CIVE 240. Urban Issues in North America. Adedamola, Adedapo (Dami) Department of Civil Engineering University of Waterloo Waterloo.

Transcription

1 CIVE 240 Urban Issues in North America Adedamola, Adedapo (Dami) Department of Civil Engineering University of Waterloo Waterloo. ON, N2L 3G1 Objectives of the Lecture In the context of sustainable growth Discuss major urban problems Current polices in place to address the problems Identify our roles as engineers in achieving these goals 1

2 What we cover Characteristics of urban areas Causes of urbanization Problems associated with urbanization Canada s s urban transportation problems Definition/concepts of sustainable transportation A look at Canada s s New vision for urban transportation Traffic congestions Pollution ( GHG, Global warming, climate change) Noise Polices and Financing how these affect the transportation sector Urbanization and Urban Areas Urbanization: An increasing concentration of the population in cities and a transformation of land use to an urban pattern of organization due to population growth Urban Areas: An area in which a majority of the people are not directly dependent on natural resource-based occupations The entire built-up, up, non-rural area and its population 2

3 Industrialization vs. Urbanization Industrialization is connected historically to the industrial revolution of the 18 th century Urbanization simply refers to an increase in the ratio of urban population to rural population Causes of Urbanization (1). (2). (3). (4). 3

4 Urbanization.. Problems? Environmental problems Solid waste collection and disposal Air and water pollution Climate change Social Problems Urban violence/crime/personal safety Housing Urbanization.. Problems? Urban Transportation Problems Air pollution Global warming and climate change Energy consumption Traffic congestion Inadequate public transportation Noise 4

5 Concepts of Sustainable Transportation Sustainable transportation system must be.. Ecologically sustainable, maintaining transport-related related pollution level below those that human beings can safely tolerate and that the environment carrying capacity can allow Financially sustainable so that it does not require significant higher expenditure for operation, maintenance, and carrying charges than what can be paid by its users Socially sustainable, providing each members of the society with means of attaining fundamental social, cultural, educational and economic essentials. UN center for human settlements (Birk and zegras,1993) Canada s s New Vision for Urban Transportation In 1993 the TAC Urban Transportation Council published New Vision for Urban Transportation It proposes 30 year generic vision for Canadian urban area that can be tailored to fit to local condition Significant change from past practices in terms of land use and urban structure, the role of single occupant autos relative to other modes, and transportation funding 5

6 Past Practices in Canada Land use and urban design Resulted in increased auto dependence and maximize travel distance Transportation Per capita automobile ownership is increasing and average number of occupancy is decreasing Financing Cut in municipal transportation budget Proposed Practices Increased density and mixed land use Promote walking Increase opportunity for cycling as an optional mode of travel Provide higher quality transit service Improve the efficiency of the urban goods Create better ways to pay for future urban transportation 6

7 Traffic Congestion Population: 12M Land area: 300 Km 2 Want Real Traffic Congestion? visit Lagos, Nigeria Traffic Congestion Vs 7

8 The Challenge Congestion Trends in Urban Areas The travel rate index shows how much additional time it takes to make a trip during the peak period compared to free-flow conditions. $ Cost of Congestion In 2000 US 75 largest metropolitan experienced 3.6 billion vehicle-hours hours of delay 21.6 billion liters in wasted fuel (plus) $67.5 billion in lost productivity (what about pollution????) Will double by 2020 The Texas Transportation Institute (2000) CONSTRUCTION Drawing by Tighe (2002) 8

9 Causes of Delay Congestion happens when traffic demand approaches or exceeds the available capacity of the highway system Canadian Urban Transit Association Traffic Demand Traffic demands vary significantly depending on the season of the year, the day of the week, and even the time of day. 9

10 Roadway Capacity Change The capacity, often mistaken as constant, can change because of weather, work zones, traffic incidents, or other non-recurring events Drawing by Tighe (2002) Causes How is the congestion pie sliced? Total delay: about 4 billion hours per year in US 10

11 Solution to Congestion Increase capacity and remove bottlenecks. Will this solve the problem? What do we do with peak hours? More public transit. What Will the Future Bring?...limited capacity & increased demand Can urban transportation be sustained? For more information check GHG Emissions What is Greenhouse Effect? is simply retention of heat energy in lower atmosphere, this can make global temperature +15ºC instead of - 18ºC Greenhouse Gases (GHG) includes.. Canada s GHG Emissions ( ) 11

12 Effect of GHG Emissions Global Warming - Enhanced GH effect There are concerns on the impact of GHG on global warming Projections of future global means temperature rise confirm the potential for human activities to alter the Earth s climate to an extent unprecedented in human history. The balance of evidence suggests a discernable human influence on global climate. climate changes is like to have wide-ranging and mostly adverse impact on human health, with significant loss of life. -Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Effect of GHG Emissions Climate Change the threat of climate Change is real and present, and the cost in human discomfort and suffering is incalculable -Hon. Sergio Marchi, Fed Environment Minister 12

13 International Response 1992 Rio Earth Summit UN s Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the FCCC Canada s commitment is to reduce GHG level by 6% below 1990 levels Transportation and GHG How Much GHG comes from Urban Transportation? 13

14 Transportation and GHG How Much GHG comes from Urban Transportation? Strategy to Reduce GHG It requires a lot of Changes including.. 14