Review and Critical Analysis of International UHI Studies

aided by improvements to infrastructure, management of infrastructure and pricing through
taxes and subsidies.
Urban population density and the way in which the land is arranged in terms of the proximity of
residencies to businesses reduces the need for private transport and encourages walking, cycling
and public transport use. Public transport options are also increased due to the economies of
scale of the increased demand in urban areas. To further promote public transport, planners
should locate stations and bus stops close to journey origins and destinations and ensure they are
compatible with demand to maximize their use [234].
Private vehicle disincentive schemes that have been successful implemented in parts of the world
include: congestion zone charging and/or tolls ‐ which require drivers to pay to enter the
metropolis; parking restrictions ‐ by the use of permits to make it difficult/expensive to park in
urban areas; increasing the space on roads for public transport and bicycles; car taxing; fuel
pricing and taxing; heavily subsidizing public transport fares; and traffic smoothing ‐ which
involves the phasing of lights to restrict the stop start nature of city traffic which reduces
emissions.
Using clean energy in transport systems such as biofuels, liquid or gas; hydrogen and fuel cells;
and battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles is being discussed by the European Commission
as part of their Green Cars Initiative in the European Economic Recovery Plan [220]. In the US the
Department of Transportation has launched a Clean Fuels Grant Program with the objection of
meeting national attainment targets for ozone and carbon monoxide emissions, the program also
supports the development of clean fuels and advanced propulsion technologies for public
transport [221].
The timescales from concept of a transport strategy to implementation is commonly between 15
and 20 years. A number of barriers exist, outlined below, and it is important that these barriers
are identified early on so they can be adjusted or mitigated to allow the strategy to be acceptable
[234].
KonSULT, a Knowledgebase on Sustainable Urban Land use and Transport undertook a survey
which asked a number of European cities what they considered the barriers were to
implementing a transport strategy. The survey identified that road building, pricing and land use
experienced the most legal constraints. Road building and public transport infrastructure
experienced the most financial constraints (80% of cities surveyed said finance was a major
barrier and small cities are more susceptible to pricing issues than large cities), road building and
pricing experienced the most acceptance restraints. Some practical constraints were also
identified but weren’t weighted/rated by the cities in terms of their importance; they included:
land acquisition; enforcement and administration; and engineering design and availability of
technology [234].
Potential Barriers
The barriers identified for transport design planning are:
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