User:Travelplanner/sandbox

Since Skip brings up the issue of an editor of Sustainability who wrote a book and then cited that book, let's have a look at this from another perspective. Skip objected to this [[1]] [[2]] and referred it to the[conflict of interest noticeboard] where it was found that there was no issue. Despite this finding, he has brought it up again a few times [[3]] [[4]] [[5]] [[6]] [[7]] [[8]] [[9]] [[10]] [[11]][[12]]...by which time GT had removed all references to his book from all articles, however this did not stop Skip raising the issue a few more times [[13]] [[14]] [[15]] [[16]] and now he is raising it again on this page. Does that qualify as vexatious?

Sustainable transport

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Article

Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve. Transport systems exist to provide social and economic connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by increased mobility.^[1] But the advantages of increased mobility need to be weighed alongside the environmental, social and economic costs that transport systems impose.

Transport systems have significant impacts on the environment, accounting for between 20% and 25% of world energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.^[2] Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector.^[3] Road transport is also a major contributor to local air pollution and smog.^[4]

The social costs of transport include road crashes, air pollution, physical inactivity,^[5] and vulnerability to fuel price increases. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are also least likely to own and drive cars.^[6] Traffic congestion imposes economic costs by wasting people's time and by slowing the delivery of goods and services.

Traditional transport planning aims to improve mobility, especially for vehicles, and may fail to adequately consider wider impacts. But the real purpose of transport is access - to work, education, goods and services, friends and family - and there are proven techniques to improve access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts, and managing traffic congestion.^[7] Communities which are successfully improving the sustainability of their transport networks are doing so as part of a wider programme of creating more vibrant, livable, sustainable cities.

Definition

The term sustainable transport came into use as a logical follow-on from sustainable development, and is used to describe modes of transport, and systems of transport planning, which are consistent with wider concerns of sustainability. There are many definitions of the sustainable transport, and of the related terms sustainable transportation and sustainable mobility.^[8] One such definition, from the European Union Council of Ministers of Transport, defines a sustainable transportation system as one that:

Allows the basic access and development needs of individuals, companies and society to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and promotes equity within and between successive generations.
Is Affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, and supports a competitive economy, as well as balanced regional development.
Limits emissions and waste within the planet’s ability to absorb them, uses renewable resources at or below their rates of generation, and uses non-renewable resources at or below the rates of development of renewable substitutes, while minimizing the impact on the use of land and the generation of noise.

History

Most of the tools and concepts of sustainable transport were developed before the phrase was coined. Walking, the first mode of transport, is also the most sustainable.^[9] Public transport dates back at least as far as the invention of the public bus by Blaise Pascal in 1662.^[10] The first passenger tram began operation in 1807 and the first passenger rail service in 1825. Pedal bicycles date from the 1860's. These were the only personal transport choices available to most people in Western countries prior to World War II, and remain the only options for most people in the developing world. Freight was moved by human power, animal power or rail.

The post-war years brought increased wealth and a demand for much greater mobility for people and goods. The number of road vehicles in Britain increased five-fold between 1950 and 1979,^[11] with similar trends in other Western nations. Most affluent countries and cities invested heavily in bigger and better-designed roads and motorways, which were considered essential to underpin growth and prosperity. The core task of transport planning was to design sufficient road capacity to provide for the projected level of traffic growth at acceptable levels of traffic congestion - a technique called "predict and provide". Public investment in transit, walking and cycling declined dramatically in the United States, Great Britain and Australasia, although this did not occur to the same extent in Canada or mainland Europe.^[12]^[13]

Concerns about the sustainability of this approach became widespread during the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis. The high cost and limited availability of fuel led to a resurgence of interest in alternatives to single occupancy vehicle travel.

Oil price trend, 1939–2007, both nominal and adjusted to inflation.

Vehicle miles travelled in the United States to March 2009.

Transport innovations dating from this period include high-occupancy vehicle lanes, citywide carpool systems and transportation demand management. Singapore implemented congestion pricing in the late 1970s, and Curitiba began implementing its Bus Rapid Transit system in the early 1980's.

