The relationship between land use and transport is a major factor in achieving sustainable development. Transport contributes to global and local air pollution, generating 21% of Carbon Dioxide emissions in the UK - a proportion that is increasing - over 90% of Carbon Monoxide, and 61% of Nitrogen Oxides. In order to meet the objectives of Agenda 21, there has been a significant change over the last few years in national and local planning and transport policies. Government guidance now encourages forms of development that will eventually reduce travel demand. It is now widely accepted that unlimited use of cars cannot be accommodated, particularly in urban areas.

Sustainability is also important in economic terms. The increasing globalisation of economic activity means that cities are becoming more dependent on the knowledge and skills of their people and businesses, and on their communications and information infrastructure, in order to compete internationally. Attracting and retaining mobile individuals with key skills will be crucial, and the quality of life on offer in the city will be an important factor in the decisions made by such people.

The initial step to maintaining the attraction of cities into the twenty-first century is to understand what cities are for and their role for economic, educational, social and cultural development. Such development results from the exchange of ideas, goods, knowledge , labour and services between people, which can only occur when people gather together. Historically this was achieved by coming from rural areas to a market; later by living close together in towns and cities. Cities achieve a critical mass for a whole range of formal and informal exchange related activities. Thus the evolution of urban areas and their role as the driving force for all forms of human development. In Europe, around 80% of the population now live in urban areas.

Impacts of current lifestyles on the exchange opportunities that are the basis of successful city life have received less attention than the more obvious direct environmental impacts of the use of the car. Yet it is only by managing our cities to maximise these opportunities that the urban area can provide both economic success and "quality of life" in the long term. So in the quest for a sustainable city this issue must be addressed alongside physical environmental impacts. In this context the impact of the car is even more central than is the case with the physical environmental problems.

Transport has been a key factor in bringing people together in order to achieve this exchange potential. The introduction of new transport systems has facilitated the development of larger cities and therefore played a key role in human development. But paradoxically, it has also generated some of the biggest barriers to efficient exchange.

This effect has been very much accelerated by the development of the motor car. Personalised transport has been a two edged sword: it has given those to whom it is available major benefits in increased freedom of movement and hence the choices open to them; but as its use has grown, it has at the same made increasing demands on urban space, reducing exchange opportunities and hence the quality of life for many people. It has also generated a form of urban development that is increasingly dependent on car access, thus further accelerating traffic growth, and disenfranchising the population that cannot or do not have cars. Public transport then becomes a residual, social, service providing simply a safety net.

Transport trends in Edinburgh over the last decade or so are not untypical of the UK and indeed of Europe. There has been very rapid growth in car ownership. Between 1981 and 1991, the number of cars per 1000 people grew by 47%, compared to a UK average of 29% - albeit from a lower base. Edge of town shopping and business parks have been developed, and commuting distances have increased. The UK trend of declining bus use is found also in Edinburgh, with the number of bus passengers declining from 177m in 1980 to 135m in 1992, a reduction of almost 25%.

However, Edinburgh still retains a higher level of bus use than most cities, at least for the journey to work. And for journeys into the city centre in the morning peak hour, about the same number of people (20,000) travel to work by bus as by car. The people travelling by bus occupy around 600 buses, while the car travellers are in 18,000 cars.

The question is: what, if anything, can be done to reverse these trends? In Edinburgh, we believe that it is possible to create a "win-win" position, where less traffic - and hence a better environment - go hand in hand with greater economic activity. In order to achieve this we must question some of our fundamental priorities, with no preconceptions. Why, for example, should people in vehicles automatically have priority over people on foot? Why should virtually all the roadspace be given over to the most inefficient mode of transport? Most of all, our approach is based on going back to first principles about what makes the city function, and the link between the city’s economy and the quality of life of its inhabitants.

There is no doubt that a major element in reversing current trends is the provision of high quality public transport. We have tried to identify the important factors in attracting people to public transport, based on successful examples elsewhere, and the important factors that provide the right environment for successful public transport operation. The examples below illustrate the scope of the actions that can help to achieve this. It is important to recognise that there are a range of types of action: from measures to improve the technology or the physical infrastructure, to ensuring that the city is in the widest sense designed for public transport. These examples are illustrative only, they are not exclusive.

Curitiba in Brazil is best known for having developed an innovative, efficient public transport system. The planning framework encourages development along linear axes centred on express busways. These busways were introduced between 1974 and 1991 and now include rapid buses connecting all areas of the city at a standard fare. An important complementary measure was the municipal government’s acquisition of land along and adjacent to these corridors. This enabled the provision of high density housing in locations easily accessible to the public transport network. The proximity of nearby services and commerce has also been encouraged in these areas. Meanwhile, parks have been expanded, green areas and historical buildings are protected and the central areas are much more pedestrian-friendly.

In Ottawa an extensive network of dedicated busways has been built. Combined with strong land use powers, these have been linked with high density development around some of the stations, creating the most favourable conditions for attracting users, and for gaining a level of patronage to support a high level of service.

In Japan, the Osaka City Master Plan 21 is designed to promote various types of development that focus on the creation and maintenance of a comfortable urban environment. Urban transport has been developed with a view to encourage a sustainable urban environment in which people and vehicles can coexist through appropriate management and regulation. The target is to maintain car modal share at its 1990 level of 17% up to 2010.

