ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND QUALITY OF LIFE - A BIG STEP TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

My dissertation deals with sustainable urban mobility in comparative perspective as component of urban climate protection plans. I am particularly interested in how, why and with what implications on the quality of life electric vehicles are promoted. Whereas Berlin performs rather poorly in going beyond testing the practical applications of electro-mobility - only 165 electric cars were registered as of January 1st, 2012 - by now, more than 4.000 passenger electric vehicles are recorded in Oslo and tw ice as much in entire Norway. Therewith Norway is the global leader in terms of electric vehicles per inhabitant. I am thus asking how and why Norway, Oslo respectively, has achieved so well and what could Germany/Berlin possibly learn from it? The m ethodology contains policy input mapping and performance evaluation along QoL indicators through surveys with EV drivers, which I hope to be able to approach through EV car dealerships in the first place. Since the Berlin Institute of Technology has condu cted a number of user interviews that could be conducive to my research, I am hopeful a similar survey is already available in Oslo or could give me access to potential interview partners. The language barrier, however, could pose an additional challenge to my research. To replace conventional propulsion systems by battery electric vehicles is obviously a short cut to the long term goal of emissions reduction in road traffic, which addresses climate change, fossil fuel dependence, and health related issu es. Questions of congestion and safety through individual motorized transport, however, remain relevant. My research is thus driven to identify policy prerequisites on the one hand and potential down sides of the application of electric vehicles on the o ther.