Relatively low and stable oil prices during the 1980s and 1990's led to significant increases in vehicle travel from 1980-2000, both directly because people chose to travel by car more often and for greater distances, and indirectly because cities developed tracts of suburban housing, distant from shops and from workplaces, now referred to as urban sprawl. Trends in freight logistics, including a movement from rail and coastal shipping to road freight and a requirement for just in time deliveries, meant that freight traffic grew faster than general vehicle traffic.

At the same time, the academic foundations of the "predict and provide" approach to transport were being questioned, notably by Peter Newman in a set of comparative studies of cities and their transport systems dating from the mid-1980s.^[14]

The British Government's White Paper on Transport ^[15] marked a change in direction for transport planning in the UK. In the introduction to the White Paper, Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that

We recognise that we cannot simply build our way out of the problems we face. It would be environmentally irresponsible - and would not work.

A companion document to the White Paper called "Smarter Choices" researched the potential to scale up the small and scattered sustainable transport initiatives then occurring across Britain, and concluded that the comprehensive application of these techniques could reduce peak period car travel in urban areas by over 20%.^[16]

A similar study^[17] by the United States Federal Highway Administration,^[18]was also released in 2004 and also concluded that a more proactive approach to transportation demand was an important component of overall national transport strategy.

Environmentally sustainable transport

Transport systems are major emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for 23% of world energy-related GHG emissions in 2004, with about three quarters coming from road vehicles.^[3]. Energy is consumed in the manufacture as well as the use of vehicles, and is embodied in transport infrastructure including roads, bridges and railways.

Currently 95% of transport energy comes from petroleum, although electric trams and trains are also common and natural gas is also used. Biofuels are a less common, and less promising, technology; Brazil met 17% of its transport fuel needs from bioethanol in 2007, but the OECD has warned that the success of biofuels in Brazil is due to specific local circumstances; internationally, biofuels are forecast to have little or no impact on greenhouse emissions, at significantly higher cost than energy efficiency measures. ^[19] Electric vehicles are another technology which have the potential to reduce transport CO₂ emissions, depending on the embodied energy of the vehicle and the source of the electricity.

More promising is the potential to improve the walking and cycling environment in cities, and to enhance the role of electric rail. There are major differences in energy consumption for private transport between cities; an average U.S. urban dweller uses 24 times more energy annually for private transport as a Chinese urban resident, and almost four times as much as a European urban dweller. These differences cannot be explained by wealth alone but are closely linked to the rates of walking, cycling, and public transport use and to enduring features of the city including urban density and urban design.^[20]

Transport and social sustainability

Cities with overbuilt roadways have experienced unintended consequences, linked to radical drops in public transport, walking, and cycling. In many cases, streets became void of “life.” Stores, schools, government centers and libraries moved away from central cities, and residents who did not flee to the suburbs experienced a much reduced quality of public space and of public services. As schools were closed their mega-school replacements in outlying areas generated additional traffic; the number of cars on US roads between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. increases 30% during the school year.^[21]

Yet another impact was an increase in sedentary lifestyles, causing and complicating a national epidemic of obesity, and accompanying dramatically increased health care costs.^[22]^[23]

Cities and sustainable transport

Main article: Transit Oriented Development

Cities are shaped by their transport systems. In The City in History, Lewis Mumford documented how the location and layout of cities was shaped around a walkable centre, often located near a port or waterway, and with sububs accessible by animal transport or, later, by rail or tram lines.

In 1939, the New York World's Fair included a model of an imagined city, built around a car-based transport system. In this "greater and better world of tomorrow", residential, commercial and industrial areas were separated, and skyscrapers loomed over a network of urban motorways. These ideas captured the popular imagination, and are credited with influencing city planning from the 1940's to the 1970's.^[24]

The popularity of the car in the post-war era led to major changes in the structure and function of cities.^[25] There was some opposition to these changes at the time. The writings of Jane Jacobs, in particular The Death and Life of Great American Cities provide a poignant reminder of what was lost in this transformation, and a record of community efforts to resist these changes. Lewis Mumford asked "is the city for cars or for people?".^[26].Donald Appleyard documented the consequences for communities of increasing car traffic in "The View from the Road" (1964) and in the UK, Mayer Hillman first published research into the impacts of traffic on child independent mobility in 1971.^[27] Despite these notes of caution, trends in car ownership,^[28] car use and fuel consumption continued steeply upward throughout the post-war period.

