Environmental Engineering Reference
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examined through their use of resources, in pattern, scale and character. This can be a central
element in the judgment of progress and success in transport and city planning; with metrics
such as the resource footprint, alongside the quality of the journey and well-being, becoming
central to strategy development and project modelling and appraisal.
Perhaps a great hope is the Internet and the revolution we are experiencing in terms of
information dissemination and knowledge transfer. At the heart of any democratic society,
and also other forms of government, is the notion of an informed public, and one that is
willing and able to participate in decision-making, at least indirectly through electing, supporting
or giving tacit approval to officials. This participation demands at least a basic understanding
of the issues at hand (Cacciatore et al., 2012). The sharing of good practice is something that
can radically change over time, to help disseminate good practice, and to challenge the
advertising and marketing representing the powerful vested interests. Transport planners, for
example, in Jinan or London can easily be aware - indeed many are - of the emerging practice
globally, of what is developing in Delhi, Hyderabad, Shanghai, Strasbourg, Vancouver and
Zurich, simultaneously. The recent spread of investment in bus rapid transit system building
is perhaps symptomatic of this process. Starting with limited development in South America,
in Curitiba and then Bogotá, from the 1970s onwards, there has been an incredible proliferation
of system development in recent years. There are now approaching 200 bus rapid transit systems
internationally, and this process gives us great hope. Similar can be seen with high-speed rail,
public realm improvements and cycling provision.
Of course, we are blighted by the problem of indeterminancy, and of ineffectiveness and
narrow aspect in our working:
The car as vehicle [. . .] will go the way of the horse [. . .]. Had the infant automobile
industry, in 1910, seen fit to call a conference to consider the future of the horse, the
discussion would have been concerned to discover new jobs for the horse and new kinds
of training to extend the usefulness of the horse. The complete revolution in transportation
and in housing and city arrangement would have been ignored. The turn of our economy
to making and servicing motorcars, and the devotion of much leisure time to their use on
a vast new highway system, would not even have been thought of. In other words, it is
the framework itself that changes with new technology, and not just the picture within
the frame.
(McLuhan, 1964, p. 238)
The scenarios developed for London, Oxfordshire, Delhi, Jinan and Auckland illustrate that
different futures are possible, and that the 0.5 tCO2 per capita target can be achieved in
different contexts. However, this assumes that a 'sustainable mobility' scenario is deliverable,
that governance is far reaching and effective, and that the (petrol and diesel) private car can
be disassociated from use in everyday life. This is very positive thinking, and we should
remind ourselves that changing travel practices are associated with fundamental change at the
societal level. But these are the problems that now need to be resolved.
Dennis and Urry (2009) ask us to envisage life 'after the car', and it is very likely that a
new pathway will begin, and is beginning, to emerge. What will travel look like in a world
with very expensive oil and with limited energy resources? We perhaps don't know how
society will respond as yet, but in the not-too-distant future we will need to travel in ways
that require much less oil. The convention of facilitating increased mobility, of relentless
consumer novelty, and supporting GDP growth in the economy may recede. It may be replaced
by a new approach, perhaps premised on a better and fairer social logic where cities, travel
