4. Multimodal Transportation and Sustainability
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- Are we Autodependent Measuring Autodependency
- Is Autodependency Sustainable What is Sustainability
- Is Sustainable Automobility Possible
| 4. Multimodal Transportation and Sustainability
Discussion of Chapter 2 in The Transit Metropolis: Transit and the Changing World Introduction Often the discussion on transportation focuses on the supposed dichotomy between cars and no cars: car lovers and car bashers. This is actually a misleading and false dichotomy for many people. There are a few people at these polar extremes: some who would like to ban the car all together and some who think that the only mode of transportation that is worth worrying about is the car. In the real world, the issue is not one extreme or the other; the real question is developing a system which takes full advantage of the best characteristics of each mode and at the same time limiting the damaging effects of the worst characteristics of each mode. As many of the readings point out, one reason the automobile poses such a challenge to deal with is that it was such a great leap forward in transportation technology. No other mode of travel offer the individual such convenience and comfort and freedom. These characteristics are the reason for the incredible popularity of the car around the world (It is not only Americans that “love their cars”.). The great urban thinker, Lewis Mumford in his book “The City and the Highway” from the early 1960’s points out that the car was so good that many people thought that we did not need any other mode of transportation. The inevitable end game of this thinking is the development of what Mumford refers to as a ‘monochromatic’ transportation system and what Cervero calls ‘autodependency’. Auto-dependency implies an over reliance on the automobile for almost all our transportation needs and leads to a whole host of problems that results whenever we have any system that is a monoculture. We now know that diversity is an important strength for most systems: natural and manmade. And we are finding out that this also applies to the transportation system. Chapter 2 of the Cervero book does a good job in discussion the social, environmental and economic impact of auto-dependency and makes a strong case for a more diverse transportation system. He also discusses the issue of whether or not autodependency is sustainable for our country and the planet. This discussion compliments the discussion from last week’s class in Alex Marshall’s book ‘How Cities Work’ which focuses on the issue of autodependency and place making. Next class, I will take a quantitative look at the impact of automobile dependency in cities around the world based on work done by Newman and Kenworthy. Are we Autodependent? Measuring Autodependency Commuting to work in average American City Car as driver or passenger 84 % Transit 3 % Walking 9 % Biking 1 % Not all American cities are the same % commuting by transit, bike or walking Cities (not the metropolitan area) over 250,000 1. NYC 66 % 2. Washington, DC 48 % 3. Boston 47 % 8. Pittsburgh 31 % 16. Atlanta 20 % 24. Los Angeles 15 % 36. Dallas 8 % Cites in many European Countries (but not all) are less autodependent. % commuting by transit, bike or walking in cities in Switzerland 62 % Netherlands 56 % Germany 48 % United Kingdom 38 %
Sustainability is the stewardship of natural and human-made resources so that the quality of living and the health of our cities, countryside and open space do not deteriorate from one generation to the next Environmental sustainability can be considered from two perspectives: local and global perspectives. The local issues: Injuries and Fatalities Damage to Health and Life from Pollutants Indirect Health Effects from Motor Vehicle Use Degradation of Urban Public Spaces (See my article on the Paris Trams) Loss of Habitat and Farmland The global issues affected by urban transportation into three areas: Fuel Biodiversity and food Atmosphere (or climate change) The dimensions of sustainability looked at by Cervero Traffic Congestion Space Use Traffic Accidents Air Pollution Resource Depletion Other Environmental Concerns Social Inequities Social Vitality and Sense of Place (not discussed by Cervero but the theme of Marshall’s book) Is Sustainable Automobility Possible? The definition of ‘sustainable automobility’ according to Cervero seems to be autodependency but with energy efficient, non-polluting cars. The question then is does this solution addresses all the issues of sustainability? Download 18.29 Kb. Share with your friends:
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