Can planning deliver sustainable transport?IntroductionIt is now accepted that with climate change (rising sea levels and damage to the ozone layer etc.), poor air quality and the implications to health that all countries should pursue the objective of sustainable development. Whilst most countries now pursue ‘urban concentration’ planning policies, it is now realised that land is a finite resource. Essentially the major problem that the planning system seeks to address is the use of fossil fuel burning vehicles. Transport is the biggest single contributor to climate change as stated in the Committee on Climate Change report 2016 with car use equating for 62% of all trips and 78% of distance covered. People drive to work, childrenare taken to schools and people drive to retail and leisure facilities. This isone of the reasons why spatial planning is important i.e. location ofemployment, housing and leisure facilities, if they can be located in closeproximity to one another people are thereby encouraged to either use publictransport, walk or cycle and worst case use the car for short journeys.Urban concentration means developing within settlement boundaries, the benefits are that when there are higher densities there is less land used and where there is close proximity of various land uses people will walk / cycle or use public transport. The rail and bus systems/ networks are generally within urban areas.Planning policy has and continuesto promote urban extensions, however, is now returning to a ‘theme’ of newtowns or settlements where planning is a ‘blank canvas’ – where towns andcities can be properly planned to have higher densities and mixed uses whichwould enable reduced car use as people would have access to public transportand other facilities.The planning system in Englandhas the potential to deliver sustainable transport options in a number of ways.The obvious benefit of sustainable transport is the effect it can have on theglobal issue of climate change with the reduction in greenhouse gases etc.,however, there are many other pressing issues which can be addressed if trulysustainable transport options are delivered. National PolicyThe current agenda regardingtransport and development is moving away from one of providing significant newhighway capacity, through ‘predict and provide’ schemes. Instead, policies havebeen adopted in national guidelines such as the most recent Transport WhitePaper (2011) that seeks to encourage more sustainable modes than the car and aplanning system which places more emphasis on the link between transport andland use planning policies.The NPPF recognises thattransport policies have an important role to play in wider sustainability andhealth objectives as well as their direct influence on development. Inparagraph 29 it states that “thetransport system needs to be balanced in favour of sustainable transport modesgiving people a real choice about how they travel.” (DCLG, 2012)ChoicesDelivering sustainable transportat present is dependent on individuals making conscious decisions and in orderfor individuals to make the sustainable choice depends on a number of factorsas highlighted by the research of Tertoolen, Van Kreleld and Verstaten (1998) Psychological Resistance Against Attempts toReduce Private Car Use in the Netherlands that behaviour would only changeif;Mode switching is not disadvantageous for the individualValid social norms are positive towards environmentally friendly behaviourSufficient opportunities to undertake this alternative behaviour are present.The planning system is capable ofinfluencing infrastructure provisions and in particular for walk cycle theallocation of road space for improved pedestrian cycle links. This couldinvolve converting existing roads for only public transport (buses) andbicycle. Where the use of such methods then becomes advantageous for theindividual then a shift in mode may occur.The health of individuals and theeffect on the environment, although is important when people make choices oftransport modes is not a key priority. In order to make a shift to sustainablemodes, these modes have to be more convenient to the user such is the case inCopenhagen where around 50% of people cycle to work and education “not to savethe environment or stay healthy but because it is the easiest thing to do” (Martin,J. 2017) Pilot SchemesWhen looking at the SustainableTransport Demonstration Towns (STDT) pilot scheme where three towns(Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester) were chosen to produce strategies topromote sustainable transport, it is clear to see that where investment is madeand proactively implemented a real change can be made. The results of the pilotover the three towns with the £15m of investment (over 5 years, 2004/5 to2008/9) that car use was reduced by 9% and sustainable modes of transport suchas bus (16%), cycle (28%) and walking (12%) have seen an increase.Where investment is made andactively promoted, it is encouraging how easy sustainable transport can be‘bought into’, however the issue is that many local authorities do not have thefinances to implement such schemes and in a time of cuts across the localauthorities although given the importance of sustainable transport it isquestionable whether the issue will be of the highest importance.Strategic transport networkWhilst congestion is responsiblefor a lot of greenhouse gases with emissions produced while motorist are sat intraffic there is also the same issues with long distance travel where motoristopt for unsustainable transport modes as alternative transport modes can bemore expensive and less convenient. To address this problem there needs to be aregional or national strategy to ensure that major development can be providedwith the benefit of sustainable transports such as rail that is a moreattractive option, that is more efficient and convenient.Questioning whether transport canbe dealt with at the local level and although the NPPF para 162 states; “Local planning authorities should work withother authorities and providers to………take account of the need for strategicinfrastructure including nationally significant infrastructure within theirarea” (DCLG, 2012). There is anobvious constraint in how the planning system operates in England in thattransport networks cannot logically be dealt with by Local Authorities whentransport networks are regional and in some cases national concerns.Such is the case with High Speed2 which has the potential of fulfilling these criteria however there are manylocal planning authorities across many regions that must work together toensure individuals have the maximum access to sustainable transport.Strategic Development LocationStrategic development location isan area which the planning system can have the biggest influence, this ishighlighted by the National Planning Policy Frameworks Core Principle whichstates:“Actively manage patterns of growth to make the fullest possible use of public transport, walking and cycling, and focus significant development in locations which are or can be made sustainable.” (DCLG, 2012)Paragraph 34 seeks to ensurethat, “developments that generate significant movement are located where theneed to travel will be minimised and the use of sustainable transport modes