Propolis - Planning and Research of Policies for Land Use and Transport for Increasing Urban Sustainability

Topics

• Mobility

Abstract

The results of the project show that, with growing traffic, the environmental sustainability deteriorates in all case cities compared with the current situation if no actions are taken. The trend is unlikely to change even if city specific reference scenarios, including local investment programmes, are adopted. Also, the social sustainability tends to deteriorate. The aim of PROPOLIS was to find policies that could simultaneously improve all three dimensions of sustainability compared with the reference solution and, if possible, even improve the current level of sustainability. This goal was reached in most of the case cities using the same type of package approach combining pricing, investment and land use policies. This indicates that the approach could be transferable and similar strategies could work also in other European cities. The local investment plans, normally consisting of an investment programme for both public transport and road investments, performed in the right direction but could not maintain the current level of sustainability. The various elements of the programmes were often found to encourage development towards opposing goals. Investment programmes should be designed to be consistent with the general goals set for the transport-land use system. Different car pricing methods were able to produce positive results. However, their effects on land use have to be separately assessed as the balance of services and vitality of different areas may change too much. The PROPOLIS research has demonstrated that a complete urban policy programme should be evaluated both policy by policy and as a whole. A good urban policy programme consists of co-ordinated elements that work together to produce cumulative long-term effects that attain, a balanced set of environmental, social and economic goals. These elements may include: (1) Combination of car and public transport pricing policies reflecting the external costs caused and with differentiation between peak and off-peak hours as well as congested and non-congested areas (2) Targeted transport investment programmes meeting the changes in demand caused by the above policies and especially responding to the increased demand for better public transport speed and service (3) A land use plan supporting the new need for people to live near central areas, in satellite cities or along well served public transport corridors, and the people’s increased need and opportunity to use public transport

Reference to the original publication

pdf, http://www.wspgoup.fi/

Remarks

Propolis is a research project within the 5th framework programme of the EC.

Further information

PROPOLIS