Abstract
More people than ever before are living in urban settlements, increasing competition for living space, employment, food, water, and energy. Urbanisation poses many challenges, most notably meeting the basic health and well-being needs of inhabitants. One of the key challenges faced is the increase in transport-related energy consumption and its negative economic, environmental, and social consequences. Cities and towns are complex spatial structures supported by transport systems, and automobility dominates many urban planning decisions. Such approaches to transportation and land use patterns favour and promote car use, providing inadequate alternatives or more sustainable modes of transport such as public transport, cycling, and walking. However, automobility is now deemed unsustainable, and moves toward more sustainable modes of transport are both necessary and essential to improving the quality of life for all citizens. This study seeks to determine levels of automobility thinking and attitudes to transportation in Galway, a small city on the west coast of Ireland, and provides an innovative, quantitative measure of reliance on this single mode of transport. Results indicate people who live in the city are not as car dependent as its rural hinterlands, although this is seldom reflected in local authority and regional transport approaches and decision-making.
Highlights
The world continues to experience unprecedented urban growth
This enormous projected growth in urbanisation brings with it numerous challenges, one of which is an increase in transport related energy consumption and its negative economic, environmental, and social consequences
There are a number of in directions go when number of directions go when and we find ourselves atthe a crossroads, contextualising the finding we find ourselves at a to crossroads, contextualising finding by and discussing local transportation by discussing local transportation is beneficial in selecting the best route
Summary
An estimated 54.5 per cent of the global population live in urban settlements, and by 2030 cities and towns are projected to house 60 per cent of peoples worldwide [1] This enormous projected growth in urbanisation brings with it numerous challenges, one of which is an increase in transport related energy consumption and its negative economic, environmental, and social consequences. Transportation remains a major user of energy and consumer of the global petroleum stocks, in addition to creating air and noise pollution, significantly contributing to anthropogenic climate change through excessive carbon dioxide emissions [2] These damaging environmental impacts, in addition to suburban sprawl, have increased over the past number of decades to a point where current patterns of urban mobility are deemed unsustainable [3,4]. While decarbonising transportation are perceived as more challenging compared to other sectors [5], there are increasing calls for the scientific community to strengthen its proclamations that contemporary societies remain fixated on inefficient and oil dependent mobility technologies [6]
Published Version (Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have