Towards a spatial perspective on niche development: the case of Bus Rapid Transit

Abstract

This paper responds to recent criticism from geographers that the ‘local–global’ niche model in transition studies is spatially naïve. A number of relevant geography literatures (buzz-pipelines, global production networks, policy mobilities) are mobilized to develop a more geographically nuanced understanding of niche development. The result complements the original model by providing center stage to (1) the spatialities of the production and transfer of knowledge, (2) the geographies of the actor networks involved and (3) the dynamics of embeddedness by which these global networks and knowledge discourses become entangled with place-specific power relationships, institutions and infrastructures. To illustrate this empirically, we trace the tortuous innovation journey of Bus Rapid Transit – a promising new mode of urban transportation that is spreading rapidly across the globe.