A DIFFERENT KIND OF VISION: A COMMENT ON HARTMUT TOPP'S "TRAFFIC 2042: MOSAIC OF A VISION"

M Wachs

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2002

Subject Area

operations - traffic, infrastructure - station, land use - planning, ridership - forecasting, ridership - forecasting, policy - environment, place - urban, mode - car

Keywords

Urban transportation, Urban development, Transportation planning, Traffic, Technological innovations, Station cars (Car sharing), Scenarios, Projections, Intracity transportation, Future, Freight transportation, Forecasting, Environmental protection, Energy conservation, Car sharing, Automobile ownership, Advanced technology

Abstract

A discussion of a paper entitled "Traffic 2042: Mosaic of a Vision" by H. H. Topp, published in this issue of this journal, is presented. This discussion provides a different view of what transportation may be like in the year 2042 than the vision given in Topp's essay. Both visions see most progress in transportation to be the result of technological improvements. However, Wachs believes that the greatest changes in transportation may be those affecting freight movement. He also believes that energy efficiency and environmental protection may be the principle benefits of technological change. Wachs disagrees with the idea that car sharing will decrease car ownership, and believes instead that people will turn to car sharing at the expense of walking, public transit and taxi trips. Wachs' view of the future includes more emphasis on gaps between the rich and the poor, the highly mobile and the highly immobile and industrialized societies and developing countries. He also emphasizes human-centered institutions by which ordinary people collaboratively consider alternative courses of action to manage technological change in transportation.

Comments

Transport Policy Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0967070X

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