[sustran] What is 'Sustainable Transportation'? (And how, if at all, does it relate to the New Mobility Agenda?)

[eric.britton]

What is 'Sustainable Transportation'? 

(And how, if at all, does it relate to the New Mobility Agenda?)

 

New Mobility Note & Invitation to Discussion: 

 

Editor's note: We have always felt that these two concepts represent in a
rough way two sides of the same basic coin. "Sustainable transportation"
defines the problem set and then goes on to provide clues and in some cases
supporting structures as to the kinds of solutions that should be better
understood and pursued. By contrast the "New Mobility Agenda" is just that,
an agenda for change, concentrating on specific measure and tools and
implementation and coordination strategies, with strong emphasis on short
term (2-4 years) impacts. But just to be sure that this is clear and
correct, we have taken to the Wikipedia to post and test these two views.
Starting with the first, here you have our very rough and incomplete first
cut - for your comment and improvement. (Further background on the workings
and values of the Wikipedia, will be found on the New Mobility Agenda site
by clicking the Wikipedia link on the top menu.) 

********************************

 From The Economist Newspaper, Jan 19th 2006. Source:
http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5407644  

  


Sustainable transportation (Entry under development)


>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, as per Sunday, January 29, 2006.


Full article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transportation

Also commonly referred to [Sustainable Transport] or [Sustainable Mobility],
there is no widely accepted definition of sustainable transportation by any
of these names. One offered by the Organization for
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_for_Economic_Cooperation_and_Deve
lopment>  Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) may be noted:
"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". (See the [TDM Encyclopedia
of the Victoria <http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm67.htm>  Transport Policy
Institute] for more definitions.)

Over most of the twentieth century, it was assumed that adequate
transportation structures needed to be built since they provide 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 the supporting infrastructure was going to
be adequate to support all projected requirements. The dominant approach
was, therefore, to forecast and then build to meet. In public transport
planning likewise it was the supply and efficient operation of vehicles that
got the build of attention. As a result, it is claimed by many analysts and
observers that most places have as a results heavily overbuilt their
physical transportation infrastructures, which in fact has led to
unsustainable levels of traffic and resource use.

The sustainable transportation movement, which has gradually gained in force
over the last decade and a half, has in the process started to shift the
emphasis in public spending and actions away from building and supply, to
management and demand. In all cases the values of heightened respect of the
environment and prudent use of natural resources are central, with varying
degrees of urgency expressed by different actors and interests.

In general the phrase is used to encourage more attention to "softer
transport options" such as improved provision for cycling, walking, public
spaces, rail and other forms of public transport, together with more
aggressive control of car use in central areas. It is not usually used to
qualify high technology projects such as monorails
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monorails> , Personal Rapid Transport
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Personal_Rapid_Transport&action=e
dit>  and the like, not least since one of the earmarks of sustainable
transport projects is that they are in general careful users of money and
space.

Sustainable transportation programs are increasingly giving attention to the
importance of cutting the number of vehicles in circulation (VMT) though a
wide range of Transportation Demand Management
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Demand_Management>  measures.
They also look to "movement substitutes" such as telework
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telework> , telecommuting
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting>  and better clustering of
activities so as to reduce the need for motorized transport.

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 those who
have not traditionally been well served have been those who either cannot or
should not drive their own cars, and those for whom the cost of ownership
provides a sever financial burden.

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.


Short History


The terms 'sustainable transportation' is an almost accidental follow-on to
the earlier term the Sustainable
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development>  Development whose
origins in turn were the 1987 Our Common Future
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Report>  (1987
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987> , World Commission on Environment and
Development of the United Nations. In the years following publication of the
Bruntland Report, there was considerable discussion of a variety of issues
that are part of the sustainable development nexus, but transportation
considerations were not in the front line in those early years.

