The current trends global transportation are widely considered to be unsustainable for a number of reasons, including profound impacts on the climate and heavy dependence on limited fossil fuel supplies (Greene, 1997). However, there is a great deal of disagreement among researchers and policy makers regarding what constitutes a “sustainable” system of economics, governance, or transport. The prevailing notion of sustainability has largely focused on reducing impacts to the planet from an ecological and natural resources perspective. In a broader policy context, however, the impacts of economics and equity issues on the health of the environment are not to be ignored. The relationship between resource scarcity and environmentally …show more content…
Thus, even under the strictest ecological interpretation of sustainability, achieving social, political, and quality of life objectives is paramount to getting national and global participation. Based on this more holistic interpretation, a high-level definition of a “sustainable transportation system” is one which:
• Does not unfairly prioritize any one ethnic, social, or economic group of people over another, in terms of access, financial cost, and secondary/external costs
• Is supportive of and not a barrier to equitable economic growth and development
• Supports societal expectations concerning mobility and quality of life
• Does not carry any unreasonable risks to humans in terms of public health or injury
• Works within the carrying capacity of the environment, both in terms of resource consumption and pollution output - A truly sustainable system would not degrade ecosystems or the environment, and would not consume any unrenewable resources
• Considers all objectives, policies, and strategies in a global context
Some have suggested that a policies regarding sustainability should include broader social issues in their list of objectives including education attainment, “cultural health” of a community, and even democracy (Farrell & Hart, 1998). At the risk of seeming overly pragmatic or uncaring, the view taken here is that such
It means that everyone is offered the same choices and opportunities, everyone is treated with respect and each individuals needs are catered for.
The three pillars are environmental, social and economically sustainability. However in this report, environmental sustainability will be brought to light, the two other pillars will be trivial. In order for environmental sustainability to be defined, general sustainability must be defined. Sustainability is the ability to continue a defined behaviour indefinitely (Thwink.org, 2015). For the environment, there are three aspects which must be sustained for, renewable resources, non-renewable resources and pollution. Therefore, environmental sustainability is the degree of pollution emission, renewable resource production and non-renewable resource consumption that can be continued indefinitely for future use. CAROBN
Coming into this class I believed sustainability needed to be taught as a mandatory way of life, relying on personal change in order to lessen our environmental footprint. Although my knowledge of sustainability has grown, this new information has only reaffirmed my initial beliefs of what sustainability is. Sustainability is a necessary practice that will only become more important as the population rises. With an increasing population, we face a growing strain on our natural resources. The major point that has changed since my first position paper, was my exclusion of the government and corporate role in the struggle for sustainability and global equality. Immoral corporate control of natural resources, such as water, is a vital factor
For me sustainability is like a family house. Since I was a baby I have known that I have to take care of it, that I have to keep it alive, just like I have to take care of the community and its surroundings. To some extent, over the years the sole fact of its existence became something obvious, something that simply has to be present. However, simultaneously, every day, I am learning that there is always something more to do, to improve the current state. For example, just like fixing a faulty roof, lately our community improved the heating system in our neighborhood – we managed to convince the board to switch from gas-based to solar-based one. Not much later we’ve gathered enough money to build new bike lanes, then to introduce new bus line,
While transit-oriented development (TOD) has become an increasingly popular planning mechanism, very few studies have been conducted on how cities try to plan for and implement transit-oriented development projects. This paper analyzes the TOD implementation process near transit centers, along with light-rail transit and the TOD projects that complement it. Zoning/land use data as well as archival research suggest TOD in San Diego will be its own special market due to the widespread transit infrastructure the region has.
To conclude, public transportation and car looping are things we should use and take advantage of if we really love our environment. We should also educate people about them, encourage to use them more often and how they can help us all to have a better clean healthy environment for next generations.
Although no one can deny the validity of his idea, we cannot accept it as the ‘correct’ definition of sustainability due to the issues it does not elaborate on. Needless to say, there exists environmental concerns, which some may argue to be the most important issue on our agenda today. Due to the fact that the
Adding travel opportunities for the community may contribute to environmental sustainability, as affordable transport fares will decrease the number of journeys taken by car, and thus will directly minimize carbon emissions (Paulley et al, 2006) into the atmosphere. Additional sustainable measures for the project include waste management; water efficiency (Bain & Li, 2011); land use integration, biodiversity conservation and
Transportation is the number one thing we consumers do that harms the environment. Transportation causes the highest amount of environmental damage overall - nearly half of the toxic air pollution and more than a quarter of the greenhouse gases traceable to household consumption. Over time, however, sales of trucks, vans and SUV's went from 16% market share to over 50%. One big auto manufacturer even shelved their work of the last three years, spent updating their most popular selling economy car, so they could spend the money getting SUVs to market faster.
As the wordplay in Satterthwaite’s title suggests, the various interpretations of ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ will dictate a city’s actions, due to the strategic selection of what is being sustained in a sustainable city. For instance, Satterthwaite (1997) suggests that a sustainable city may be construed in an entirely social manner, leading to the sustaining –or rather preservation – of existing social structures within the city. Consequentially, the achievement of the United Nation’s ‘sustainable development’ is compromised, since the economic and environmental aspects are left out of the scenario (Satterthwaite, 1997). This example also exposes the anthropocentrism embedded in ‘sustainability’, as human needs are often emphasized over environmental concerns. However, in this context, the oppression of nature is to be expected since ‘sustainable development’ is ultimately a Western construct designed for human benefit and because of this, will never remedy the ecological crisis society has created (Seghezzo, 2009).
Should the studies on climate change possess validity, then numerous human activities have altered the atmosphere of the Earth for the worse. Several among these activities categorize under the macrocosm of transportation. As a species, the human race continues to create and produce, which may contain threatening consequences based on these reports. Inside the category of transportation, every subcategory seems to partake in this, including automobiles, aircrafts, shipping, and railways, among countless others. Fortunately, various people and organizations have attempted to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases, or GHGs, in transportation-related technology and energy. When it comes to paying for these eco-friendly additions,
Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)
As the price of oil continues to rise it will spur a great demand for alternate energy sources to be discovered. Coal and liquefied gas a feasible substitutions for oil, however they can only be used provisionally as they are both finite resources as well. The ever-increasing price for oil has the potential to mitigate global warming as the harmful emission from fossil fuel usage promotes newer cleaner alternatives to be sourced. This is not the solution for climate change, however it will aid in decelerating global warming for a period of time. Means of transportation would be cut down too much simpler methods, such as walking or riding a bicycle. (Sharpe, S. & Tranter, P. 2010 pg. 290). Both of these methods of transport needs exertion of energy and can aid in improving ones fitness and a change to a healthier lifestyle. This is a step forward in tackling the global obesity epidemic. With the decline in the number of personal motor vehicles on the roads, urban areas can therefore be seen as not only environmentally friendly but child friendly as well (Tranter, P. & Sharpe, S 2007).
(congestion, pollution, overpopulation etc.). Sustainable Urban transport sector was chosen to study & compare transport planning, policy & implementation of different countries across the globe.
The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become a priority at the local, national, and international levels and the time for action has arrived. Since the transportation sector