This will be an enormous challenge to urban regions in both developed and developing nations, especially those with rapidly expanding transportation networks. In a rapidly globalizing and developing world, sustainable urban transportation development may help deter risks associated with increasing urbanization. These risks include increased environmental degradation, social inequities, roadway congestion, and consumption of nonrenewable energy sources.
A sustainable transportation framework that consists of multiple tools that may be applied in urbanized areas and that is funded by the federal government, but managed by local governing bodies, is recommended as a long term alternative to road building. The framework can include numerous tools that help local agencies improve public transportation, allocate more resources to protect open spaces, promote increased taxation of natural resources, and reduce traffic congestion.
If there is a transportation sustainability framework that decision makers agree to abide by, then the building blocks for that framework would take precedence over the agency at hand. Local agencies could be provided with national frameworks used to develop plans to increase sustainable transport in their metropolitan regions. Because many metropolitan areas have several local agencies with interest in transportation networks, planned collaboration across agencies may be a reasonable method to implement strategies. For example, in the Washington,
DC area, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) could use federal funds obtained in response to a request for proposals to improve rail transit across the region.
In this example, how to improve rail transit would be up to the creativity of the two agencies. As a quality control measure, the federal government could require that the agencies demonstrate how the proposed work would promote sustainability in the three categories noted above:
economic, environmental, and social. If clear benefits are not highlighted in each category for a given proposed project, then that poorly conceived project would not secure funding. Specific, high-level sustainability metrics could help quantify any proposed benefits.
Since the environmental effects from unsustainable transportation practices have national and international implications, a variety of tools to address localized problems could be added to the framework. Decision makers could then tailor the solutions to fit the needs of their cities.
As an example of a framework that approaches sustainability, Curitiba’s evolving plan was borne from the coordination among a mixture of regional agencies with financial support from the Brazilian federal government. More comprehensive bus networks may be a reasonable solution for the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Curitiba’s experience showed that growth occurred around the transit lines instead of around environmentally sensitive areas; this helped multiply the areas of green space that could benefit the region (Worldwatch Institute, 2001). Furthermore, Curitiba enjoyed large cost savings; the bus network’s price was one third of one percent the price of a subway (Worldwatch Institute, 2001).
Further research would be needed to determine if an extensive bus network may or may not be the proper solution for the Washington, DC area; yet the governing agencies in the District can at least learn from Curitiba the importance of fitting the right solution to the right place. The developers of the Master Plan carefully considered what transport modes would most appeal to Curitiba’s residents (Schwartz, 2004). Another straightforward lesson from Curitiba could be the importance of long term planning in the transportation sector. Perhaps the multimodal system in Amsterdam could be a better solution for the DC area. For example, well-advertised improvements in bicycle networks throughout the city and suburbs through agencies like the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) could promote a substitute to driving for many residents.
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