Challenges and Opportunities of Developing Sustainable Transportation Systems in Beijing
With an increasing population and expanding economy, China has emerged as an important world power. In recent decades, China's urban population has grown exponentially, with a corresponding increase in the personal wealth of citizens. The capital city of Beijing exemplifies the rapid development of urban China. The city is now home to over twenty-million people and is expected to continue gaining residents. This growth also drives unprecedented challenges for urban policy and city management. The two primary challenges for managing large Chinese cities are mobility and air pollution. Traffic congestion and air pollution in Beijing have become such critical issues as to attract worldwide attention. These issues are inter-related, as transportation modes often create exhaust composed of polluting gases and airborne particulates. These challenges have been exacerbated by increasing automobile use in Beijing, which is up from 5% of trips in 1986, to 34% by 2010. Addressing such challenges require detailed knowledge of multiple factors, including trends in urban development, existing transportation and air quality conditions, planning practices, and societal context. This report provides background information needed to inform a systems-based approach to developing solutions to the challenges of mobility and air quality in Beijing. Initiated by the University of Michigan's Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research and Transformation (SMART) initiative under a grant from the Alcoa Foundation and undertaken in partnership with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), this research aims to help catalyze effective and targeted solutions for Beijing and other cities in China.
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD40 Transportation and Sustainability. Alternate title: Challenges of and Opportunities for Developing Sustainable Transportation Systems in Beijing
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Hong, Qiang
- Zielinski, Susan
- Dennis, Eric Paul
- Cregger, Josh
- Wallace, Richard
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC
- Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
- Date: 2014
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 15p
- Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air pollution; Automobile travel; Mobility; Sustainable development; Sustainable transportation; Traffic congestion; Urban areas
- Identifier Terms: University of Michigan
- Geographic Terms: Beijing (China)
- Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; I15: Environment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01515540
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 14-3977
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 24 2014 8:43AM