This document discusses sustainable cities and transportation. It covers how cities can grow compactly, with public transit, walking and biking, or dispersedly, relying on cars. Dispersed cities are problematic as they increase driving and pollution. Solutions proposed include dense urban planning, public transit investment, and policies to reduce individual car usage such as gas taxes, tolls and parking fees. Land use planning, zoning and open spaces are also discussed as tools to guide sustainable urban growth.

1. Sustainable Cities
Ch. 22, part 2

2. Main Ideas
 How cities grow
 Transportation around &
between cities
 Land-use planning
 Controlling growth
 Ecocities

3. How Cities Grow
 Compact cities grow upward and
downward (below ground)
 Ex: Hong Kong, Toyko
 Most transportation by walking,
biking, mass transit
 Many high-rise apartments have
grocery stores, gyms, etc
Singapore

4. How Cities Grow
 Dispersed Cities grow outward
 Due to cheap gas, plenty of land, highways
 Residents depend on cars
 Bad for those who cannot drive (elderly)
 Ex: USA, Canada, Australia

5. USA is prime example of
dispersed cities and the
problems they cause
 USA - 4.6% of the world’s
people
 USA - 35% of the world’s
cars
 In dispersed areas - 98% of
transportation in cars
 75% of workers drive alone
to work
 Use 43% of the world’s
gasoline
Los Angeles

6. Pros and Cons of personal
motor vehicles
 Pros:
 Convenient
 Comfortable
 Symbols of power, sex
appeal, social status,
success

7. Much of the economy
built around cars
Producing cars,
supplying fuel, roads,
services, repairs

8. Pros and Cons of personal
motor vehicles
 Cons:
 High risk
1.2 million people/year die (3300/day)
15 million injured every year
50 million animals (wild and pets) killed every year
In USA - >40K people killed/year
 Car accidents have killed more people that all American
wars combined!

23. Partner Share
 We are a “car culture”
 Think of at least 3 ways cars
are celebrated in our
country/culture

24. Pros and Cons of personal
motor vehicles
 Cons:
 World’s largest source
of outdoor air pollution
Causes 30K-60K
premature deaths/year
(EPA)
Major source of CO2
emissions
2/3 of our oil goes into
our cars
1/2 of US land (1/3
worldwide) devoted to
roads, parking lots, gas
stations

25. Ideas to reduce motor vehicle
use
 user-pays approach
 Tax gas honestly (full-cost
pricing) to cover actual cost of
driving
This tax would be ~ $12/gallon (&
reduce income, sales tax)
Phase tax in gradually to
encourage more use of mass
transit, more efficient vehicles
Reduce dependence on foreign oil
Money could be used for
investment in mass transit, bike
lanes

26. Some are already doing it!
 Cities in Europe, Japan,
China developing mass
transit systems
 USA lagging behind

27. Challenges in USA
 Rising gas taxes in US tricky
because:
 Public doesn’t like it
Most unaware of the hidden costs
of vehicle use
 Powerful lobbies fight against it
 Mass transit not viable in many
areas
 Dispersed cities make us
dependent on cars

28. Possible Solutions in USA
 High parking fees (already
done in some cities)
 Tolls of roads and bridges
leading into crowded cities

29. Possible Solutions around the world
 Bike sharing
 Car sharing
 Increase/promote bike lanes
 Light rail systems
 High-speed rail for long
distances

30. Car Sharing and Ride
Sharing
 Would you?

31. Partner Share
What are the
pros and cons
of a city
designed for
pedestrian
traffic and not
cars?

33. Big Businesses Destroyed
our Mass Transit System
 In 1917 - all major US cities
had efficient electric trolley
systems

34. Big Businesses Destroyed
our Mass Transit System
 GM, Firestone,
Standard Oil, Phillips
Pertroleum, & Mack
Truck got together to
form NATIONAL CITY
LINES
 By 1950 they had
purchased the
streetcar systems in 83
cities and promptly
dismantled them to
encourage car use
Trolley cars
awaiting
destruction in a
GM lot

35. Big Business Destroyed our
Mass Transit System
 Courts found them guilty of
conspiracy and charged
them $1 each

39. Potential Routes for High-Speed Bullet
Trains in the U.S. and Parts of Canada
http://www.hsr.ca.gov/

40. Stop
prepare for exam tomorrow
or
work on your lab report

41. Land Use Planning
 Used in most urban (and
some rural areas) to
determine best present and
future use of the land
 Usually focuses on
encouraging population
growth and economic
development without
considering environmental
and social consequences

42. Why?
 In USA and many other countries, 90% of the
local revenue comes from property taxes
 So good to promote more buildings, more homes
--> more revenue for cities to pay for schools,
police, fire, water, sewer

43. Zoning
 Designating parcels of
land for certain uses
 Can be used to protect
sensitive areas
 Can cause problems when
poorly designed
Ex: no businesses in
suburban areas --> driving
more
 Designating parcels of
land for certain uses
 Can be used to protect
sensitive areas
 Can cause problems when
poorly designed
Ex: no businesses in
suburban areas --> driving
more

44. Open Space
 People crave open spaces
 Parks within cities
 Parks just outside cities
 Greenbelts - open areas just
outside city limits for recreation,
light forestry
 Satellite towns around greenbelt
connected to city with mass transitCentral Park, NYC

45. Sample essay prompt