This book examines non-motorised transport - bicycles, rickshaws, electric vehicles - as a decisive component in a new strategy for urban development in both developing and developed countries. It provides useful case studies, tables and many illustrations.
Faced with the scale and intensity of the ecological crisis, environmental transition is underway, consisting of a first phase of technological mutation, aimed at replacing technologies harmful to the environment with those which have no destructive effects on the earth system and its equilibrium. This book examines the roots of the concept of environmental transition, identifying and characterizing the negative effects of technology on the environmental crisis. We will then identify the technological mutations that have the potential to contribute to environmental transition, and demonstrate how these changes are already forming part of a new emerging "technological system". We will conclude by addressing the question of the limits of technological responses to the environmental crisis, demonstrating the importance of the dimensional factors of human activity and weight of growth in this crisis, thus raising the issue of global reconsideration, with reference to the place and articulation of human activity in the Earth system.
Provides a unique review of the major spatial aspects of transport systems, a detailed analysis of transport problems in urban and rural areas, an evaluation of social and environmental impacts, and a planning and policy overview. Divided into four parts, each considering a different aspect of transport geography. The first part outlines the basic geography of transport and examines transport and spatial structures, focusing upon the varying contributions made by transport to industrial, agricultural and urban development. Part two moves to consider specific transport systems at both national and international scales, drawing on studies from industrialised and developing nations and discussing the effects upon transport of the political changes in the former USSR and Eastern Europe. The third part examines some of the many problems of transport and urban and rural areas using specific examples to illustrate the contrasting difficulties and evaluate current urban transportation planning methods.
The world now has more than a billion motor vehicles, and this number continues to increase as developing countries imitate developed societies in their adoption of the culture of automobility. This book explores the political ecology of motor vehicles in an era of growing social disparities and environmental crises, the latter of which are most manifest in anthropogenic climate change to which motor vehicles constitute a major contributor. A political ecological perspective recognizes that motor vehicles, perhaps more than any other machine, embody the social, structural, cultural, and environmental contradictions of the capitalist world system. In addition to highlighting many of the environmental, social, and health, environmental consequences of humanity’s increasing reliance on motor vehicles, particularly private automobiles, this book argues that ultimately we need as a species to move beyond motor vehicles as much as possible but that such an effort will have be part and parcel of creating an alternative world system based on social justice, democratic processes, environmental sustainability, and a safe climate, one termed democratic eco-socialism.
Non-Exhaust Emissions: An Urban Air Quality Problem for Public Health comprehensively summarizes the most recent research in the field, also giving guidance on research gaps and future needs to evaluate the health impact and possible remediation of non-exhaust particle emissions. With contributions from some of the major experts and stakeholders in air quality, this book comprehensively defines the state-of-the-art of current knowledge, gaps and future needs for a better understanding of particulate matter (PM) emissions, from non-exhaust sources of road traffic to improve public health. PM is a heterogeneous mix of chemical elements and sources, with road traffic being the major source in large cities. A significant part of these emissions come from non-exhaust processes, such as brake, tire, road wear, and road dust resuspension. While motor exhaust emissions have been successfully reduced by means of regulation, non-exhaust emissions are currently uncontrolled and their importance is destined to increase and become the dominant urban source of particle matter by 2020. Nevertheless, current knowledge on the non-exhaust emissions is still limited. This is an essential book to researchers and advanced students from a broad range of disciplines, such as public health, toxicology, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, atmospheric chemistry and physics, geochemistry, epidemiology, built environment, road and vehicle engineering, and city planning. In addition, European and local authorities responsible for air quality and those in the industrial sectors related to vehicle and brake manufacturing and technological remediation measures will also find the book valuable. - Acts as the first book to explore the health impacts of non-exhaust emissions - Authored by experts from several sectors, including academia, industry and policy - Gathers the relevant body of literature and information, defining the current knowledge, gaps and future needs
The book deals with urban transportation planning in light of environmental sustainability and social equity. It begins with a review of the Indian urban transportation system and the issues surrounding it, and discusses the alternatives and policy directions that are being considered. It examines all the environmental issues arising out of transportation as a sector and assesses the alternatives that can be considered to improve sustainability. Further, the book not only analyses transportation modes that cater to the travel needs of the poor, so as to make them more socially equitable, but also explores measures to promote them using a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder approach. It addresses the barriers that are bottlenecks for the implementation of cleaner fuels and modes of transport and presents an incremental approach to tackle environmental concerns, including climate change, when planning transportation in the long term. Finally, it presents the dilemma of city administrators in choosing between strategies aimed at local pollution control and those aimed at limiting global emissions. This unique book provides a comprehensive overview of “sustainable transportation.” It discusses all the important elements that are essential to transportation planners and policy makers when planning a city’s transportation. Theoretical presentations augmented by case-specific research work and the methodology used in some of the modules, make it a valuable resource for researchers working at the forefront of this area.
The sixth annual guide to the environmental, economic and social trends which are shaping the future, this text presents the good news, the bad news, and a few surprises about the state of our planet. n Part One, facing pages of text and graphs provide information on 40 carefully selected indicators, mapping changes in food supplies; agriculture; the atmosphere, energy and transport; natural resources; the global economy; society and health; and the millitary. Part Two of the text contains special features on less celebrated trends, including ten new vital signs indicators such as violence against women, how the environment impacts on the insurance industry, and the proliferation of landmines.
Traditional transport planning has generated transport systems that propagate an unfair distribution of accessibility and have environmental and safety issues. This book highlights the importance of social and political aspects of transport policy and provides a methodology to support this approach. It emphasizes the importance of co-ordinating urban, transport and traffic planning, and addresses the major challenge of modifying the building and use of roads. The author makes suggestions for innovative and radical new measures towards an equitable and sustainable urban environment.