Sustainable Transportation Articles and Publications

Alternative Fuels across America
A sample of activities in each state and the District of Columbia, by Alternative Fuel News staff.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's (ACEEE) Green Book™: The Environmental Guide to Cars & Trucks—Model Year 2003
ACEEE's groundbreaking consumer guide provides comprehensive information on the environmental performance of all model year 2003 cars and trucks. Using the guide, automobile shoppers can compare models and classes of vehicles. The book also identifies the year's 12 "greenest" and 12 "meanest" vehicles, and examines how recent automotive trends are affecting the environment.

CenterLines
The bi-weekly e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking compiles news coverage related to sustainable transportation initiatives, projects, and rights. CenterLines also includes listings of published resources, conferences and grants pertaining to sustainable transportation.

Cities Without Cars
An article that reviews the Car-Free Cities site from Amsterdam, Holland, and other European car free websites.

Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation (PDF 162KB)
A study conduted in 2002 that concludes that public transportation generates 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 92 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and about half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile, as private vehicles.

Dangerous Addiction: Ending America's Oil Dependence
This report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists details the security threat of dependence on foreign oil and offers a practical, simple five-step plan to cut our transportation oil needs, saving 5 million barrels per day by 2020. The report presents steps we can take now, using American technology and know-how, to reduce the oil needed to power America's cars and light trucks. Full report available online in PDF.

The Day the Traffic Disappeared
Authored by Randy Kennedy, this New York Times Magazine article profiles London's Mayor Ken Livingstone and his efforts to reduce auto congestion in the central city by introducing congestion charges. The article also looks at traffic control in New York City, where one study estimated that traffic problems cost nearly $4 billion annually in lost productivity.

Development on the Line
From the February 2002 issue of American City and County, this article discusses transit-oriented developments--high-density, mixed-use buildings near transit stations, providing easy access to public transportation and reduced auto dependency.

The Diesel Dilemma: Diesel’s Role in the Race for Clean Cars
A 2004 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists that finds that diesel cars of the future can be much cleaner than today’s diesels using pollution controls under development and can provide consumers with cost-effective fuel economy gains.

Driven to Spend
A report released by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology says that the average American family living in a highly sprawling area can pay thousands of dollars more per year for transportation than families in more convenient locations. It analyzes government data on consumer expenditures, ranking 28 major metro areas by the portion of the family budget devoted to daily transportation costs.

Driving Forward: News from the Clean Car Campaign
A publication from the Clean Car Campaign, offering news on efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles.

The Economic Costs of Fuel Economy Standards Versus a Gasoline Tax (pdf)
A study released in late 2003 by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes that all means of reducing gasoline consumption in the United States will be costly to consumers. CBO study examined gasoline taxes and fuel economy standards as two routes to reducing the nation's gasoline use by 10 percent. The study found that fuel efficiency standards would cost $3.6 billion per year, over and above the value of fuel savings, equal to about $228 on each new vehicle sold. A fuel economy credit-trading scheme among automakers could cut those costs by about 16 percent, to $3 billion per year, or $184 per vehicle. To achieve the same reduction using gasoline taxes, the CBO study estimates that a 46-cent-per-gallon tax would be needed, which would impose a societal cost of about $2.9 billion per year.

Economic Impact of Investing in Bicycle Facilities: A Case Study
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation examined the value of public investment in bicycle facilities, using the northern Outer Banks as a case study, and found that investment in bicycle facilities improves the safety of the transportation system for all users and also benefits the area's health and fitness, quality of life and the environment.

Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards
A report from the National Academies' National Research Council says that changes to the federal fuel economy standards program could further cut the nation's petroleum dependence and provide more flexibility to carmakers. Technologies already in existence could significantly reduce fuel consumption of new cars over the next 15 years, according to the report.

Ethanol Industry Sets Annual Production Record in 2003
A press release explaining that the U.S. ethanol fuel industry had its best year yet in 2003, producing a record 2.81 billion gallons of fuel, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The record ethanol production in 2003 is about 32 percent more than the industry produced in 2002.

