This paper initially focuses on the magnitude of problems being faced by city planners consequent to the process of urbanisation sweeping the world, both developed and developing. After establishing the metro as a `sustainable' transportation, it briefly outlines the world-wide experiences of the metros. Drawing heavily upon the success of the metros at Hong Kong, Osaka, etcetera, and the limitless reserve strengths of the metros, the paper advocates a spatial strategy in tune with `sustainable' urban development to marry the transport needs of future urban development with the untapped mobility potential of the metro in the case of Chennai in India. (A) The French title of the paper is: "Rôle du MRTS dans le développement durable : le cas de Chennai".
Abstract