These examples highlight the importance of linking land use planning and transport provision. Other cities have illustrated how better public transport can be provided within more established urban areas. Conventionally, improved public transport has been seen in terms of metro and tram systems. While such systems clearly provide a quantum improvement in public transport quality, concentration on them may be at the expense of cheaper and simpler changes that can bring about the same effect. All these changes require a range of tools to be successful. Technology can assist in providing traffic management prioritising public transport, better information, and enforcement. Comfort and convenience may also be assisted by technology, but also require good design. Marketing can make a substantial contribution to the effectiveness of new facilities.

Manchester metrolink increased patronage over the previous rail routes by 57%, and just under 20% of users had transferred from previous car use. The guided busway corridor in Adelaide attracted a very similar proportion of previous car users.

In Leeds and Ipswich, upgrading of bus routes including short sections of guided busway, quality improvements to infrastructure and information, and rebranding have also achieved 50% increases in patronage, and 20% to 25% of users previously used their cars, with a customer profile more normally associated with rail travel. In Grenoble, rationalisation of the bus and trolleybus network between 1974 and 1984 resulted in doubling the number of passengers, which led to the need for the development of the tramway system that is now in place.

In Zurich, a proposed metro system was voted down in a referendum. Instead, the City Council has concentrated on improving the level and quality of service provided by the existing public transport network and making it more customer friendly. Zurich now has one of the highest levels of public transport use in Europe at over 500 trips per person per year, and car ownership levels have stabilised.

Although the scale of change necessary is daunting, these examples show that it is possible to make an impact on travel behaviour. In addition to Zurich, many German cities have succeeded in stopping the ever-increasing growth of car use, and shown significant growth in cycling and the use of public transport. It must be recognised that this is the result of consistent policies and significant investment over a long period of time in each case.

Source: Study of Policies in Overseas Cities for Traffic and Transport: Peter Jones, University of Westminster (for Department of Transport)

In Edinburgh, the City Council has set itself clear targets for the future, quantified in terms of modal share for the journey to work in the city. In developing this "moving FORWARD" strategy, the former Lothian Regional Council was one of the first local authorities to commit itself to such targets. A number of different developments illustrate the practical application of some of the principles that can help to reduce car dependency and achieve these targets.

moving FORWARD modal share targets (city residents)

CERT is a dedicated guided bus system which will run on 8 miles of purpose built track between the west end of the city centre, through the western suburbs, the new Gyle retail and business area on the western edge of the city and on to a Park and Ride site and the airport. The buses however will be able to run on the normal road network as well, providing a wider range of direct point to point journey opportunities than is possible with a tram or metro system that is limited to a special track. The cost of CERT is £37m, which is being funded on a PFI basis with a public sector capital injection. Construction should start at the end of 1998.

The South East Wedge, covering an area of 1370 hectares, is a key area for growth and development to meet the city’s future housing needs. Provided that it is developed in a particularly sensitive way, this can have a major impact in assisting the regeneration of the adjacent areas while providing 5000 new dwellings.

A broad framework has been produced and includes three key objectives:

• Maximum integration between the new development and existing urban areas
• An urban form that is sustainable, based on urban village principles, encouraging walking, cycling and public transport
• An appropriate setting within a strong landscape framework

The masterplan for the area sets out to ensure that the new development has a strong urban shape and scale, that it contains a mix of uses providing retail, employment and community facilities, that it presents a strong townscape image and that it is a pleasure to walk through. Crucially, the development will focus on an effective public transport network, with high densities of development along this corridor maximising the number of people having access to the network. A comprehensive cycle network will also serve the area. The aim is to minimise travel demand, and to ensure that necessary travel is undertaken to the maximum extent possible by environmentally-friendly means.

The Edinburgh "Greenways" scheme will be extended to three further corridors in the city later this year. Consideration is being given to further requirements for new public transport infrastructure, including the possible reopening of rail lines, beyond the CERT route described above. The planning and development framework for the city is increasingly taking account of the needs for a more sustainable approach to development.

Two key issues remain to be resolved:

• How can a sustainable transport system be financed?
• Is there a need to change the pricing framework for transport so that individual’s transport decisions are based on cost, including external costs?

These questions lead us on to discussion of road pricing and restraint mechanisms that are beyond the scope of this paper. However, it is important to be aware that "pull" measures, in the form of improved public transport service, quality and technology are most unlikely to be sufficient on their own to overcome a distorted market in which car users in congested urban areas are not paying the true costs of their journeys.

Experience from certain cities throughout the world shows that it is possible to make significant inroads into the growth of car dependency and car use given a substantial commitment on a wide range of fronts, and consistent action over a long period of time.

However, even more than that is needed. Only through the establishment of a clear understanding of the the functioning of the city in the widest sense, and the agreement of a set of values that will underpin the actions taken to manage movement needs, can objectives for environmental and economic well-being be achieved in parallel. Once the values have been established, the wide range of tools that are available to transport planners can then be applied in a rational way that is directed towards clear objectives.

The values must relate to people, not to vehicles or to movement for its own sake. Otherwise conflict will inevitably occur in assessment of the city’s future development between short term economic imperatives that often appear irresistable, and long term effects on the economy, the environment and the quality of life that could eventually undermine the effective functioning of the city.