Sustainable Transportation Practices in Europe

FHWA-PL-02-006

In the United States, the transportation community has shown an increasing interest in sustainable transportation and its linkages to land use and urban development patterns, economic growth, environmental impacts, and social equity. In addressing this interest, many U.S. transportation agencies are re-examining their policies, planning approaches, and evaluation methods and are considering changes to every aspect of practice, from the materials and designs used in construction to the kinds of alternatives considered for implementation. Federal, State, and local agencies as well as private organizations are working to translate the broad goals of sustainability into specific transportation policies, objectives, and programs. This international scanning review was undertaken to examine how other developed countries are addressing sustainable transportation issues.

Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were identified as nations that have been actively addressing sustainable transportation issues for several years. To more closely examine these countries' experiences and consider their applicability in the United States, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored a study group that traveled to the four countries in the period September 17 through October 3, 1999. The study group included representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), metropolitan planning organizations, city and county governments, and academia. In each country, the group met with officials engaged in sustainable transportation efforts and also shared information on U.S. practices with their international counterparts. The meetings were held in Stockholm, Sweden; Berlin, Germany; The Hague and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Edinburgh, Scotland. In each city, study group members were able to visit projects, try out the transportation systems, and observe development patterns, experiencing first-hand prime examples of sustainable transportation as recommended by each country's representatives.

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