Transportation Planning and Decision-Making in Istanbul: A Case Study in Sustainable Urban Transport Policy Development

This paper describes how, Istanbul, the biggest metropolitan city in Turkey with an estimated population of over 12 million, is still growing; and with it the transportation demand is also growing. The number of automobiles has increased dramatically from 200,000 in 1980 to 1.6 million in 2006. Car ownership has increased from 43 cars per 1000 inhabitants to 134 cars in the same period. The public transportation system in Istanbul has been unable to keep pace with the rapid growth and changing urban structure. Local authorities, without sufficient funds to accommodate this growth, have been struggling under the pressures of urbanization. In March 2002, the First Council for Urban Transport held in Istanbul, leading to the development of a sustainable transport plan for the city. In March 2006, sustainable transport vision for Istanbul is being derailed. This paper will look at the factors leading to the change in urban transport policy. Key areas to be examined are: (1) sustainability issues in current transport policies; (2) decision making process and barriers to implementation; and (3) public awareness and collective responsibility.

• Corporate Authors:

  World Conference on Transport Research Society

  Secretariat, 14 Avenue Berthelot
  69363 Lyon cedex 07,   France 
• Authors:
  • Gercek, Haluk
  • Bulay, Sibel
• Conference:
  • 11th World Conference on Transport Research
  • Location: Berkeley CA, United States
  • Date: 2007-6-24 to 2007-6-28
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 33p
• Monograph Title: 11th World Conference on Transport Research

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Decision making; Local transportation; Policy making; Public participation; Public transit; Sustainable development; Transit operating agencies; Transportation planning
• Geographic Terms: Istanbul (Turkey)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01128880
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 19 2009 7:49AM