Gone are the days when mobility was nearly always a question of having a vehicle. Today the issue of road capacity is becoming ever more pressing. Even the safest, most comfortable and 100% emissions-free vehicle is only of limited use if it is stuck in a traffic jam. Mobility is a key human need and an important factor in the economy. It is a matter of logic that a com pany like DaimlerChrysler should make every endeavor to safeguard mo bility, thereby fulfilling humanity's economic, social and environmental needs. Nonetheless, traffic and mobility problems are the inevitable result of a concentration of people and markets. Bombay, Lagos, Shanghai, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Cairo, Mexico City - virtually half of the world's population is urban-based, and the majority live in the metropolitan regions of the Third World. The mega-cities in the so-called developing nations are facing a dramatic increase in traffic levels. Gridlock looms on the horizon. Should traffic-choked streets become a permanent and daily occurrence, economic development will be held in check and pollution will spiral."

'The river Rhine, it is well known, Doth wash your city of Cologne; Butteil me, Nymphs, what power divine Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?' The above strophe, composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge early last century, shows that interest in environmental problems (in this case, the self-cleansing property of water) is not just something new, but was also present in the past. The reader may wonder, after this poetic contribution which is still very relevant, if there is any need to compile a book which handles environmental problems in a much less prosaic, i. e. scientific, way. It is my firm beliefthat present environmental problems, because of both s i z e and in t e n s y, i t deserve our profound attention. This concern will have to be shown not only by those directly involved, viz. the 'man in the street', but also by the authorities as well as by scientists. In view also of the social relevance of the environmental question, science may not be impartial but must make a (modest) attempt to analyse, explain and solve the present environmental question systematically.

Current trends in transport, particularly the rise in CO--2 emissions, indicate that major changes in technology, public policy and individual behaviour are necessary to make the transport system more compatible with environmental sustainability. What then are the possible futures for sustainable systems of transport? In this book future scenarios are constructed on the basis of the recently developed a spider modela . This model constructs an evaluation framework -- based along spatial, institutional, economic and socio--psychological axes -- which visualises the core factors that influence transport systems. These factors can operate either separately or in combination -- this interaction creates scenarios which range from market--oriented to regulatory systems, and from individual to collective modes of transport. Drawing on the work of a range of transport analysts, the book suggests that the current trend away from sustainability and collective systems is likely to continue, but when sound policies are introduced, a sustainable transport system becomes a feasible option.

This first volume of the Handbook serves as a definitive reference source and teaching supplement for the field of regional economics, and for related fields such as geography, transportation economics, regional science and physical planning. It provides an advanced state-of-the-art survey for professional teachers, researchers and advanced (post-) graduate students in these disciplines. In addition to a representative survey of past developments, it also points to new directions and trends within the field. For more information on the Handbooks in Economics series, please see our home page on http: //www.elsevier.nl/locate/hes