Michaël Bayunga

Transportation systems play a key role within cities, indeed they represent the backbone of exchanges, connect communities, and are crucial in every individual’s life. The sustainability of transportation systems is concerning since there is an increase in urbanisation, large end-use energy requirements, and air pollution in major cities around the world.

Urbanization and growth

The rapid urbanisation over the past decades increased the population living in urban areas, from 30% in 1950 to 55% in 2018 according to the UN. The population is still yet to grow, which enhances the demand in a car-dominated transportation system. This demand will further contribute to air pollution and energy use. According to the UN sustainability report of 2020, only half of the urban cities have convenient access to public transport. As a result, it paved the way for the development of informal transportation systems that often lack security features (Shah et al., 2021).

An issue that comes up often is that there is a lack of planning for the different areas that constitute cities. This lack of planning induces imbalanced regional developments and increases the dislocation between where people live and work (Shah et al., 2021).

Pollution

Transportation systems contribute to air pollution by releasing emissions of CO2, CO, VOC, NOx, sulphur, and particulate matter into the atmosphere. These pollutants come mainly from the complete and incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Further pollution emanates from brakes and tires. These emitted compounds have deleterious effects on health such as cardiovascular diseases and asthma (Shah et al., 2021).

The importance of transport for climate action is further recognized as the transport sector plays an important role in the achievement of the Paris Agreement since almost twenty percent of the emissions come from transport and are projected to grow substantially in the years to come.

Sustainable transport is important because it contributes to economic growth and improves accessibility. Moreover, it allows a better integration of the economy while respecting the environment, improving social equity, health, the resilience of cities, urban-rural linkages, and productivity of rural areas.

For instance, measures such as shifting from private vehicles to non-motorized transportation and public transportation constitute a good alternative. Further measures such as giving priority to public modes, promoting vehicle-free city territories, and pedestrian zones, and strengthening public transportation have the potential to discourage the use of motorised private transportation.

• Efficient use of electric vehicle technology and biogas as fuel for buses can help to reduce fossil fuel emissions (Shah et al., 2021). However, it can still be argued to what extent electric vehicles are sustainable.
• New planning perspectives on cities so that they have a compact mixed-use urban form that uses land efficiently and protects the natural environment, biodiversity, and food-producing areas (Kenworthy, 2006).
• Allow the natural environment to permeate the city’s spaces and embrace the city, while the city and its hinterland provide a major proportion of its food needs (Kenworthy, 2006).

These measures may help build or reconsider our transportation systems and cities. These measures can help shift from fossil fuel emissions that are prevailing in the transportation systems. There is a necessity to promote public transportation for instance through incentives and governments must carefully plan cities by coordinating transportation, work-home zones, and infrastructures to reduce the emissions from the transportation sector.

Sources

Kenworthy, J. R. (2006). The eco-city : Ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable city development. Environment and Urbanization, 18(1), 67‑85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247806063947

Shah, K. J., Pan, S.-Y., Lee, I., Kim, H., You, Z., Zheng, J.-M., & Chiang, P.-C. (2021). Green transportation for sustainability : Review of current barriers, strategies, and innovative technologies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 326, 129392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129392

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision (ST/ESA/SER.A/420). New York: United Nations.