Abstract
Economic development and urbanization poses myriad challenges to transportation systems in relation to negative externalities such as traffic congestion and environmental health risks. Accra, the capital of Ghana, faces mounting urban planning problems, for example traffic congestion, air pollution, traffic safety, and land use planning, among others. The paper aims to provide a system dynamics perspective of the problems. Most of the drivers and cause-effect relationships of traffic congestion and its attendant air pollution are investigated and analyzed using causal loop diagrams. The paper further suggests mechanisms by which the negative externalities associated with road transport in the city of Accra can be addressed.
Highlights
The connection between traffic congestion and air pollution has received much attention in sustainable development discourse
We explore the link between traffic congestion and air pollution in the city of Accra, Ghana
As part of the introduction, we give a brief overview of the levels of atmospheric pollutants in the ambient environment of Accra; and motivate the use of systems dynamics to explore the link between traffic congestion and air pollution
Summary
The connection between traffic congestion and air pollution has received much attention in sustainable development discourse. There is the need to develop in a stepwise process an improved understanding of how the change in traffic volume and the improvement of highway capacity are linked in a number of interacting self-reinforcing feedback loops to understand the problem of policy resistance and the effect that more roads lead to an increase in congestions. This improved understanding can be achieved through systems dynamics. The choice of systems dynamics emanates from our quest to understand the overall dynamics of the pollution problem by considering the road infrastructure, traffic congestion, air pollution and various stakeholders as one system of interacting parts over time and space
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