For more than 60 years the U.S. and other industrialized nations have built a transportation infrastructure system that depends largely on the internal combustion engine and burning of fossil fuels. Resource constraints, rising fuel prices and concerns about climate change are forcing transportation and land use planners at the local, regional and national levels to consider strategies that will be more efficient, less environmentally damaging and more sustainable over the long term. While attention is being given to technological fixes aimed at improving vehicle and fuel efficiency, there is a growing consensus that changes to land use and transportation systems will need to play a bigger role.
Take a closer look at the non-technological strategies communities are pursuing to develop a transportation system that is sustainable and that supports the goals of creating more livable communities. This one-day course begins with an introduction to sustainability and how it applies to transportation and explores some of the following topics in more detail:
- Strategies to reduce trips or vehicle miles traveled
- Strategies to shift transportation modes from motor vehicles to transit, bicycling and walking
- Green streets, parking strategies, traffic calming, connectivity, transit and more