Issues in sustainable transportation

Abstract

There is growing interest in sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainable transportation. This paper identifies issues related to the definition, evaluation and implementation of sustainable transportation. Significant issues include the range of definitions of sustainability, the range of issues considered under sustainability, the range of perspectives, criticism of sustainability analysis, evaluating sustainability, transportation impacts on sustainability, goals vs. objectives, sustainable transport decision making, approaches to sustainable transport, automobile dependency, equity, land use, community liveability, and sustainable transportation solutions. Sustainable development originally focused on a few resource consumption issues, but it is increasingly defined more broadly to include economic and social welfare, equity, human health and ecological integrity. A narrow definition of sustainable transport tends to favour individual technological solutions, while a broader definition tends to favour more integrated solutions, including improved travel choices, economic incentives, institutional reforms, land use changes as well as technological innovation. Sustainability planning may require changing the way people think about and solve transportation problems.