Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
8
Sustainable transport
Alice laughed: 'There's no use trying,' she said: 'one
can't
believe impossible things.'
'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did
it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before
breakfast.'
(Lewis Carroll,
Through the Looking-Glass
, 1871, pp. 210-211)
Perhaps Arthur C. Clarke (1999, p. 33) can help us to draw together our discussions about
transport, the car, and its possible future use in the city:
The car is an incredible device, which no sane society would tolerate [. . .] millions of
vehicles, each a miracle of (often unnecessary) complication, hurtle in all directions, at
very close quarters, under the impulse of a few hundred horsepower. Many of them are
the size of small houses, with incredible sophistication, yet carry only one person. They
can travel at over 100 miles per hour, but usually at no more than 40 mph. In one lifetime
they have consumed more energy than the whole previous history of mankind [. . .] the
casualties are on the scale of a large war (every year).
Yet, despite the appalling expense, our civilisation appears to be largely dependent on the
use of the private motor car, or to aspire to car usage. Perhaps the attraction of the current
transport system, and the private car dominance, will fade, as we begin to realise there are
other very positive alternatives in travel - ones that can be more attractive to the individual
and to society. There are certainly 'cracks' appearing in the system of motorisation; and perhaps
the 'halcyon days of the car' are coming to an end (Heinberg, 2003; Dennis and Urry, 2009;
Gilbert and Perl, 2010; Geels et al., 2011). This may only be apparent at present with a gradual
improvement in CO2 efficiency of cars; some cities successfully supporting public transport,
walking and cycling usage; and there is a clear awareness about the need to reduce carbon-
based energy sources. But perhaps the change in technologies will also lead to wider changes
in the practices of mobility.
Climate change, and the need to use resources more responsibly, supported by moves to
achieve active and healthy lifestyles and quality in the urban fabric and urban life, all mean
that we are starting to enter a new era for transport. Over the past 40 years there have been
many efforts in seeking to achieve sustainable transport in cities, from Buchanan (Ministry
of Transport and Buchanan, 1963) onwards, and even though there are good examples in
many cities, there is little consistency in really tackling the key issues or in terms of measurable,
