The limits to travel : how far will you go?

Author(s)

    • Metz, David

Bibliographic Information

The limits to travel : how far will you go?

David Metz

Earthscan, 2008

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [133]-157) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

As affluence grows, it gets easier to travel faster and further. But research shows that, despite this, the average travel time in all societies remains steady at roughly an hour a day. The implication is that people are choosing to increase the distance they regularly travel, rather than opting for shorter journey times. While this clearly offers advantages in terms of reaching more desirable locations, the disadvantages are numerous - not least that of anthropogenic climate change, to which transport is the fastest growing contributor. However, the stability of travel time does not form part of the present conceptual framework of transport policy makers and professionals - consequently, misconceived decisions lead to unintended outcomes. In this intriguing book, David Metz examines the inadequacies inherent in the current thinking, along with the resulting problems, such as pollution, congestion and noise. He highlights the impact of the rapid increase in car use in China and India, and explores the general travel experience, public vs. private transport, and transport technology. In considering to what extent travel could be avoided, he arrives at a new paradigm to underpin sustainable transport policies, based on the fundamental characteristics of human mobility and focusing on quality, not quantity, of travel. Visit the Limits to Travel website at: http://www.limitstotravel.org.uk/

Table of Contents

Faster and Farther * Detriments and Damage * The Economics of Travel Reconsidered * Global Travellers and Global Oil * Policy Failure * Travelling Together * Individual Effort * Technology Futures * Travelling Hopefully * Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

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