With all this talk of sustainability and sustainable transportation, it can be hard to focus on what sustainability and sustainable transportation is, even when William Black in his book, Sustainable Transportation, gives a detailed and exact definition of what sustainability, especially when paired with transportation is. I would like to take this time to lay out the aspects of sustainable transportation according to William Black in Chapter one of his book.
William Black uses the first chapter to define sustainability via several different definitions. Black first quotes the Brundland report of 1987 that defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Black 3.) This definition does not need to be changed much, if at all, to be a definition for sustainable transportation. Black continues to discuss the many different ways that one could define sustainability and sustainable transportation but this is how I would define it:
Sustainable transportation is the multi-modal use of various transportation systems that do the following:
1.) Conserve non-renewable resources as to keep the cost of these resources economically affordable for current and future generations
2.) Utilize renewable resources, but at a rate that is slower than the regeneration rate
3.) Manage pollution to keep it at a level that can be repaired by the Earth's Natural systems in a timely fashion
4.) Make transportation available for all who need it without excluding a class or minority of people
5.) Make transportation efficient in time so that it is not a hindrance on society
While that is not the entire definition of sustainable transportation and does not include every facet, it is a good base understanding that can be applied and used when one is discussing sustainable transportation, in my mind at least.
What do you think? Did I miss anything?
William Black uses the first chapter to define sustainability via several different definitions. Black first quotes the Brundland report of 1987 that defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Black 3.) This definition does not need to be changed much, if at all, to be a definition for sustainable transportation. Black continues to discuss the many different ways that one could define sustainability and sustainable transportation but this is how I would define it:
Sustainable transportation is the multi-modal use of various transportation systems that do the following:
1.) Conserve non-renewable resources as to keep the cost of these resources economically affordable for current and future generations
2.) Utilize renewable resources, but at a rate that is slower than the regeneration rate
3.) Manage pollution to keep it at a level that can be repaired by the Earth's Natural systems in a timely fashion
4.) Make transportation available for all who need it without excluding a class or minority of people
5.) Make transportation efficient in time so that it is not a hindrance on society
While that is not the entire definition of sustainable transportation and does not include every facet, it is a good base understanding that can be applied and used when one is discussing sustainable transportation, in my mind at least.
What do you think? Did I miss anything?
I think you hit all the points I would hit trying to define sustainability in our class. Especially the portion on making transportation available to everyone.
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