Department of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Dr. Abdullahi Ali Mohamed
H21 IS1 :
Sustainable
transport Planning
TOPIC 3 :
SUSTAINABILITY
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Goh B.H. 2
Topic Overview
o Sustainable development
o Relevance to Civil Engineering & Transport
o Brief History of Sustainable Transportation
o Transport Issues
o Sustainable Transportation
o National Policy on the Environment
o National Policy Towards Sustainable Transportation
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Goh B.H. 3
Learning Objectives
1) To overview the definition of sustainable development
in civil engineering projects
2) To understand the transport issues & essential of
sustainable transportation
3) To overview the national policy on environment,
towards sustainable transportation
References
1) C.S. Papacostas & P.D. Prevedouros. 2005.
Transportation Engineering & Planning. Pearson
Prentice Hall.
2) Department of Environment Malaysia. National Policy
on Environment. 2002
3) www.doe.gov.my
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Goh B.H. 4
Sustainable Development
o Sustainable development is
development that "meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own
needs. (Brundtland Report)
o Sustainable development is often
misinterpreted as focusing solely
on environmental issues. In reality,
it is a much broader concept as
sustainable development policies
encompass 3 general policy
areas :
Economic
Environmental
Social
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Goh B.H. 5
Sustainable Development (continued)
o Sustainable Development is
development that attempts to
bridge the divide between
economic growth &
environmental protection, while
taking into account other issues
traditionally associated with
development.
o It seeks to develop means of
supporting economic growth
while supporting biodiversity,
relieving poverty & without
using up natural capital in the
short term at the expense of
long term development.
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Goh B.H. 6
Relevance to Civil Engineering & Transport
o Civil engineer will appear to have a bad image if
not taken into account the environment when
planning, designing & building a project.
o One of the biggest civil engineering sectors is
transport, which is construction & maintenance of
infrastructure for transport.
o Transport in itself is unsustainable as it harms the
environment, which will in turn affect future
generations.
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Goh B.H. 7
Relevance to Civil Engineering & Transport
(continued)
o Briefly these problems are:
Emissions from vehicles cause pollution (air or
noise) & global warming
Physical damage also occurs to the environment
through land use
Social & economic problems can arise through
decreased accessibility & division of communities.
Often ownership of (a) car(s) is used as a measure
of affluence
Health problems will also occur, partly due to
pollution but also from road accidents
Resource use is also a problem, with fossil fuel
supplies beginning to run out
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Goh B.H. 8
Relevance to Civil Engineering & Transport
(continued)
o The development of sustainable transport should aim
to promote economic growth & prosperity but at the
same time provide equal opportunities for all & the
availability of certain modes of transport should not
affect the quality of one's life.
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Goh B.H. 9
Brief History of Sustainable Transportation
o The concept of sustainable transportation is a reaction
to some of the things that have gone radically & visibly
wrong with transportation policy, practice &
performance over the last half of the 20
th
in particular
(unsustainable resource take, energy profligacy,
pollution, declining service levels despite increasing
investments, poor service for specific social &
economic groups).
o Over most of the century, it was assumed that
adequate transportation structures needed to be built
since they provide an essential underpinning to
growth & economic health.
o Accordingly the main concern of transport planners &
policy makers was, the "supply" of transportation, &
specifically in ensuring adequate infrastructure to
support all projected requirements.
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Goh B.H. 10
Brief History of Sustainable Transportation
(continued)
o The dominant approach was, therefore, to forecast &
then build to meet.
o As a result, it is claimed by many analysts & observers
that most places have as a results heavily overbuilt
their physical transportation infrastructures, which in
fact has led to unsustainable levels of traffic &
resource use.

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Goh B.H. 11
Transport Issues
o Economic
Imbalance economic growth
Slow economic growth

