Abstract
This reviewer thinks of sustainability as a balance of the so-called 3Es,
I would argue that this is an important book, and it is important for two reasons. First, transportation, the field of this reviewer’s expertise, is a critical component of a sustainable society. Transportation contributes to economic development, has huge impacts on the environment, and creates opportunities to develop socially equitable solutions that can affect all strata of society. So a book like this addressing sustainable transportation has the great potential to be of value, and indeed this text is.
The book is organized in two major sections. Part one, titled Conceptual Foundations, begins with a useful history of sustainable development going back over the decades and usefully tracing conferences going back to that held in Stockholm in 1972, the World Conservation Strategy Meeting in 1980, the 1982 Nairobi meeting, and so on to the present. From there, the book moves into a more focused discussion of transportation considering transportation planning and transportation linked to sustainability. Next, the book usefully reviews how governance and decision making in transportation relate to sustainability, and then focuses on the key concepts (in chapter six) of indicators and (in chapter seven) of frameworks one could use to study and advance the cause of sustainable transportation. The authors painstakingly build up an overall structure within which the connection of transportation and sustainability and the development of a sustainable transportation system can be considered.
The second part of the book turns to four case studies in transportation. Chapter eight discusses the European Union Transport White Paper; chapter nine discusses high-speed rail in England; chapter ten discusses New York’s GreenLITES rating system; and finally chapter eleven discusses Japan’s “Eco-Model City” program.
Finally, chapter twelve has a well-structured conclusion that synthesizes the arguments of the book in a cogent way.
I earlier stated the book was important for two reasons. I have articulated the first—that it considers sustainable transportation—a particularly important sector. But it is important for a second reason as well. It makes an exceptional effort to tie the concept of sustainable transportation together with the overall concept of sustainable development. In effect, it asks a question that many have wrestled with: to achieve sustainable development, does one have to achieve sustainability on the dimensions on each of the sectors contributing to overall sustainability? In this particular text, the battle is joined on the question of whether one needs to have a sustainable transportation system for sustainable development to be a possibility. But, of course, the same question could be asked of other sectors as well. This is not an easy question. I recall a decade ago, when the second co-author was a graduate student at MIT and he and I had a number of discussions including one in the form of a seminar structured as a debate. This reviewer’s view was that one could have a sustainable society without having a sustainable transportation system. And the second co-author took the opposite perspective. This book allows a deeper, more scholarly treatment of that question than we achieved during the seminar. And therefore it makes an excellent contribution. Here is a representative quote of the way the authors treat this complex issue:
If a transportation service is to be constrained to keep emissions within a predefined limit, society would be confronted with a decision as to whether to curtain its mobility and economic activity or search for ways to maintain the level of service by seeking emission reductions in another sector, which in turn may impact other non-transportation services. The process of initiating such a conversation that is supported by objective analyses could spur innovation by revealing future opportunities and markets for innovative solutions. The act of constraining a problem has the effect of opening up the “design space” of the planner, analyst, designer, engineer, decision-maker, etc. who can develop targeted solutions. Thus, the macro ecological constraints that the holistic perspective provides may be an essential factor in the development of innovative (perhaps, disruptive) solutions that may or may not be led by the transportation sector. (105)
This book does not reach a decisive conclusion on the relationship between sustainable development and sustainable transportation systems. But certainly it advances the discussion quite nicely. Table 4.4 on page 104 succinctly and effectively lays out the “advantages and disadvantages of adopting a transportation-center or holistic view of sustainable development.” I would urge the reader to take a careful look.
Another related concept that is clearly presented in this text is the distinction between the strong and weak forms of sustainability. The authors recognize the philosophical complexities of this notion, for example, in the following quote.
While sustainability is a broad and complex concept, current thinking on sustainability continues to be rooted in the Brundtland definition with sustainability principles being centered around the needs of current and future generations, focused on three dimensions—environmental, social, and economic. However, the issue of strong versus weak conceptualizations of sustainability (i.e., whether trade-offs on the environmental and social dimensions are acceptable for economic returns) is an important consideration and often the center of philosophical debates. It should be recognized that there is a spectrum of definitions on how sustainability can be viewed and applied. There are two important reasons not to get too drawn into this debate. First we set out in Chap. 4 that transportation is only one part of the picture and not capable of being defined as sustainable in its own right. Second, transportation decisions are rarely, if ever, taken by an agency with a holistic remit to act on all relevant matters. However, sustainability should not be viewed as an infinitely flexible notion since its basic dimensions and principles need to be adhered to. Decisions can be more or less aligned with these dimensions and principles (298).
This book strives for completeness, which is in a sense both the “good news” and the “bad news.” Part one, which lays out the conceptual foundations, while excellent, can become rather abstract at times and a bit dry. This reviewer adopted the tactic of reading several of the conceptual foundations chapters of the book in part one, and then skipping to one or more of the cases in part two. This gave me more grounding to then go back to the first part and read it in the context of the case studies; they make the point that part one in fact has important things to say.
This book represents a milestone along the path of a deeper understanding of both of transportation field and the planet’s need for an effective strategy to work toward a sustainable society. Any serious student of these topics would be remiss in not obtaining this book and reading it with care. The authors have adopted a useful mechanism, particularly for the faculty reader, of, from time to time, incorporating discussion questions. This reviewer could imagine asking a class to read a particular chapter of this book and then using those discussion questions to seed a debate on some of the subtle issues that are carefully discussed therein.
An appropriate way to close is with a quote that I think captures the spirit with which many of us look at sustainability as a vital concept for the twenty-first century.
The concept of sustainability is therefore overarching, and should be viewed as a living idea—there are only trajectories towards sustainability, and no true end state of sustainability. In other words, sustainability is an idealized state, and sustainable development can be viewed as a means to this end (298).
I strongly recommend this book and hope the reader found this review of some value.