One of the first international organizations to have a closer look at the
concept of sustainable transport 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
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Environmentally_Sustainable_Trans
port&action=edit>  Transport (EST). The overall objectives of the EST
project were 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
organize with the Government of Canada the 1996 [International Conference:
Towards <http://www.ecoplan.org/vancouvr/enhome.htm>  Sustainable
Transportation] in Vancouver, Canada. One result of this were the 1996
Vancouver Principles towards Sustainable Transportation and the strategic
directions. (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.)


Some Definitions


The [Canadian Centre for <http://www.cstctd.org/english/whatis.htm>
Sustainable Transportation] defines it as follows:

A sustainable transportation system is 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.

Sustainable transportation is about meeting or helping meet the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs. Agenda 21 made several references to the environmental and social
impacts of transportation. However, despite transportation's profound
relevance to the attainment of sustainable development, Agenda 21 did not
contain a chapter on transportation and thus did not provide a comprehensive
and integrated approach to the subject. Our capacity to meet many of the
environmental objectives listed in Agenda 21 depends on our ability to
properly address concerns related to transportation activities in OECD and
other countries.


The New Zealand Ministry for the Environment offers this definition:
"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:" using transport modes that use energy
more efficiently, such as walking or cycling and public transport improving
transport choice by increasing the quality of public transport, cycling and
walking facilities, services and environments Improving the efficiency of
our car use, such as using more fuel efficient vehicles, driving more
efficiently, avoiding cold starts, and car pooling 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.

*    *    *

 


Internal References (Note of the following are live links)


3.1 Context


*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_assessment>
Environmental impact assessment
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_roads> Hierarchy of
roads
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_engineering> Highway
engineering
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mobility_Agenda> New Mobility
Agenda
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle>
Precautionary principle
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk> Risk
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_safety> Road safety
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Environmental_Assessment>
Strategic Environmental Assessment
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_hierarchy> Street hierarchy
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability> Sustainability
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion> Traffic
congestion
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_engineering> Traffic
engineering
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-Oriented_Development>
Transit-Oriented Development
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_engineering> Transport
engineering
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_planning>
Transportation planning


3.2 Demand Management


*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_lane> Bus lane
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congestion_charging> Congestion
charging
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-work> e-work
*
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flexible_working&action=edit>
flexible working
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flextime> flextime
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_roads> Hierarchy of
roads
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOV> HOV: High occupancy vehicle
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_transportation_system>
Intelligent transportation system
*
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Living_streets&action=edit>
Living streets
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOV> LOV,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Occupant_Vehicle> Low Occupant Vehicle
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space> Shared space
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_and_ride> Park and ride
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking> Parking
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_pricing> Road pricing
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOV> SOV,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Single_Occupancy_Vehicle&action=e
dit> Single Occupancy Vehicle
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_hierarchy> Street hierarchy
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting> Telecommuting
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telework> Telework
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toll_roads> Toll roads
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_Calming> Traffic Calming
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TDM> TDM: Transportation Demand
Management
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonerf> Woonerf


3.3 Supply Management


*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit> Bus rapid transit
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_rental> Car rental
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carfree> Carfree
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpooling> Carpooling
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsharing> Carsharing
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling> Cycling,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_cycling> utility cycling
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitch-hiking> Hitch-hiking, Informal
or organized
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-powered_transport>
Human-powered_transport
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitney> Jitney
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midi-bus&action=edit>
Midi-bus
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini-bus> Mini-bus
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian#Pedestrianisation>
Pedestrian#Pedestrianisation
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_space> Public space management
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport> Public transport
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_sharing> Ride sharing
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_skating> Roller skating
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_taxi> Share taxis
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicab> Taxicab
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vanpooling&action=edit>
Vanpooling
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking> Walking


3.4 See also


*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Free_Days> Car Free Days
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carless_days> Carless days (New
Zealand)
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology> Information
technology
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs> Jane Jacobs
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_carfree_areas> List of
carfree areas
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclaim_the_Streets> Reclaim the
Streets
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segregated_cycle_facilities>
Segregated cycle facilities
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telematics> Telematics
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_2000> Transport 2000