Mainstream transport planning in Europe has, by contrast, never been based on assumptions that the private car was the best or only solution for urban mobility. For example the Dutch Transport Structure Scheme has since the 1970s required that demand for additional vehicle capacity only be met "if the contribution to societal welfare is positive", and since 1990 has included an explicit target to halve the rate of growth in vehicle traffic.^[29]

Some cities outside Europe have also consistently linked transport to sustainability and to land use planning, notably Curitiba, Brazil, Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Canada.

The cities and nations that have invested most heavily in car-based transport systems are now the least environmentally sustainable, as measured by per capita fossil fuel use.^[20] The social and economic sustainability of car-based urban planning has also been questioned. Within the United States, residents of sprawling cities make more frequent and longer car trips, while residents of traditional urban neighbourhoods make a similar number of trips, but travel shorter distances and walk, cycle and use transit more often.^[31]

Sustainable transport policies and governance

Sustainable transport policies have their greatest impact at the city level. Outside Western Europe, cities which have consistently included sustainability as a key consideration in transport and land use planning include Curitiba, Brazil, Bogota, Colombia Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Canada.

Many other cities throughout the world have recognised the need to link sustainability and transport policies, for example by joining Cities for Climate Protection.^[32]

Community and grassroots action

Sustainable transport is fundamentally a grassroots movement, albeit one which is now recognised as of citywide, national and international significance.

Whereas it started as a movement driven by environmental concerns, over these last years there has been increased emphasis on social equity and fairness issues, and in particular the need to ensure proper access and services for lower income groups and people with mobility limitations, including the fast growing population of older citizens. Many of the people exposed to the most vehicle noise, pollution and safety risk have been those who do not own, or cannot drive cars, and those for whom the cost of car ownership causes a severe financial burden.^[33]

Urban transport measures

The EU Directorate-General for Transport and Energy (DG-TREN) has launched a programme which focusses mostly on Urban Transport. Its main measures are:

Clean fuels and vehicles
- Biodiesel
- Biogas/CNG
- Fuelling Station
- Hybrid Vehicles
- Electric Vehicles
- LPG
- Procurement & tendering
- Waterway transport (in DG-TRENs SAVE/ALTENER programme LPG is removed and Ethanol and other biofuels are added)
Sustainable (green) infrastructure
Access restrictions
- Access management / Enforcement
- Car Restricted Zones /Living Streets
- Multifunctional areas
- Parking Management
- Pedestrian Areas
- Traffic calming / Speed reduction
Integrated pricing strategies
- City road pricing
- Integrated ticketing
- Parking Management
- Smart card

Collective passenger transport
- Accessibility
- Flexibel mobility services
- Intermodality
- Marketing
- Network development
- Park & Ride
- People with reduced mobility
- Public private co-operation
- Quality Corridors / lines
- Quality of service
- Security
- Ticketing and tarification
- Travel information
Less car intensive lifestyle
- Car pooling
- Car sharing
- Car/ driver licence exit strategies
- Clean and efficient fleets
- Cycling
- Bike sharing
- Mobility management
- Reducing private car use
Urban Goods Transport
- Clean vehicles / clean fleet
- Distribution scheme
- Fleet management & route planning
- Loading and uploading
- Loading Zone
- Public private co-operation
- Urban distribution center

Soft measures
- Child / school / student mobility
- Cycling
- Integrated policies /Integrated planning strategie
- Intermodal mobility services
- Mobility center
- Mobility management (for Events)
- Mobility management (for housing areas)
- Mobility management for companies and organisation
- Mobility marketing and awareness
- People with reduced mobility
- User/Citizen Participation
- Walking
Transport management
- Access management / Enforcement
- Guidance Systems

