ABSTRACT
There is an increased interest in sustainability transitions research for strategies targeting the active unmaking of outdated and unsustainable socio-technical configurations. Following this line of enquiry, this chapter draws on the exnovation concept and aims to question common assumptions of phase-out policies and strategies. Empirically it is grounded in the case of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) and zooms in on the interventions and visions of situated actors. Brussels is a pioneer city in moving towards a future full access ban for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The LEZ trajectory exemplifies three key challenges of pursuing exnovation through policy interventions, pertaining to: 1) the science–policy interface and complexity in sustainability impact assessment; 2) distributed decision making; and 3) the engagement with widening exnovation futures beyond one-dimensional (technologically centred) strategies. The chapter highlights the LEZ as an example of—hitherto under-researched—phase-out strategy undertaken in an urban context. This context helps to show how phase-out policies may target technologies, but ultimately call for wider exnovation visions and more encompassing policy mixes that are as yet less prominent on the political agenda.
