Part III Sustainable Transportation and Transportation in the Global South

Part III is forward-looking and situates American transportation policies and programs in the global context.  Transportation sustainability in the U.S. and Global South, though at opposite ends in per-capita CO₂ transportation-related emissions and urbanization rates, are globally connected in terms of climate change effects and policies to combat it.

Chapter Nine discusses the unique challenge of sustainable transportation when it comes to the triple bottom line of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, The U.S. global track record has a lot of room for improvement. The climate crisis and technology- driven solutions converging with “smart” mobility solutions highlighted in Chapter Eight, have recently energized broad U.S. policy initiatives to decarbonize transportation.

The transportation challenges and innovations observed in the Global South can offer invaluable insights for transportation planning at a global level. Chapter Ten presents a variety of transportation contexts from cities around the world responding to the need for mobility solutions in rapid urbanizing environments. Disparities in infrastructure, fragmented governance, and the coexistence of formal and informal systems of transportation further enabled by the wide use of smart phones are common traits among many Global South countries along with transit innovations like BRT, ciclovias, and cable cars.

While not an exhaustive list of relevant topics, the last two chapters of the book prepare the reader for further investigation into transportation planning.  Improving upon historical transportation approaches, such as trip-based mobility models and auto-centric land development, may draw insights from Global South experience in public transportation.