An idea that does not really fit in any section but very well suits the theme is proposed in thr following article: Joshua M. Pearce, Sara J. Johnson, and Gabriel B. Grant, "3D-Mapping Optimization of Embodied Energy of Transportation", Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 51 pp. 435-453, 2007. [17]

Sustainable Transport Toolbox

Synonyms and related terms

Bibliography

Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Island Press, Washington DC, 1999. Newman P and Kenworthy J, ISBN 1-55963-660-2.
Sustainable Transportation Networks, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, England, 2000. Nagurney A, ISBN 1-84064-357-9

References

^ "The global demand for motorized mobility". Transportation Research. 1998. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ ">World Energy Council (2007). "Transport Technologies and Policy Scenarios" (HTML). World Energy Council. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
^ ^a ^b Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007). "IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Mitigation of Climate Change, chapter 5, Transport and its Infrastructure" (PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
^ "National multipollutant emissions comparison by source sector in 2002". US Environmental Protection Agency. 2002. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ World Health Organisation, Europe. "Health effects of transport". Retrieved 2008-08-29.
^ Social Exclusion Unit, Office of the Prime Minister (UK). "Making the Connections - final report on transport and social exclusion" (PDF). Retrieved 2003-02-01.
^ Todd Litman (1998). "Measuring Transportation: Traffic, Mobility and Accessibility" (PDF). Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved 2009-03-18. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
^ Todd Litman (2009). "Sustainable Transportation and TDM". Online TDM Encyclopedia. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved 2009-04-07. {{cite encyclopedia}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
^ "Walking benefits". Transport for London. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
^ "March 18, 1662: The Bus Starts Here ... in Paris". Wired. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
^ "Transport Statistics Great Britain 2008: Section 9, Vehicles" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ "Making Transit Work: insight from Western Europe, Canada and the United States" (PDF). Transportation Research Board. 2001. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ "Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health:Lessons from The Netherlands and Germany" (PDF). American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
^ Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook, Newman P and Kenworthy J, Gower, Aldershot, 1989
^ >"White Paper on Transport". 2004. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
^ Cairns, S; et al. (July 2004). "Smarter Choices, Changing the Way we Travel page v". Retrieved 2008-07-27. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
^ [ similar study]
^ "Mitigating Traffic Congestion". 2004. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
^ OECD. "OECD's Economic Assessment of Biofuel Support Policies". Retrieved 2009-07-31.
^ ^a ^b Kenworthy, J R Transport Energy Use and Greenhouse Emissions in Urban Passenger Transport Systems : A Study of 84 Global Cities Murdoch University
^ U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Active Transportation to School Then and Now — Barriers and Solutions". KidsWalk-to-School: Resource Materials - DNPAO - CDC. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ World Health Organisation, Europe. "Health effects of transport". Retrieved 2008-08-29.
^ "An interview with Dr Reid Ewing". Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity. American Journal of Health Promotion 18[1]: 47-57. September–October 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
^ Ellis, Cliff (2005). "Lewis Mumford and Norman Bel Geddes: the highway, the city and the future". Planning Perspectives. 20 (1): 51–68. doi:10.1080/0266543042000300537. S2CID 220329372. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
^ James Howard Kunstler (1993). The Geography of Nowhere.
^ Lewis Mumford. "Lewis Mumford on the City". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ Hillman, Mayer. "Children Key publications". Key publicatonson children's quality of life by Dr. Mayer Hillman. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ "Transport Statistics Great Britain 2008: Section 9, Vehicles" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ van den Hoorn, T and B van Luipen (2003). "National and Regional Transport Policy in the Netherlands" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-07-27.
^ Newman & Kenworthy 1989, Andrew White Associates, DETR
^ Ewing, R and R Cervero (2001). "Travel and the Built Environment: A Synthesis" (PDF). Transportation Research Record, 1780: 87-114. 2001. Transportation Research Record 1780,87-114. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
^ "ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability". Cities for Climate Protection. International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. 1995–2008. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ "Making the Connections: Final report on transport and social exclusion". UK Social Exclusion Unit. February 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

