CITIES ARE ADAPTIVE, AND ALL CITIES WORK. AN OPPORTUNITY WAS RECENTLY AVAILABLE TO EXAMINE THE ADAPTATION OF VARIOUS CITIES IN BOTH BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, TO DIFFERENT LAND USE AND TRANSPORT POLICIES, GIVEN DIFFERENCES IN: (A) THE ACCESS OF THE POPULATION TO PRIVATE MOTOR VEHICLES, (B) THE ABILITY OF THE POPULATION TO MAKE RESIDENTIAL LOCATION CHOICE, AND (C) THE STRENGTH OF CONTROLS ON LAND USE DEVELOPMENT. THREE FACTORS THAT (APART FROM FUND SHORTAGES) SEEM TO BE ENCOURAGING SIMILAR TRANSPORT POLICIES IN BOTH COUNTRIES ARE: (A) ENERGY CONSUMED IN THE TRANSPORT TASK, (B) ENVIRONMENT - POLLUTANTS GENERATED IN THE TRANSPORT TASK, AND (C) EQUITY - THE RELATIVE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION. BECAUSE OF THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE CITY, WE ARE CAUGHT IN SOMETHING OF A DEMOCRATIC DILEMMA, WHERE THE AGGREGATIONS OF OUR INDIVIDUAL OPTIMUM ACTIONS CAUSE A DEPARTURE FROM OUR CORPORATE OPTIMUM. SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FACTORS FOR URBAN TRANSPORT PLANNING ARE EXAMINED. (A). FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS SEE IRRD ABSTRACT NO 226354.
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