o Environmental
Air pollution
Noise pollution
Global warming
Energy consumption

o Social & Society
Traffic congestion
Road accident & Safety
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Goh B.H. 12
Transport Issues (continued)
o Air pollution
Air pollution is the presence of any chemical,
physical (e.g. particulate matter), or biological
agent that modifies the natural characteristics of
the atmosphere.
Air pollutants is that is emitted directly from a given
source, such as the carbon monoxide or sulfur
dioxide, all of which are by-products of
combustion.
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Goh B.H. 13
Transport Issues (continued)
o Noise pollution
Usually called environmental noise in technical
venues, is displeasing human- or machine-created
sound that disrupts the environment.
The overarching cause of most noise worldwide is
generated by transportation systems, principally
motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft
noise & rail noise.
Poor urban planning may also give rise to noise
pollution, since juxtaposition of industrial to
residential land uses, for example, often results in
adverse consequences for the residential acoustic
environment.
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Goh B.H. 14
Transport Issues (continued)
o Global warming
Global warming is the rise in
temperature of the earth's
atmosphere.
The increased amounts of
carbon dioxide (CO
2
) & other
greenhouse gases (GHGs) are
the primary causes of the
human-induced component
of warming.
They are released by the
burning of fossil fuels, land
clearing & agriculture, etc. &
lead to an increase in the
greenhouse effect.
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Goh B.H. 15
Transport Issues (continued)
o Energy consumption
Is a measure of the rate of energy use such as fuels
or electricity.
Essentially energy consumption seeks to quantify
dynamic processes which create entropy.
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Goh B.H. 16
Transport Issues (continued)
o Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a road condition
characterised by slower speeds, longer trip
times, & increased queuing.
It occurs when roadway demand is greater than
its capacity.
A period of extreme traffic congestion is
colloquially known as a traffic jam.
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Goh B.H. 17
Transport Issues (continued)
o Road Accident & Safety
Road-traffic safety deals exclusively with road
traffic crashes how to reduce their number & their
consequences.
Aims to reduce the harm (deaths, injuries, &
property damage) resulting from crashes of road
vehicles travelling on public roads.
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Goh B.H. 18
Sustainable Transportation
o Also commonly referred to Sustainable Transport or
Sustainable Mobility.
o Sustainable transport is a phrase which was coined in
the late 20
th
century to describe all forms of transport,
which minimise emissions of carbon dioxide &
pollutants.
o Sustainable transport can mean public transport, car
sharing (car pooling), walking & cycling as well as
technology such as electric / hybrid cars & biodiesel.
o Since its a sector-specific sub-set to the post-1988
sustainable development movement, its often defined
as Sustainable transportation is about meeting or
helping meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
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Goh B.H. 19
Sustainable Transportation (continued)
o Sustainable transport is about finding ways to move
people, goods & information in ways that reduce its
impact on the environment, the economy & society
(New Zealand Ministry for the Environment).
o Basically, the term encompasses a wide array of
economical, social & environmental effects that
should be taken into account when developing new
transport policy and/or projects in cities.
o Sustainable transportation concerns systems, policies
& technologies.
o It aims for the efficient transit of goods & services, &
sustainable freight & delivery systems.
o It is more about accessibility & mobility, than about
transportation.
o Accessibility means the ability of reach desired
destination; mobility refers to amount of travel.
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Goh B.H. 20
Sustainable Transportation (continued)
o Some options of sustainable transportation :
Using transport modes that use
energy more efficiently, such as
walking or cycling, public transport
Improving transport choice by
increasing the quality of public
transport, cycling & walking
facilities, services & environments
Improving the efficiency of our car use, such as
using more fuel efficient vehicles, driving more
efficiently, avoiding cold starts & car pooling
Using cleaner fuels & technologies
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Goh B.H. 21
Sustainable Transportation (continued)
Using telecommunications to reduce or replace
physical travel, such as tele-working or tele-
shopping
Planning the layout of our cities to bring people &
their needs closer together & to make cities more
vibrant & walkable
Developing policies that allow & promote these
options
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Goh B.H. 22
National Policy on the Environment
o National Policy on the
Environment, which integrates
the 3 elements of sustainable
development :
Economic
Social & cultural
development
Environmental conservation
o It was formulated & approved in
2002.
o The Policy aims at continued
economic, social & cultural
progress & enhancement of the
quality of life of Malaysians
through environmentally sound
& sustainable development.
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Goh B.H. 23
National Policy on the Environment
(continued)
o It is based on 8 inter-related & mutually supporting
principles set to harmonise economic development
goals with environmental imperatives :
1) Stewardship of the Environment
2) Conservation of Nature's Vitality & Diversity
3) Continuous Improvement in the Quality of the
Environment
4) Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
5) Integrated Decision-Making
6) Role of the Private Sector
7) Commitment & Accountability
8) Active Participation in the International
Community
o The National policy on the Environment serves as an
important guide to all stakeholders to ensure that the
environment is clean, safe, healthy & productive.
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Goh B.H. 24
National Policy on the Environment
(continued)
o Malaysias Green Strategies will be directly towards
the following key areas :
Education & Awareness
Effective management of natural resources & the
environment
Integrated development planning &
implementation
Prevention & control of pollution & environmental
degradation
Strengthening administrative & institutional
mechanisms
Proactive approach to regional & global
environmental issues
Formulation & implementation of Action Plans
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Goh B.H. 25
National Policy Towards Sustainable
Transportation
o Under the green strategies,
Energy conservation & the use of energyefficient
technology & process shall be promoted by
appropriate pricing mechanisms, the setting of
efficiency standards, promoting technology transfer
& providing consumer information.
The use of cleaner fossil fuels shall be encouraged.
Environmental consideration will be integrated into
all stages of development, programme planning &
implementation & all aspects of policy making.
Investments in cost-effective, efficient. Less
polluting & safer mass transportation system will be
promoted & encouraged.
Non-motorised transport will also be encouraged &
control scheme will be develop & implemented.
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Goh B.H. 26
National Policy Towards Sustainable
Transportation (continued)
Integrated & effective cooperation &
coordination among government sectors
& between government & other sectors,
shall be enhanced in order to achieve
efficient environmental management &
protection.
The End
Thank You