Financing and Implementing Sustainable Development: A Local Planning Approach
From the Southwest Region University Transportation Center, a technical paper on innovative methods to design, finance and implement sustainable transportation development projects in a local community. Full report is available as a PDF.

Fuel Cell Cars Offer Solution To Curtail Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Provides an overview of a study released in May 2002 by the General Motors Corporation (GM) that examined the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from 36 fuel pathways and 18 propulsion concepts that ranged from conventional engines to fuel cells. The study found that greenhouse gas emissions are lowest overall when renewable sources such as biomass or wind power are used to generate hydrogen, which then fuels a fuel-cell-powered vehicle. Fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen produced from natural gas could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the study.

Fuel Economy Guide
Released by DOE and EPA, the guide lists estimated miles per gallon for both city and highway driving for all cars and light trucks sold in the United States for model year 2005. It also lists an estimated annual fuel cost for each vehicle, and includes special sections on hybrid-electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. The Fuel Economy Guide website includes fuel economy data back to 1978.

Getting out of the Rut 
From Foresight, the newsletter of 1000 Friends of Florida, this article offers steps that individuals can take to help their communities make informed transportation and land-use planning decisions. (PDF)

Happy Trails
A feature from The Christian Science Monitor says bike trails are not just for recreation, but can serve as transportation corridors, connecting residential areas with urban destinations. Cities across the country are installing greenways for bicycle commuters and conducting daily business.

Home From Nowhere 
An article that prompts us to re-examine the effects of zoning and sprawl on our main streets. 

How Transportation and Community Partnerships are Shaping America
A two-volume set of case studies about transportation partnerships and how transportation facilities connect to surrounding neighborhoods. Available from the Project for Public Spaces.

INFORM Publications
INFORM's Sustainable Transportation Program has produced a number of reports on alternative fuels and the adoption of clean vehicle technologies.

Las Vegas Valley Transit System Development Plan
A report that examines the feasibility of different types of transit for specific plans over the next 20 to 30 years. The report concludes that light rail service using "diesel multiple units" on one of the transit routes would be require much lower capital investments than a bus rapid transit system that had been proposed.

Livable Communities Initiative  
"Livable communities represent a holistic approach to how cities are planned, designed and built. By paying proper attention to the involvement of people in the planning of neighborhoods, adopting appropriate planning principles, and designing buildings, streets and other transportation facilities with people in mind, the livable communities initiative can be part of the solution to many problems facing us." 

Making Transit Work
A report from the Transportation Research Board that identifies practices and policies employed in Western Europe and Canada to encourage public transportation use, and suggests approaches the United States could take to increase ridership.

Maryland Safe Routes to School: A Guidebook for Parents and Communities (PDF, 1.5 Mb)
The 57-page document focuses on the story of a program developed at a specific school, but has been expanded to assist parents and communities in other locations in developing and implementing programs that encourage children to walk or bike to school.

Montana Transportation Choices
A study that evaluates the state's program in light of current guidelines, goals, and requirements contained in federal transportation laws, and compares Montana's transportation program to best practices among the states.

The Need for Regional Anti-Congestion Policies (PDF, 258K), from The Brookings Institution, looks at both demand-side and supply-side strategies for dealing with congestion, and says they must be applied regionally to be effective.

New Thinking for a New Transportation Age
This Local Government Commission factsheet describes transportation principles for livable communities.

Is That American?: Oregon Posts Reward for Driving Less
A Michigan Land Use Institute column explains Oregon's law encouraging insurance companies to offer pay-as-you-drive insurance.

Pedestrian Paradise 
Auto-free living begins with a single step, says an article by Alan Thein Durning.

Reforming the Automobile Fuel Economy Standards Program
"This document seeks comment on various issues relating to the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) program. In particular, this document seeks comments relating to possible enhancements to the program that will assist in furthering fuel conservation while protecting motor vehicle safety and the economic vitality of the auto industry."

The Road Ahead: How Context-Sensitive Solutions will Change our Streets
Project for Public Spaces, developer of Context-Sensitive Solutions, explains how the Federal Highway Administration plans to implement the strategy.

