Workshop: Beyond Conventional Cost-Benefit Analysis: New Approaches to Urban Decision-Making

Date: 7 October 2026, from 13:00 to 16:00 CEST | Location: Online

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) plays a central role in deciding which urban and transport interventions are built. However, conventional CBA practice is systematically biased: it overvalues travel time savings, undervalues health, equity and liveability, and structurally favours motorised travel over more affordable and resource-efficient modes.

This workshop first summarizes the findings of three years of work in UBDPolicy’s Work Package 3, “Tools and guidelines for cost-benefit analyses”, on the systematic flaws of conventional CBA. The workshop will also present emerging alternatives and extensions to conventional CBA and invites researchers, economists, transport practitioners and policymakers to discuss how health, equity, wellbeing and environmental impacts can be incorporated into decision-making.

PROGRAMME (tentative)

• Welcome and introduction – Stefan Gössling (Linnaeus University)
• The flaws in conventional CBA – Nadja Schweiggart (Linnaeus University)
• Perspectives beyond conventional CBA
  • Extended CBA – Stefan Gössling (Linnaeus University)
  • Wellbeing valuation (WELLBY) – tba (London School of Economics LSE)
  • Deliberate valuation and positional analysis – Clive Spash (Chair of Public Policy and Governance, WU Wien)
  • Decision-making under deep uncertainty – Jan Kwakkel (TU Delft)

• Discussion and consolidation: Alternatives to CBA and ways

REGISTRATION

Participation is free. Please register here to receive the Zoom link and workshop information.