Future Urban Transportation (Classic Translations of World Urban Planning)

Author: (British) Brian Richards (Richards, B.) (Author), Pan Haixiao (Translator)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Cities around the world are suffering from increasingly severe traffic problems, one of the main reasons being the continuous growth of private cars. Ignoring environmental and public health issues and focusing solely on personal travel comfort, private cars are clearly more attractive than buses or other modes of transportation. Many large cities have implemented measures to improve public transportation, encourage walking and cycling, and reduce the use of private cars, or at least guide people to use them in different ways. This book examines many such attempts, lists cases worldwide, and analyzes "traffic buildings" designed by architects and planners, as well as other urban planning projects. It explores ways to improve new transportation systems and how these systems can be coordinated with the urban environment. Just as today's high-rise buildings must be equipped with elevators, it is suggested that future large-scale urban development should provide automated horizontal mobility systems, allowing future urban development to be independent of private cars.
Author Bio: Brian Richards (1928—2004) was a British architect, traffic consultant, and educator, as well as a pioneer of his time. He was dedicated to designing good work, living, and transportation environments for people in cities. He was also a rationalist, emphasizing the operability of alternatives to private cars in urban transportation—such as walking, cycling, buses, and rail transit—while advocating for these modes of transportation. He made outstanding contributions to the planning of London's Jubilee Line, the development of King's Cross, the planning of Chelsea-Hackney Station, and the traffic interchange design for the London–Channel Tunnel. His consulting work spanned countries such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, Italy, and India. This book compiles many of his research findings in the field of urban transportation and is the final volume in his four-part series on urban traffic.