A USDOT report calls for a set of strategies including but not limited to electrification of the transportation sector.
A report from the U.S. Department of Transportation highlights the need to reduce driving in addition to adopting electric vehicles to reach decarbonization goals, writes Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA — “but it's unclear if any level of government is prepared to take the steps necessary to do both,” Wilson adds.
Assuming that no further climate legislation is passed, one study cited in the report found that transport emissions are on track to grow a staggering 23 percent by 2050, rather than falling to net zero, which experts say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
According to the report, no level of government has taken sufficient steps to reduce driving. “The U.S. will not be able to decarbonize the transportation sector by midcentury without addressing increased demand,” the report emphasizes.
The report calls for increasing convenience “by decreasing the distance Americans need to travel to key destinations (and the safety they can expect along the journey), as well as ‘improving efficiency’ by supporting mass transportation and better freight strategies.”
Wilson points out that, despite the report’s findings, USDOT continues to award grants to projects that perpetuate car-centric planning and transportation systems.
FULL STORY: USDOT Warns Congress That Americans Need to Drive Less to Survive Climate Change
Providence Could Ban New Gas Stations
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Vehicle Miles Travelled, Level of Service, and a Soon-to-be-Insolvent Transportation Trust Fund
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People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
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New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
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Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association