Transport concepts in European cities.

The spread of car ownership and use has created major problems in all European cities. In the search for solutions there are two basic schools of thought. The first is that towns and cities must be adapted to accommodate car travel. This is often linked with notions of personal freedom and the importance of road transport to economic growth. The second is that the role of the car must be limited, whether by direct restraints on its use, or by encouraging alternative means of travel and access, or by some mixture of these. This is linked with notions of the importance of environmental quality to city life, or to the very survival of city life in the face of threats from the spread of suburban and ex-urban developments based on car travel. The purpose of this book is to explore the approaches and outcomes in a selection of cities where a strategy based on the second of these approaches has consciously been adopted. Part I sets out the main issues and questions which provide a context for the case studies of ten European cities in Part II. The case studies themselves, which form the core of the book, follow a roughly similar structure. A brief review of the growth and development of the city and its transport system is followed by an account of the strategies adopted during the past few decades, identifying major changes in policy direction. Key features of transport reform are discussed in relation to the general issues raised in Part I, including the measures taken and their outcomes. The lessons to be drawn from the case studies in relation to these issues and questions, together with specific lessons from individual cities, are discussed in Part III. Some comment is offered on how the case study cities differ from other cities, not only in terms of transport or other outcomes, but also in terms of the process and history of policy reform. A concluding section highlights the findings that appear to have most relevance for other cities, including the issues that have been identified, difficulties that have been overcome, evidence of success, the opportunities taken or lost, and the lessons learned from individual cities. (Author/publisher)