The Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies: An Introduction

Abstract

This chapter discusses urban transport issues, policies, and initiatives in [The Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies: An Introduction/Australia]. Consistent with the other case studies, it covers the following set of issues: Urban land-use patterns and spatial structure; Trends in transport use and mobility; Urban transport problems; Urban transport governance, decision-making, and financing; Proposed urban transport solutions and implementation issues; and Other country-specific issues. The object of this framework is to allow for a comparative analysis across the case studies. This book discusses urban transport issues, policies, and initiatives in 12 of the world’s major emerging economies—Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam—countries with large populations that have recently experienced large changes in urban structure, motorization, and all the associated social, economic, and environmental impacts in positive and negative senses. It documents the worsening transport crisis and differences among these countries in their urban transport and land-use systems. It includes chapters on each of these 12 countries, focusing on one or more major cities per country. In order to present the case studies in a more comparable way, all chapters follow a common format. Each chapter covers the following set of issues: Urban land-use patterns and spatial structure; Trends in transport use and mobility; Urban transport problems; Urban transport governance, decision-making, and financing; Proposed urban transport solutions and implementation issues; and Other country-specific issues. The object of this framework is to help to identify new explanatory factors that may be overlooked in research limited to single cities or nations. By including cities and countries across all continents, the aim is to identify useful lessons on how to achieve urban sustainability goals across the globe.