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How to make sustainable transportation development a reality?

(Wie kann das Leitbild nachhaltiger Verkehrsentwicklung konkretisiert werden? – Ableitung grundlegender Aufgabenbereiche)

This doctoral thesis deals with the concept of sustainable transportation development. One important condition for the implementation of this concept is its operationalisation; i.e. the qualitative target of sustainability must be de-scribed by quantitative indicators. This is a difficult task because of the process character of the concept of sustainability. Concrete indicators are necessary in order to assess the status quo and changes in society: How one can find out if a measure is conducive to sustainability if this concept cannot be measured precisely? The work presented here deals with the contradiction between the process character of sustainability and the demand for exact criteria by answering the following question: How can the concept of sustainable transportation development be specified while taking its process character into consideration? In order to answer this question, the concept of needs is the central focus of this work: Sustainable development is regarded as development de-signed to meet the needs of people today and in the future. Needs are complex and constantly changing.

Based on a theoretical discussion of this concept, the following task fields are established:

• Allocative task field: The market is a suitable instrument for identifying and satisfying needs. The aim of this task field is therefore to reduce market distortions in order to allow the qualities of the market mechanism to unfold unhindered.
• Social task field: Resulting from insufficient consideration of distributive aspects by the market mechanism, distributive task fields for sustainable transportation are required. Social aspects are covered by the social task field, the first distributive task field. The basis of sustainable transportation development is the providing of a basic transportation supply offered by governmental institutions. This supply has to guarantee the fulfilment of basic needs. It is described by minimum standards and completed by specific local planning. Therefore, the aim of this task field comprises the guarantee of a basic transportation supply.
• Resource task field: The object of the resource task field, the second distributive task field, is to rule the distribution of natural resources among generations and regions as the condition for the process of providing transportation services.

The three task fields developed are joined in a development corridor:

• The lower boundary is composed of a basic transportation supply to be guaranteed within the social task field. This basic transportation supply should not be fallen short.
• The upper limit of the corridor, which should not be exceeded, is composed of limits on carrying capacity to be formulated within the re-source task field.
• The rules for all activities within the corridor should be defined by the allocative task field, the aim of which is to provide functioning market mechanisms.

In the next step, options for putting the development corridor into concrete terms are identified. If any of the suggested options are chosen within a societal discussion, the concept of sustainable transportation development can be described for concrete applications precisely.

Keywords: Sustainability, external costs, access, accessibility, mobility

Funding Institution: Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsprogramm Sachsen

Time Frame: 01/2001 – 04/2005

Contact Person: Regine Gerike

Information: http://hsss.slub-dresden.de/hsss/servlet/hsss.urlmapping.MappingServlet?id=1132862870193-1270

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