Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.3 Shanghai, China. Some of the world's leading cities are emerging in China, with 5 cities now
with urban area populations of over 11 million.
Similar to other contexts, the transport sector is perhaps the most difficult sector in China
in terms of achieving greater carbon efficiency. The large current and projected population,
combined with a current small absolute number of vehicles, means an enormous and rapid
growth in vehicle ownership and use. These will result in huge strains on urban infrastructure,
energy use and CO2 emissions (Ng and Schipper, 2005).
China has a unique opportunity and urgency to tackle and provide a response to sustainable
mobility aspirations - on the grand scale - creating unique pathways towards sustainability.
These can act as models for international application, across Asia and also in the West.
Transport in most cities in China is still dominated by public transport (mostly the bus), two-
and three-wheelers, walking and cycling. Many of the larger cities have good transport systems,
including some metro systems, local rail and bus rapid transit, often extending across the
surrounding metropolitan regions. Virtually all inter-city travel is by rail or air. The average
Chinese person travels around 1,000 kilometres per year, compared with 15,000 km per year
for Europeans and over 24,000 km for North Americans (Ng and Schipper, 2005) - many of
the levels of walking and cycling, in mode share terms, are much higher than the best European
benchmarks. But, of course, the growth in motorisation is dramatic over recent years.
The potential levels of motorisation pose serious difficulties. China has just over 100 million
vehicles, with most concentrated in the larger urban areas. This is a relatively low level, but
the projections rise to over 400 million vehicles in 2035. This can be viewed as still being
modest, as the motorisation rate will rise from the current levels of less than 50 vehicles per
1,000 population (vehicles/1,000p) to around 300 vehicles/1,000p. If the motorisation rate
 
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