External links

Windana Research
Driving Sustainability conference
Society for Sustainable Mobility
EMBARQ - The WRI Center for Sustainable Transportation
Sustainable Urban Transport Project
TDM Encyclopedia of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute
European Federation for Transport and the Environment (T&E)
Green Vehicle Guide
Guiding Principles to Sustainable Mobility
Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)
Kyoto World Cities 20/20 Challenge
Overview of Sourcebook on Sustainable Urban Transport for Policymakers from the Sustainable Urban Transport Project
Project promoting Sustainable Green Fleets in Europe
SUTP - Sustainable Urban Transport Project
EU-Programme on Sustainable Transport
Sustainable Transport in Sustainable Cities - report summaries (linked summaries are in PDF format).
Energie-Cités, The association of European local authorities promoting local sustainable energy policy
EU Interreg IIIB project VIANOVA for the promotion of sustainable mobility
EST: OECD Environmentally Sustainable Transport initiative
Canadian Centre for Sustainable Transportation
European Local Transport Information Service
World Carfree Network
Sustainable Logistics - Swedish research project
Listing of bicycle co-ops promoting bikes for sustainable transportation

Print sources

Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy Makers in Developing Cities Sustainable Urban Transportation Project(SUTP). All 25 modules available online for free!
Toward Sustainable Transportation - Report on the Vancouver Conference, 24-27 March 1996
Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice
Real Transportation Solutions for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions, AASHTO
Two Billion Cars: Transforming a Culture Transportation Research Board News
City of Melbourne draft transport strategy
Kids on the move, from EU Commission 2002, focusing on walking, cycling, public transport

Kids on the move - PDF of the English language version
Cycling: The way ahead for towns and cities published in 1999, but still very relevant
Reclaiming City Streets for People - Chaos or Quality of LIFE? September 2004
Integration of Environment into Transport Policy - From Strategies to Good Practice published in September 2003 Also: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/gpc
Driving Sustainability Conferences.

Related journals

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation[18]

Old

Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve.

The environmental impacts of transport systems are significant on a global scale, accounting for between 20% and 25% of world energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.^[1] Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector.^[2] Road transport is also a major contributor to local air pollution and smog.^[3]

Transport systems exist to provide social and economic connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by increased mobility.^[4] But the advantages of increased mobility need to be considered in the context of the significant social and economic costs that transport systems impose, including, road crashes, air pollution, physical inactivity,^[5] and vulnerability to fuel price increases. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are also least likely to own and drive cars.^[6]

The real purpose of transport is access - to desired goods, services and activities - and there are proven techniques to improve access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts.^[7]

The sustainability of transport systems varies widely around the world; an average U.S. urban dweller uses 24 times more energy annually for private transport as a Chinese urban resident. These differences cannot be explained by wealth alone but are closely linked to the rates of walking, cycling, and public transport use and to enduring features of the city including urban density and urban design.^[8] Communities which are successfully improving the sustainability of their transport networks are doing so as part of a wider programme of creating more vibrant, livable, sustainable cities.

Road vehicles are largest contributor to greenhouse emissions, responsible for three quarters of the total emissions impact of transport, and air traffic is the fastest growing component, increasing at 5% per year.^[2]

messy

The sustainability of transport systems varies widely around the world; an average U.S. urban dweller uses 24 times more energy annually for private transport as a Chinese urban resident. These differences cannot be explained by wealth alone but are closely linked to the rates of walking, cycling, and public transport use and to enduring features of the city including urban density and urban design.^[8]

, and delivering a declining level of service despite increasing investments.

considerations are factored a concept developed in reaction to things that have gone visibly wrong with transportation policy, practice and performance through much the world over the last half of the twentieth century. Urban transport systems

The sustainable transport movement, part of the environmental movement, has gradually gained in force over the last decade and a half, and has in the process started to shift the emphasis in public spending and actions away from building and supply, to management and demand. The values of respect for the environment and prudent use of natural resources are central, with varying degrees of urgency expressed by different actors and interests. That said, it is still very much a minority movement and most actual expenditures in the sector are determined by criteria other than sustainability.

