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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
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