Given the objective to develop transport strategies oriented on town planning principles which are both ecologically friendly and community-minded, concepts for political strategies in the area of mobility are examined at various levels. Hence, in addition to examining urban transport policies and planning, the authors also review regional and corporate aspects.

The case samples in Lünen, Karlsruhe, Berlin-Moabit and Cologne illustrate that achievements with respect to modifications in conduct – as would constitute an initial platform for noticeable changes to transport organisation – evidently fell far short of the intended, or indeed required, goal. The projects implemented to date do, however, have a model quality, most notably in terms of the planning processes they involved. In addition to the conventional hard instruments, such processes increasingly employ soft instruments, among them cooperative and participative planning procedures as well as extensive communications and public-relations measures.

The survey provides a comprehensive, systematically processed case collection as well as findings on the prerequisites for successful political strategies in the area of transport and mobility, gained with the help of the political-science method of policy analysis.