What is clear is that sustainable transportation mainly refers to human behavior, not to technology.^[9] In that sense, a behavioral approach considers not only a set of non-polluting and human scaled green transport choices, regardless of the means and technology used, but also a set of reinforcers both individual and social to promote these choices.

Concept and definitions

The term sustainable transport, also commonly referred to as sustainable transportation or sustainable mobility, has no formal definition, but is a logical follow-on from the earlier term Sustainable Development whose origins in turn were the 1987 Our Common Future (1987, World Commission on Environment and Development of the United Nations). Thus it is often defined in words such as this: “Sustainable transportation is about meeting or helping meet the mobility needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”^[10]

The term is also used to describe all forms of transport which minimize fuel consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide and pollutants.^[11] It can refer to public transport, car sharing, walking and cycling as well as technology such as electric and hybrid cars and biodiesel and Personal Rapid Transit and other green transport. The term has been adopted by the British and Australian national and local governments, and both the phrase and the concepts have now spread around the world.

One early and often cited definition offered back in 1994 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defined sustainable transport as: "Transportation that does not endanger public health or ecosystems and meets mobility needs consistent with (a) use of renewable resources at below their rates of regeneration and (b) use of non-renewable resources at below the rates of development of renewable substitutes".^[12]a This provided a conservative benchmark view of what sustainable transport is all about which is still often put forward in the public debate.

The Canadian Centre for Sustainable Transportation defines a sustainable transportation system as one that:

"Allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations.
Is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy.
Limits emissions and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, limits consumption of renewable resources to the sustainable yield level, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise."^[13]

The New Zealand Ministry for the Environment offers a practical definition of transport that is 'more sustainable' (but still falls short of being truly sustainable in the long term). This definition extends the scope of sustainable transport to include the layout of cities and the balance of transport investments, and defines it in terms which more accessible to business, communities and government.^[14]:

“Sustainable transport is about finding ways to move people, goods and information in ways that reduce its impact on the environment, the economy, and society. Some options include:

Improving transport choice by increasing the quality of public transport, cycling and walking facilities, services and environments
Using cleaner fuels and technologies
Using telecommunications to reduce or replace physical travel, such as tele-working or tele-shopping
Planning the layout of our cities to bring people and their needs closer together, and to make cities more vibrant and walkable
Developing policies that allow and promote these options, such as the New Zealand Transport Strategy.^[15]

A shorter definition by the Sustran network does a good job in one paragraph of summarizing the consensus view from the vantage of transport activists and many NGOs:

"Sustainable transportation concerns systems, policies, and technologies. It aims for the efficient transit of goods and services, and sustainable freight and delivery systems. The design of vehicle-free city planning, along with pedestrian and bicycle friendly design of neighborhoods is a critical aspect for grassroots activities, as are telework and teleconferencing. It is more about accessibility and mobility, than about 'transportation'."^[16]

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development uses the term "sustainable mobility", and defines this as "the ability to meet the needs of society to move freely, gain access, communicate, trade, and establish relationships without sacrificing other essential human or ecological values today or in the future."^[17]

This definition encompasses the following dimensions:

Accessibility
Financial outlay required of users
Travel time
Reliability
Safety
Security

Greenhouse gas emissions
Impact on the environment and human well-being
Resource use
Equity implications
Impact on public revenues and expenditures
Prospective rate of return to private business^[18]

The automotive and energy industries increasingly use the term "Sustainable Mobility" to describe and promote their technology developments, primarily in the areas of new motive and engine technologies and advances. The impact of these advances, however, requires at least one or two decades to make a perceptible difference in terms of sustainability, and may not have benefits for the groups of people who benefit most from sustainable transportation policies.

In general the phrase is used to encourage more attention to green transport options such as improved provision for cycling, walking, public spaces, rail and other forms of public transport, together with measures to reduce car use, especially in central areas. It can also cover “movement substitutes” such as telework, telecommuting, e-work and smart growth redevelopments which improve the mix of activities and reduce the need for motorized transport.

