Transcript Lecture 08 Transportation Sustainability

Sustainability and Autodependency
Norman W. Garrick
Lecture 8
CE 4710/5710
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is the stewardship of
natural and human-made resources
so that the quality of living and
the health of our cities, countryside and open space
do not deteriorate from one generation to the next
Cervero, The Transit Metropolis: Transit and the Changing World
Talking the Talk
Politicians in Jamaica and many other third world countries are very aware of the need
to ‘talk’ sustainability but the policies often don’t add up to changes that support
environmental sustainability. Environmental and health sustainability is often
compromised in the interest of economic growth.
The situation in the USA is slightly different – often technological fixes are offered up
as the solution that will cause us to achieve environmental health without
changing any of the economic or social issues that impact sustainability
So how do we convert the seemingly vague concept of sustainability into a
concrete framework for guiding policy and design?
The Three-Legged Stool
The common model of sustainability is made up of a triad of
economic, social, and environmental sustainability
Sustainability
The Problem with the Three-legged Stool Model
The three-legged stool model does not help us address seemingly hard questions like
•
How do we improve people’s quality of life without necessarily increasing
consumption to levels that might cause environmental degradation?
•
Can we have a sustainable economy without the need for constantly increasing
levels of consumption?
•
Can we satisfy people’s desire for access without environmentally damaging levels
of mobility?
The Starting Place for Understanding Sustainability
Source: http://www.spacetoday.org/images/SolSys/Earth/EarthBlueMarbleWestTerra.jpg
Why Protecting the Biosphere
is the Bottom-line for Sustainability
We only have the one biosphere – this biosphere consists of natural ecosystems at
different scales. It is a closed system with only one energy input and no output
for waste
Human activities have a big impact on the biosphere
We need to re-structure these activities so that we can satisfy our needs and desires
without continuing to cause harm to the biosphere
The Three-Legged Stool
Sustainability
The Problem with the Three-Legged Stool
The triad model of sustainability is considered by some to be
flawed because it does not explicitly recognize that
environmental sustainability requires changes to social and
economic institutions – instead, it talks about balance
It is universally acknowledged that the three dimensions of
sustainability - environmental, social and economic – are a
useful and valid way of conceptualizing this issue
What is in dispute is the order in which they are considered. The
three-legged stool does not imply any order or priority
The Appropriate Order for the Three Domains
The important shift is to recognize that the economy is the creation of society,
and not the other way around.
The economy is thus framed by the social context in which it occurs.
Further, both society and the economy operate within the context of a natural
environment of limited capacity.
This lead to the nested box model of sustainability in which the order of
priority is environment, social, and economy sustainability
Environment
Society
Economy
(LOW AND GLEESON 2003, HART 2006)
Interpreting the Nested Box Model of Sustainability
It is important not to take this model to mean that the economy, or economic
considerations, are not important
Rather it should be interpreted as saying that growth should serve the interest of the
society and be environmentally sustainable.
The most extreme examples of economic growth without social or environmental
sustainability can be found in many “oil rich” countries around the world.
The Nested box model also contains echoes of Littman's point about striving for
‘development’ not just ‘growth’
From an article by McGranahan and Satterthwaite in
Pugh, Sustainable Cities in Developing Countries, Earthscan, pg. 73-87
Ref: Low and Gleeson, Making Urban Transportation Sustainable, Palgrave MacMillan, pg. 25 - 41.
Biloxi c2004
Roads Slated for Expansion
Biloxi 2025
With Road Expansion
8 lanes
6 lanes
5 lanes
4 lanes
Gulfport c2004
Roads Slated for Expansion
Gulfport 2025
With Road Expansion
8 lanes
6 lanes
5 lanes
4 lanes
22000
18000
14000
USA
Mississippi
10000
6000
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Mississpippi
USA
The Netherlands
25
20
15
10
5
0
Mississpippi
USA
The Netherlands
Level 1
3 Domains
Environment
Society
Level 2
12 Elements
(Goals)
01 02 03 04
05 06 07 07
Level 3
19 Indicators
**
*
*
**
**
**
**
**
Economy
*
09 10 11 12
*
*
*
Level 4
22 Variables
Each indicator is measured by one or more variables
*
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Best
Worst
Dist. of Columbia
17.4%
Mississippi
44.2%
Alaska
22.1%
Wyoming
38.2%
New York
22.6%
Alabama
38.1%
Connecticut
22.7%
Montana
38.0%
Massachusetts
22.8%
Kentucky
37.7%
Best
Worst
Oregon
6.7
Michigan
0.3
Indiana
4.7
Mississippi
0.4
Dist. of Columbia
3.9
Alaska
0.5
Massachusetts
3.8
Louisiana
0.7
South Dakota
3.4
Hawaii
0.7
Connecticut: Ranked 19th, 23 % Growth in GDP, 12% Growth in VMT
Best
Worst
New York
12.5%
Mississippi
45.4%
Washington
13.4%
Montana
40.8%
Massachusetts
14.1%
Rhode Island
40.3%
Virginia
14.1%
North Dakota
37.3%
California
15.1%
South Carolina
37.1%
Connecticut: Ranked 40th, 32.9 % Federal Sources
Best
Worst
Dist. of Columbia
0.2%
Alaska
6.0%
New York
1.1%
Mississippi
4.5%
Connecticut
1.4%
Montana
4.0%
Delaware
1.4%
Wyoming
3.9%
Rhode Island
1.5%
North Dakota
3.8%
Percentage spent on transportation petroleum shown
Best
Worst
Dist. of Columbia
90
Mississippi
7
New York
75
Montana
21
Massachusetts
73
Arkansas
28
Oregon
65
Wyoming
29
Washington
65
South Carolina
29
Connecticut: Ranked 16th, Score 55
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