Urban Transport Without the Hot Air

Book excerpt: A comprehensive look at creating a sustainable vision for the future of American transportation This book describes how America has built its urban areas to be utterly dependent on everyone having access to private cars, with distances between daily amenities not suited for walking or cycling and acres of free parking always part of development. Alan Cunningham has done extensive original research to show how urban planning needs to be done to put public transit, walking, and cycling back on an even footing with the car. The key is to develop a public transit infrastructure with urban hubs, so people can travel longer distances quickly and arrive within walking or cycling distance of their destination. Without demonizing the automobile, the book shows how other transportation options could out-compete the car for prosperity, public health, and well-being.