Sustainability has become an overarching concern for transportation policy and planning around the world. The notion of sustainability for transportation however remains poorly specified which allows many policies and practices to be identified as ‘sustainable’ whilst business as usual approaches are pursued. There is a strong need to make the notion operational for application in transportation and related fields. This book will provide students and practitioners with a deep understanding of the basic concepts of sustainability as well as a coherent framework for how to apply them consistently in the context of transportation planning, management, and decision making at different levels. The key focus of the book is on the use of indicators and performance measures to make sustainability count for decision makers, planners, operators, and other stakeholders within and beyond the field of transportation. The purpose of the textbook is to outline the rationale for, and establish an approach to, measuring the performance of transportation systems against key sustainability principles.
The original idea for the book can be traced back to a seminar on sustainable transportation in Norway in 2008, where Dr. Henrik Gudmundsson (Technical University of Denmark), Dr. Greg Marsden (University of Leeds), Dr. Josias Zietsman (Texas A&M University), and I saw a need for an accessible textbook on ways to measure progress toward sustainable transportation. It took two years to find an opportunity for everyone to meet again, but in 2010 we held a working retreat in Yorkshire during which the overarching structure and basic content of the textbook was crafted.
Following the retreat, we submitted our outline for the textbook to a national book competition in Denmark and received a special award for an innovative international textbook project. The video below (in Danish) shows Dr. Henrik Gudmundsson receiving the award on behalf of the writing team. Press release relating to this award (in English).
“The authors have collaborated with practitioners from a wide range of sectors — not just within transport — to secure that theories and tools are relevant in a bigger context. As a whole, the book maintains a high academic level. It is characterized by a solid pedagogical understanding and demonstrates an impressive overview and engagement with the field.”
—Lærebogsprisen (the Textbook Prize) 2010 Jury
Ralph P Hall 