Sustainable transport, with its focus on people, differs from Transportation Demand Management, which is a complementary effort to manage transportation systems in ways that reduce the impacts of single occupancy commuter travel and improve the provision of other transport choices.

The need for sustainable transport

Throughout much of the world, over most of the Twentieth Century, it was assumed that adequate transportation infrastructure needed to be built, since it provided an essential underpinning to growth and economic health. Accordingly the main concern of transport planners and policy makers was in the “supply” of transportation, and specifically in ensuring that supporting infrastructure was going to be adequate to support all projected requirements. The dominant approach was to "predict and provide" - forecast future traffic, then build to sufficient road capacity to provide for the projected level of use at acceptable levels of traffic congestion. Similarly, in public transportation planning, the supply and efficient operation of vehicles received the most attention.

Yet the cities that have invested most heavily in car-based physical transportation infrastructures are now experiencing the most unsustainable levels of traffic and resource use. This pattern is observable globally; an average U.S. urban dweller uses 24 times more energy annually for private transport as a Chinese urban resident, and around five times as much as a resident of a European city of equal economic prosperity.^[11] Within the United States, residents of sprawling cities make more frequent and longer car trips, while residents of traditional urban neighbourhoods make a similar number of trips, but travel shorter distances and walk, cycle and use transit more often.^[20]

Cities with overbuilt roadways have experienced unintended consequences, linked to radical drops in public transport, walking, and cycling. In many cases, streets became void of “life.” Stores, schools, government centers and libraries moved away from central cities, and residents who did not flee to the suburbs experienced a much reduced quality of public space and of public services. As schools were closed their mega-school replacements in outlying areas generated additional traffic; the number of cars on US roads between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. increases 30% during the school year.^[21]

Yet another impact was an increase in sedentary lifestyles, causing and complicating a national epidemic of obesity, and accompanying dramatically increased health care costs.^[22]^[23]

Sustainable transport in action

Historical origins

Many of the key concepts of sustainable transport were developed before the phrase was coined. The development of a car-based transport system in urban communities in the 1950s and 1960's met with opposition at the time. The writings of Jane Jacobs, in particular The Death and Life of Great American Cities provide a poignant reminder of what was lost in the transormation of American cities, and a record of community efforts to resist these changes. Donald Appleyard documented the consequences for communities of increasing car traffic in "The View from the Road" (1964) and in the UK, Mayer Hillman first published research into the impacts of traffic on child independent mobility in 1971.^[24] In Western Europe, cities continued to invest in public transport, walking and cycling and car travel never reached the levels of dominance seen in North America and Australasia.^[25]^[26]

International policy and action

One of the first international organizations to have a closer look at the links between transport and sustainability from the vantage of government policy was a small international working group led by Peter Wiederkehr at the OECD in 1994, that agreed that a new policy approach is needed which places environmental criteria up front along with other policy goals. Recognizing this need, the OECD initiated in 1994 an international project to define and chart a path towards Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST).^[27] The overall objectives of the EST project are to provide an understanding of EST, its implications and requirements, and to develop methods and guidelines towards its realization. The core of the EST approach was to develop long-term scenarios and identify instruments and strategies capable of achieving it. To this end the OECD organized with the Government of Canada the 1996 International Conference: Towards Sustainable Transportation in Vancouver, Canada.^[28] One result of this were the 1996 Vancouver Principles towards Sustainable Transportation. (The OECD project shut down its operation in July 2004, though the members of the original working group continue to communicate and collaborate at the specific project and policy level under the leadership of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Environment.)

National policies and actions

As governments increasingly recognise sustainability as a core guiding principle, the need for more sustainable transport systems has been officially recognised in the transport strategies of the United Kingdom^[29] and of New Zealand.^[15]

Cities and sustainable transport

Sustainable transport policies have their greatest impact at the city level. Outside Western Europe, cities which have consistently included sustainability as a key consideration in transport and land use planning include Curitiba, Brazil, Bogota, Colombia Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Canada.

Many other cities throughout the world have recognised the need to link sustainability and transport policies, for example by joining Cities for Climate Protection.^[30]