Roads to engagement: A roundtable discussion with Jennifer Hart, Peter Norton, Anke Ortlepp, Heidi Tworek, and Roland Wenzlhuemer

This roundtable discussion concluded the conference “Roads to Exclusion: Socio-Spatial Dynamics of Mobility Infrastructures since 1800” that took place at the German Historical Institute Washington (GHI) in September 2022. The event was organised by the GHI and the Käte Hamburger Kolleg global dis:connect – Dis:connectivity in Processes of Globalisation at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and brought together scholars from four continents who discussed the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion entailed in transportation infrastructures around the globe. The roundtable included four panellists – Jennifer Hart (Virginia Tech), Peter Norton (University of Virginia), Anke Ortlepp (University of Cologne) and Heidi Tworek (The University of British Columbia) – and was moderated by Roland Wenzlhuemer (LMU). Focusing on the question of what the most pressing topics in the history of transportation and infrastructure are, the panellists urged for more people-centred histories and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The discussion also revolved around the need for scholars of transportation to develop compelling narratives that can help them reach wider audiences and build pathways toward a more just, sustainable, inclusive, and mobile future.