Sustainable land use mitigates climate change, report says
Sustainable land use planning that includes strategies for minimizing the use of automobiles can play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from the Washington-based Urban Land Institute (ULI). “Moving Cooler: An Analysis of Transportation Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions” also studies the emissions-reducing effects of transportation pricing and taxes, public transportation improvements, non-motorized transport such as walking and biking, regulations to moderate vehicle use and speed, intelligent systems, expanded highway capacity and more efficient freight movement.
Moving Cooler offers further evidence of the long-term impact that sustainable land development can have in improving the environmental quality of urban areas, ULI Senior Vice President Dean Schwanke said in a statement. “To really make a dent in carbon emissions, solutions are needed that incentivize more concentrated and pedestrian-friendly development patterns that reduce auto dependency,” Schwanke said. “Focusing solely on energy efficient vehicles and cleaner fuels will not sufficiently address the problem.”
Download the entire report from ULI’s Web site.
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