This document discusses sustainable urban transportation systems. It notes that urban transportation is a major source of emissions, congestion, and health issues. Currently, most urban travel in the US is by private automobile. The document advocates for more compact, multi-modal transportation systems that emphasize public transit, walking, and biking. This includes pedestrian-friendly street designs, transit-oriented development, and integrating different transportation modes. The goal is to create more sustainable, low-carbon and socially equitable mobility.

1. PLAN 1900: Sustainable Cities
Week 4: Sustainable Urban Transportation
Anuradha Mukherji
Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning

2. URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
KEY POINTS:
- Urban systems are hot spots for emissions, solid waste, water pollution,
congestion, safety, and other quality of life challenges
- Urban transport is a key area - Energy consumption, carbon emissions, and
health impacts
- About 50% of Americans live in counties that fail the National Ambient Air
Quality standards, even after spending billions on technology to reduce
automobile emissions
- Most urban travel in the United States is by automobile, use of private
automobile for mass transportation
- In 2000, 88% drove to work, 6% walked or biked, 5% in public transit.
Compare to UK – 16% walk or bike- or Germany – 34% walk or bike

5. SOCIAL IMPACTS
INEQUITY & ISOLATION
- Urban transport system planned around the need for individual to own and
operate a personal vehicle means the system does not work for those who
do not have a car.
- In most metropolitan areas, 25% of population is too old to drive, too young
to drive, or cannot afford an automobile
- Dispersion and suburbanization of jobs and housing and resulting
automobile dependence means that those without car have difficulty finding
work and can become isolated from mainstream society

6. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
- About 3000 people (same number that were killed during Sep 11 attacks) die
every month from traffic accidents
HEALTH IMPACTS
- Lack of ‘walkability’ leads to low rates of cycling and walking, linked to higher
body mass indexes and poorer health
PETROLEUM DEPENDENCE
- More than half of petroleum needs imported, impacts political decisions and
foreign policy direction
SOCIAL IMPACTS

7. TRANSPORT – LAND USE
CLOSELY INTERLINKED
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM:
COMPACT, MULTI-USE & MULTI-MODAL
TRAFFIC CALMING FOR PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY
STREET DESIGN (DAVID SUCHER)
INTERLINKED URBAN SYSTEM

8. Curbs, Bulbs, Wide Sidewalks, Street Parking
This image is attributed to Complete Streets @ 2009 (CC BY-NC 2.0)

9. This image is attributed to Laura Sandt, CompleteStreets @ 2010 (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Complete Street, Charlotte, North Carolina
Wide Sidewalks, Bike Lane, Dedicated Transit Lane, Change in Paving, Sidewalk Planting, Narrow Street

10. North End, Boston, Narrow Street, Narrow Sidewalk – Side Street
This image is attributed to Mukherji @ 2013, All Rights Reserved

11. Complete Street, East Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina
Pedestrian Sidewalk, Bike Lane, Sidewalk Buffer
This image is attributed to CompleteStreets @ 2010 (CC BY-NC 2.0)

12. ZURICH
Wide Sidewalks, Shared Street, Curb & Bulbs
This image is attributed to Andreas Praefcke @ 2007 (CC BY 3.0)

13. Street Parking, Wide Pedestrian Sidewalk & Sheltered Bike Parking (Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon)
Curb & Bulb
This image is attributed to Steven Vance @ 2010 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

14. Complete Street (Downtown, Portland, Oregon), Bike Lane & Bike on Transit
This image is attributed to Todd Mecklem @ 2011 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

15. BIKE SHARING, PARIS
This image is attributed to Coyau @ 2012 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Commitment through modest investment, planning and design
Bike lanes along all major streets
Separated bike lanes with separate signaling & priority at intersections
Extensive bicycling parking facilities (trains, public buildings)
Minimum bicycle parking and storage standards at new developments
BIKE ORIENTED

16. SOLAR POWERED BICYCLE PAY STATION, BOULDER, COLORADO
This image is attributed to Tyree303 @ 2013 (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Mariordo @ 2012 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

17. COMPACT & MULTI-USE URBAN FOOTPRINT
MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY
LOW-CARBON MOBILITY: PUBLIC TRANSIT, WALKING, BIKING
PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY STREET & URBAN DESIGN
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT PLANNING

18. Back Bay, Boston

19. Priority to transit on streets – protected & dedicated bus & tram lanes
Reduce interference of autos with transit movement
Single ticket good for all transit modes (bus, tram, underground metro)
High frequency of service
Integration of transit modes through coordination of routes
Cross-national travel by high speed rail
Investments in new routes along with new developments
All part of the city no more than 600 meters from a tram station
Car sharing companies and strategies
TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD)

20. TRAM STATION IN ZURICH
This image is attributed to Ronald Zh @ 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

21. CAR2GO (CAR SHARING, ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING), AMSTERDAM
This image is attributed to Mariordo @ 2011 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

22. PEDESTRIAN ZONE, COPENHAGEN
This image is attributed to Furya @ 2010 (CC BY 2.0)

23. ZURICH HIGH SPEED RAIL TRANSIT HUB
This image is attributed to Roger Price @ 2008 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

24. PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED URBAN DESIGN
Creating ‘walkable’ cities through compact, dense and mixed-use
Mixed use provides shops, services, cafes at walking distances
Outdoor space – people socialize & interact, children play, democracy plays out
Continued attention to the issue – expansion of pedestrian areas through street
design friendly to pedestrians
Gradual conversion to pedestrian uses, politically difficult to do at once
Copenhagen: 2-3% of downtown parking converted each year
Good public transit and alternate modes of travel a critical factor