The OER textbook, “Green Cities and Transportation,” seeks to educate planners on sustainable transportation, transportation equity, and climate change mitigation. Although the focus is on sustainable transport for US cities, the book examines North and Global South towns that may serve as a reference because they have implemented illuminating approaches to sustainable and equitable mobility. Case studies include Bus Rapid Transit in Curitiba, Brazil, congestion charging in London, and biking in Amsterdam.

This textbook fosters knowledge, skills, and multidisciplinary conversations on how sustainable mobility and infrastructure may support climate change mitigation and transportation equity for low-income commuters.

The textbook is divided into three sections: 1) Sustainability, Transportation Equity, and Planning, 2) Case Studies and Lessons from the North and South, and 3) Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Cities, and Mobility. The textbook includes eleven chapters with discussion questions, reading materials, and in-class exercises to help students develop a research paper on transportation. Students’ learning outcomes include:

• Developing research skills drawn from transportation case study projects,
• Explaining and demonstrating the significance of transportation for climate change mitigation and sustainable development,
• Illustrating sustainable mobility strategies that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time, support transportation equity for low-income commuters.

Chapter titles

Section I: Sustainability, Transportation, and City Planning.

Chapter 1: Transportation and Sustainable Development.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes, Ladan Mozaffarian, and Soheil Sharifiasl.

Chapter 2: Transportation Equity and Justice. The Effects of Driving in the Built Environment: Pollution and Global Warming.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Soheil Sharifiasl.

Section II: Case Studies, Strategies, and Lessons from the North and South.

Chapter 3: Case Study I: The Mobility Challenges in the Cities of the Global South.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes.

Chapter 4: Case Study II: Congestion Charging in London: The Western Expansion.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Soheil Sharifiasl.

Chapter 5: Case Study III: Car Bans in Mexico City.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Ladan Mozaffarian.

Chapter 6: Case Study IV: Parking in San Francisco.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Sharifiasl.

Chapter 7: Case Study V: California High-Speed Rail.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Ladan Mozaffarian.

Chapter 8: Case Study VI: Sustainable Transportation in Latin America: Bus Rapid Transit Systems in Curitiba, Brazil and Transmilenio in Bogota, Colombia.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes and Ladan Mozaffarian.

Chapter 9: Case Study VII: Non-Motorized Transportation in Europe and the United States.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes, Soheil Sharifiasl, Anna Laura Harmjanz, and Jenifer Reiner.

Section III: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Cities, and Mobility.

Chapter 10: Transportation and Climate Change Mitigation: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes.

Chapter 11: Environmental Impact Assessment: Data, Methodological Approaches, and Examples.

• Dr. Ariadna Reyes.