and Multi-nation/ European scale. Key findings emphasize the role of enhancement of short-distance transport trips, the reduction of motorized vehicle use of any kind by promoting development aimed at close proximity to physical and intangible resources and promoting the use of active/ non-motorized modes of transport of any kind. More medium and long-distance/ not daily movements will be replaced by the use of sustainable alternatives, such as EVs, optimized public transport networks and smart sharing systems.