Trends in vehicle kilometres of travel in world cities, 1960–1990: underlying drivers and policy responses

Abstract

Increases in private motorised urban vehicle kilometres of travel are shown to arise from population growth, urban sprawl, increased car ownership and decreases in vehicle occupancy. In particular, the worldwide increase in urban mobility since 1960 has been the direct result of increased affluence and the consequent greater accessibility of private motor vehicles, as well as population growth. Urban sprawl has significantly less influence, although it has been significant in USA, Canadian and Australian cities. Despite this, a number of cities have shown that clear policy initiatives can contain the growth of urban private motorised mobility.

Why Public Bus is a Less Attractive Mode of Transport: A Case Study of Putrajaya, Malaysia

“…Cars provide safety and privacy to the driver and passenger(s). Having control over their travel gives additional satisfaction to the drivers (Cameron et al, 2004). These factors have ultimately discouraged people from using public transport, especially when it comes to daily commute, Therefore, efforts need to be made to implement measures which reduce the attraction of using private cars (Garling and Schuitema, 2007).…”

Land-Use Structure and Urbanization-Driven Land Fragmentation: Revisiting the Monocentric Model in a Sprawling Region

“…Over the past 50 years, we assisted to a growth of cities characterized by mainly discontinuous settlements, defined by the European Environment Agency (2006) as the physical pattern of low-density expansion of large urban areas, under market conditions, into the surrounding agricultural areas, supported by the dependence of the population of its private car and of its preference for one-family-housing. The implications of this kind of development include traffic and increasing demand for mobility (Ewing et al, 2003;Cameron et al, 2004;Kahn, 2000), land-use fragmentation and loss of biodiversity (Alberti, 2005), reduced landscape attractiveness (Sullivan and Lovell, 2006) and alterations of the hydrological cycle and flooding regimes (Carlson, 2004). Moreover, urbanization-driven land-use change is one of the main causes of political and social conflicts at various scales (Plotkin, 1987).…”

Land-use suitability analysis for urban development in Regional Victoria: A case study of Bendigo

“…Due to abundant land available and a relatively small po pulation in Australia, many Australian cities, especially regional cities, are suffered from the adverse effect from urban sprawl such as increased traffic and demand for mobility and increased investment on infrastructure (Ewing et al, 2002;Cameron et al, 2004;Kahn, 2000), traffic congestion, landscape fragmentation and loss of biodiversity (Alberti, 2005), reduced landscape attractivity and attachment to places (Sullivan and Lovell, 2006) and alterations of the hydrological cycle and flooding regimes (Bronstert et al, 2002;Carlson, 2004;McCuen, 2003). Bendigo"s urban area offers a wide range of services and activities including retail, education health, and business.…”