Title: Environmental and resource constraints on Asian urban travel

Authors: Patrick Moriarty

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Monash University, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East 3145, Victoria, Australia

Abstract: In industrialising countries, personal income has been the main constraint on widespread car ownership. However, incomes are rising rapidly in many Asian cities, so that traffic congestion and air pollution are replacing income as barriers to higher car ownership. Global oil depletion and climate change are potential additional constraints. The main finding of this paper is that private car travel is unlikely to ever be the dominant mode in Asia|s large cities. Instead, a combination of public transport and non-motorised travel seems the only feasible means of sustainably meeting the growing transport needs of congested Asian cities.

Keywords: alternative fuels; alternative propulsion systems; global climate change; local air pollution; oil depletion; urban density; urban heat islands; public transport; traffic congestion; non-motorised travel; Asia; urban transport; sustainability; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2007.014499

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2007 Vol.30 No.1, pp.8 - 26

Published online: 12 Jul 2007 *

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