canbe maximised.” (DCLG, 2012)However, it would appear thatsome planning policies restrict development in such locations in particular theGreen Belt. We have for some time in this country pursued an ‘urbanconcentration’ policy in which development is concentrated within existingsettlement, however with these sites becoming less available and restrictionsfrom restrictive policies, people are being forced to live further away due toavailability of housing and affordability, and commute to areas of employment.In many occasions where existing transport network and facilities exist andlogically development would be best suited in these locations, development isprecluded due to these restrictive policies. This is confirmed in the guidance provided in the Commission forIntegrated Transport (CfIT) practitioners guide policy 10.1;Strategic traffic generation impacts should contribute to locationalconsiderations. This may involve a review of Green Belt and similar urbancontainment policies” (CfIT, 2009)In terms of development location,the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) working with Bilfinger GVA undertook aproject on the Location of development and mapped out the physical location ofover 165,000 new homes that had been granted planning permission in 2016, whichwere then analysed for their location to employment and rail. The analysisconcluded that “almost 75% of the houses which had been granted planningpermission since 2012 had been within 10km of major employment opportunities.This seems pretty good. However only 13% were within easy walking distance of arailway station” (Harris, J. 2016) which would mean that the reliance on caruse for the most would continue even with the National planning policiesemphasis on sustainable development. James Harris, Policy and Networksmanager at the RTPI raises concerns that “thiskind of spatial information is not currently being analysed at the nationallevel, and risks being excluded from discussions over how the effectiveness ofpolicy and how it might need to change” (Harris, J. 2016)The location of development topublic transport has been considered particularly well in London where in thedraft London Plan Policy D6 – Optimisinghousing density, housing density is being increased where land supply isconstrained and where public transport is accessible. The London plan has alevel of accessibility to Public Transport (Public Transport AccessibilityLevel, PTAL) in which the closer to public transport network the higher thedensity.HealthHealth is a huge factor whenconsidering the effects of transport, obesity according to Public HealthEngland cost the wider society £27 billion and the NHS estimates £6.1 billionis spent on overweight and obesity related ill health with Public HealthEngland stating the “nearly two-thirds of adults (63%) in England were classedas being overweight (a body mass index of over 25) or obese (a BMI of over 30)in 2015” (Public Health England, 2017)Sustainable transport places anemphasis on using public transport to reduce CO2 emissions but also on themethods used to access these services with these being within easy access forwalking and cycling it is believed that if more people walked or cycled thenthe health benefits for both the individual and the environment will beimproved. Also, the reduction in the number of vehicles on the road would havehealth benefits for those affected by the pollution caused by burning fossilfuels.   Transport related air pollutionis among the leading concerns around transport and its effect on health. TheWHO Europe highlights the importance of the planning system with respect to thelevels at which humans are exposed to air pollution “Urban planning and development also strongly shape exposure; theydetermine not only patterns of residence and mobility but also the availabilityof public transport and non-motorized transport options” (WHO, 2005) Air Quality Plans are used to Identifywhen air pollution is at high levels which may affect public health which havebeen mandated to adopt by the end of 2018 in DEFRA’s new Air Quality Strategy. However,the British Medical Association have concerns, whilst £295m of funding has beenmade available to implement these plans “itis still nowhere near enough for the task at hand, which is evident whencompared to Transport for London’s much more robust £875 million budgetallocated to improve air quality in London by 2021/2022” (BMA, 2017). Funding seems to be a reoccurringissue within local authorities in tackling issues such as transport and climatechange.ConclusionPlanning has the role of involvinga number of disciplines such as urban designers, transport planners anddevelopers to create transport that is truly sustainable and whilst thebenefits of sustainable transport are obvious ultimately the use of suchtransport comes down to individual choices. So, when considering whether theplanning system can deliver sustainable transport, it is somewhat limited inthat it can put the ‘sustainable transport’ in place, locate people close topublic transport, ensure that public transport is accessible to all and toprioritise sustainable modes.Ultimately, most people will usesustainable transport modes not because of the environmental aspects associatedor that it is healthy or that they can save money but the convenience, so itwould appear that the planning system should make the sustainable modes moreattractive whilst placing barriers to car use (which would be much contested) and as a result the positive impactswill all be produced as a by-product and sustainable transport choices will beachieved. Word Count 2051ReferencesBritish Medical Association (2017) Impacts of air pollution on public health. Available at: https://www.bma.org.uk/-media/files/pdfs/collective%20voice/influence/uk%20governments/bma-briefing-hol-debate-on-air-pollution-oct-2017.pdf?la=en (Accessed 21 April 2018)Commission for Integrated Transport (2009) Planning for Sustainable Travel Summary Guide. Available at: http://www.plan4sustainabletravel.org/downloads/cfit_summary_guide.pdf (Accessed 3rd April 2018)Department for Communities and Local Government (2012). The National Planning Policy Framework London: DCLG.Harris, J (2016) RTPI. Is the English planning system delivering sustainable development?. Available at: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/briefing-room/rtpi-blog/is-the-english-planning-system-delivering-sustainable-development/ (Accessed 18 April 2018)Martin, J (2017) RTPI, Why sustainable transport planning is the answer. Available at: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/briefing-room/rtpi-blog/why-sustainable-transport-planning-is-the-answer/ (Accessed 15 April 2018)Public Health England (2017) Guidance. Health matters: obesity and the food environment. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-obesity-and-the-food-environment/health-matters-obesity-and-the-food-environment–2 (Accessed 28 April 2018)World Health Organization Europe (2005) Health effects of transport-related air pollution. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/74715/E86650.pdf (Accessed 28 April 2018)Get Help With Your AssignmentIf you need assistance with writing your assignment, our professional assignment writing service is here to help!Find out more