Book: Transport, Climate Change and the City By Robin Hickman, David Banister (21 Jan 2014)

Transport, Climate Change and the City

By Robin Hickman, David Banister

Routledge – 2014 – 400 pages

Series: Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research

Description:

Sustainable mobility has long been sought after in cities around the world, particularly in industrialised countries, but also increasingly in the emerging cities in Asia. Progress however appears difficult to make as the private car, still largely fuelled by petrol or diesel, remains the mainstream mode of use. Transport is the key sector where carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions seem difficult to reduce.

Transport, Climate Change and the City seeks to develop achievable and low transport CO2emission futures in a range of international case studies, including in London, Oxfordshire, Delhi, Jinan and Auckland. The aim is that the scenarios as developed, and the consideration of implementation and governance issues, can help us plan for and achieve attractive future travel behaviours at the city level. The alternative is to continue with only incremental progress against CO2 reduction targets, to ‘sleepwalk’ into climate change difficulties, oil scarcity, a poor quality of life, and to continue with the high traffic casualty figures. The topic is thus critical, with transport viewed as central to the achievement of the sustainable city and reduced CO2 emissions.

Content:

1. Transport, Climate Change and the City 2. Futures, Scenarios and Strategic Conversations 3. Ambitions Towards Sustainable Mobility (London) 4. Affluent Rurality and Car Dependence (Oxfordshire) 5. Breaking the Projected Trend 5. Breaking the Projected Trend (Delhi) 6. Building a New World 7. Urban Dispersal and High Motorisation (Auckland) 8. Sustainable Transport and the City

Review:

A hugely authoritative book on a hugely important subject.

–Peter Hall, University College London, UCL

While transport’s contribution to climate change is of global importance, it needs to be addressed at the city or metropolitan scale. Yet cities differ, precluding easy one-size-fits-all solutions. By taking a scenario approach to a wide variety of cities this highly readable book provides insights to what can be done and how in a comprehensive manner. It is a major contribution, of interest to academics and practitioners alike.

–Eran Feitelson, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Quirky, intriguing, confronting stories of how the world's cities are slipping further into car dependence – and some possible solutions.

–Peter Newman, Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Australia

This fantastically illustrated book is a joy to read and adds to other books on sustainable transport in its case based focus on the instrumental role that transport can and should play in the sustainable city. The scenarios developed for London, Oxfordshire, Delhi, Jinan and Auckland illustrate that different futures, away from the car, are possible, and that a 0.5 tCO2 per capita target can be achieved in different contexts. A must for everyone looking for inspiration to design sustainable travel solutions!

for more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415660020/