This paper focusses on the rise, impacts and possible future roles of the private automobile in large urban centres, using Greater Toronto as an example. A long term perspective is taken, looking back over the 20th century and speculating on the possible evolution of the metropolis and its dominant transportation modes - the automobile and truck - during the 21st century. The importance of harnessing market forces through cost-based pricing is emphasized as a critical component of an integrated strategy to achieve (as was largely true in 1896) a high level of sustainable transportation during the coming decades, with early action necessary to move the process forward. (A)
Abstract