Behind the ‘upswing’ in pedestrian planning: Narratives and developments of planning for walking practices in German cities

Planning for walking appears to be experiencing an upswing in German cities: New approaches, new staff, and new ideas about walking are entering local administrative structures. Based on expert interviews, this paper questions the alleged rise of pedestrian planning of German cities and investigates the development paths that lie behind the narratives of this upswing. Acknowledging the dynamics, details, and complexities of pedestrian planning, this paper assumes a practice-theoretical perspective and draws on the policy cycle and planning rationalities to indicate the diverse drivers, the progress of the upswing, and the understandings of walking that shape these development paths. The findings reconstruct how pedestrian planning has advanced: through key actors who have carried the development and embedded valuable meanings and competences with planning practices; through the relation of pedestrian planning to cycling; and through the thematic diversity and flexibility of walking. However, pedestrian planning measures cannot be credited with the increase in walking trips in German cities since the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the analysis illustrates that walking is rising at least on the agenda in German city administrations. However, it is also becoming politicized and often continues to be undervalued. Pedestrian planning risks being caught between and subordinated to the different interests of politics, transport modes, and planning rationalities. This study contributes insights and implications for everyday walking practices as well as for policy and planning that may reach beyond the German context and highlight a post-pandemic window of opportunity to advance the social-ecological transformation.