Second Nature: Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second
A report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and Defenders of Wildlife suggests that the nation's natural environment and wildlife habitats are at significant risk from both development patterns and the roads that make the development possible. America is criss-crossed by 4 million miles of roadways, covering 19,000 square miles with asphalt, and an estimated one million animals are killed every day on America's roads.

Setting the Record Straight: Transit, Fixing Roads and Bridges Offer Greatest Jobs Gains
A report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project finds that investments in road and bridge repair create 9 percent more jobs per dollar than building new roads or bridges.

Slow is Beautiful 
Discusses limiting urban growth by putting direct limits on automobile use, such as speed limits.

Smart Choices, Less Traffic
From the Sierra Club; highlights the best and worst local plans for alleviating traffic congestion and air pollution. The report profiles twenty showcase projects that provide innovative solutions to local problems.

The State of the Nation's Intercity Rail: Federal Investment Could Relieve Congestion and Improve Travel Choice (PDF 177KB)
A report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project argues that dedicated federal investment in the nation's rail infrastructure is critical to America's mobility and economic growth.

Sustainable Development and Sustainable Transportation: Strategies for Economic Prosperity, Environmental Quality, and Equity
This Working Paper from the University of California at Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development reviews current thinking about sustainable transportation as part of a broader strategy of transportation and land use planning for sustainability. (PDF)

Sustainable Transportation Monitor
A periodic publication from the Canadian Centre for Sustainable Transportation, with each issue featuring a different topic.

Sustainable Transportation Options
This ICLEI-US publication outlines policies and practices that local governments can undertake to minimize traffic congestion, reduce vehicle emissions, and prevent sprawl in their communities. Over fifty transportation and land-use measures are highlighted, including an implementation example for each measure. To order the publication contact the U.S. ICLEI Office.

TEA-21 Reauthorization: Getting Transportation Right for Metropolitan America
A brief by The Brookings Institution that calls on Congress to respond more forcefully to the transportation needs of metropolitan America and to give metropolitan areas more powers and greater tools, in exchange for enhanced accountability, in order to establish successful regional transportation policies.

Ten Years of Progress: Building Better Communities through Transportation
A 2002 report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project documents how transportation is changing in the United States. In the last decade, transportation planning has moved from an almost single-minded focus on finishing a freeway and highway network to an exploration of myriad new ways to improve and expand transportation choices. The first two chapters of this report document the national trends that have emerged in the past decade: increasing demand for more choices, increased investment in new solutions and changing traveler behavior. The third chapter gives specific examples of how transportation investments are being used to make communities better places to live.

Transportation and the Changing Face of America 
"One of the cornerstones of the ISTEA is increased participation in the planning process. What has traditionally passed as ‘citizen involvement’ has been a generally superficial process whereby the people whose lives are most impacted are haphazardly brought in, usually fairly late in the game, and given little if any chance of understanding, evaluating, and expressing preferences for a meaningful diversity of options in full light of their transportation, environmental, and community impacts," Donald Camph writes. His monograph particularly examines the issues facing three groups: the elderly, the poor, and women. 

Transportation and the American Dream
Subtitled "Why a Lack of Transportation Choices Strains the Family Budget and Hinders Homeownership," this report from the Surface Transportation Policy Project shows that in sprawling cities, families spend a disproportionate amount of their income on transportation, limiting their ability to purchase a home.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project has also compiled state-by-state transportation figures from the 2000 U.S. Census into easy-to-use, downloadable Excel documents. The demographic profiles include data points such as commute mode, travel time to work, and number of vehicles per household; each data point is given by state, county, place, metro area, and congressional district. STPP has posted maps and a brief trend analysis.

The annual Urban Mobility Report by the Texas Transportation Institute reports on the time Americans spend each year caught in traffic, the costs of traffic congestion, and the effectiveness of congestion solutions.

Walkable Communities: Twelve Steps for an Effective Program
Summarizes key planning, zoning, engineering, and development recommendations that can make communities more walkable. From the Florida Department of Transportation Pedestrian Facilities Planning & Design course. (PDF)

Last updated: January 31, 2005

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