Bases for Building a Sustainability Indicator System for Transport - Highway and Urban Environment - page 48

transport sector. The report includes 17 indicators, but only one of them deals with
the social dimension (fatal road accidents by age group), which is a response to the
European Commission's proposal to reduce by half the number of fatalities from
traffic accidents during the period 2000-2010 [13] .
Generally speaking, we can identify three stages in the process of generating and
applying sustainability indicator systems. This have led to first, second and third
generation systems [14] . First-generation systems originated in the 1980s from the
work done by the OECD, and are characterized by being very theoretical, and exclu-
sively environmental. They include an environment-based approach (air, water, earth
and biodiversity), an objective-based approach (in response to legal and administra-
tive requirements, Agenda 21), and a sector-based approach (transport, tourism,
industry, etc.). Second-generation systems were developed in the 1990s on a national
scale, and pursue a multidimensional approach (economic, environmental and
social) to sustainable development. In recent years, the need to link aspects of devel-
opment together with its indicators has given rise to systems where the indicators are
grouped, transversally and systematically, into themes or multidimensional areas
(third-generation systems).
In summary, the transport indicator systems developed presently (TERM,
TRAMA, OSE, ….) basically address economical aspects (demand, growth, invest-
ments, …), environmental aspects (emissions, clean technologies, …) and the
interaction between economy and the environment (eco-efficiency…). However, a
balanced solution needs to be found to the conflicting objectives of economic,
environmental and social sustainability. So far, social aspects have been very super-
ficially addressed.
Moreover, the proliferation of sustainability indicator systems has led to a
certain disparity and confusion among the different methods which makes them
difficult to integrate. Greater homogeneity and uniformity is required when building
indicator systems, in order to improve comparability, adjust to the structure of the
current observatories, and make it easier to integrate the various sectorial systems
(transport, urban planning, energy, social well-being, …).
Methodological Bases for Building a System
of Transport Indicators
We establish the methodological bases for building an indicator system in phases with
which to monitor the sustainability of the transport sector in its three aspects: eco-
nomic, environmental and social. We recommend using the following iterative cycle:
1. Context of the indicator system. This must include at least a deinition of the
geographic scope of application; political-administrative context; and the
key time periods, given that sustainable development involves constant
change [15] .