4 External References


*	[ <http://www.cstctd.org/english/whatis.htm> Canadian Centre for
Sustainable Transportation]
*	[ <http://www.itdp.org/ST/> Sustainable Transport (magazine]

*	[ <http://www.sutp.org/> Sustainable Urban Transport Project]

*	[ <http://www.newmobility.org> New Mobility Agenda]

*	[ <http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/transport/sustainable/> New Zealand
Ministry for the Environment]

*	[ <http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm67.htm> TDM Encyclopedia of the
Victoria Transport Policy Institute]

*	[ <http://www.principalvoices.com/transport.html> Principal Voices]

*
<http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005
-39,GGLG:en&q=%22New+Mobility+Agenda%22> Google on "New Mobility Agenda"
*	 <http://www.carfree.com> Car CarFree Cities, with the CarFree Times
*	 <http://www.carbusters.org/> Car Busters
*	 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass> Critical Mass
*	 <http://www.t-e.nu> European Federation for Transport and the
Environment (T&E)
*
<http://f2.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/AHypQ7wzhMUs-39z6o62HUY9qaeTQPqmNxftC6JmkDf3vU
zkE6OmGyqMvwqY2ChX_WwOk4TBDFn8GkjFCmCZ/Accessible%20Cities%20-%20Granada_Dec
laration.PDF> Granada Declaration, Ciudades Accesibles Program of the
Spanish Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Environment (MOPTMA), 1993.
In English
*	 <http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/> Green Vehicle Guide]
*	 <http://www.gdrc.org/uem/sustran/sustran-principles.html> Guiding
Principles to Sustainable Mobility
*	 <http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/> Institute for Sustainability and
Technology Policy
*	 <http://www.itdp.org/> Institute for Transportation and Development
Policy (ITDP)
*	 <http://www.iwalktoschool.org/> International Walk to School
program
*	 <http://www.kyotocities.org> Kyoto World Cities 20/20 Challenge
*	 <http://www.lesstraffic.com/> Less Traffic program
*	 <http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/> Living Streets (UK)
*	[ <http://www.movingtheeconomy.ca/content/mte_hubAbout.html> New
Mobility HUBs (Canada)]
*	 <http://www.xWork.org> New Ways to Work in an Information Society
*	 <http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/> Online TDM Encyclopedia of Victoria
Transport Policy Institute
*	 <http://www.roadpeace.org> Road Peace
*	 <http://www.shared-space.org/> Shared Space
*	 <http://www.slower-speeds.org.uk> Slower Speeds Initiative
*	 <http://www.seiy.org/> Stockholm Environmental Institute
*	 <http://www.sustrans.org.uk> Sustrans cycling network (UK)
*	 <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sustran-discuss/> Sustran Network
(South-East Asia)
*	 <http://www.fgm.at/main.phtml?id=6&sprache=en> Telematics for
Sustainable Transport
*	 <http://www.tc.gc.ca/programs/environment/UTSP/carfreeday.htm>
Toronto New Mobility Week: 2004
*	 <http://www.trafficcalming.org/index.html> TrafficCalming.org
*	 <http://www.transport2000.org.uk/> Transport 2000
*	 <http://www.transalt.org/> Transportation Alternatives (NYC, USA)
*	 <http://www.travelwise.org.uk/> Travel Wise Advisory program (UK)
*	 <http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPhome.html> Journal of World
Transport Policy and Practice

 


2006 progress evaluation


The term sustainable transportation and its variants has informed a certain
number of university programs and NGOs, and while it is richly debated in
specific circles until now it has by and large failed to enter into the
mainstream of transport policy and practice in most places -- if by that is
meant money invested. But one can say that first steps have been taken and
that the movement is gradually developing force. But it has a long way to go
if it is ever to become mainstream.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ericbritton> ericbritton 16:42, 24
January 2006 (UTC)

*    *     *

For the New Mobility Agenda entry (also in process and still very rough):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mobility_Agenda

 

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060129/2d5c470c/attachment-0001.html