Sustainable Urbanization in Megacities: Role of Nonmotorized Transportation

Abstract

A key aspect of urban sustainability lies in the relationship between the environment and transportation. In a majority of the world’s megacities, transportation infrastructure and patterns are at the root of many environmental problems, including air pollution, increased reliance on fossil fuels, and urban sprawl, which is often blamed for a concomitant increase in energy consumption and the haphazard development of suburban land. As such, it makes sense to include nonmotorized transportation in the web of options to help create and plan for sustainable megacities. The importance of nonmotorized transportation in creating sustainable urbanization in the megacities of the developing world is discussed. Topics include ( a) sustainability in theory and in application; ( b) fundamental differences between urban transportation patterns and possibilities in developed versus developing countries, highlighting the current role played by nonmotorized transportation; ( c) the potential of nonmotorized transportation to improve mobility and sustainability in the megacities of the future; and ( d) how these contributions might best be realized.