The discussion paper, titled “A Delicate Balance: Mobility and Access Needs, Expectations and Costs," highlights that high levels of mobility, access and choice are achievable and accordingly, that private automobile usage can be pushed down, leading to decreased congestion and emissions, and increasing scope for carbon reduction through electrification of urban transport systems.
April 2011: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) International Transport Forum has published a discussion paper by David Metz titled “A Delicate Balance: Mobility and Access Needs, Expectations and Costs.”
This paper focuses around the observation that while mobility has been central to economic development and social progress in the modern era, personal daily travel has recently ceased to grow in developed economies, and is in decline in some major metropolitan areas, such as London, UK.
Metz states that for governments concerned about sustainability issues, the question of whether to encourage increasing population density in cities is a major policy issue for many reasons, not least important of which is mobility. The paper argues that high levels of mobility, access and choice are achievable and accordingly, that private automobile usage can be pushed down, leading to decreased congestion and emissions, and increasing scope for carbon reduction through electrification of urban transport systems.
The paper concludes by discussing how, with declining personal transport, developed economies can still achieve sufficient mobility and access to meet mobility requirements of those at risk of social exclusion, such as the elderly, the young, the disabled, the poor or those located on the outskirts of urban areas. [Publication: A Delicate Balance: Mobility and Access Needs, Expectations and Costs]