Group Members:
Joshua Barocas
Vimal Bodiwala
Keshia Megie
Eva Raparia
Introduction
In order to make our city more sustainable, transportation will play a crucial role. In our examination and detailed analysis, we examine transportation from four varying perspectives: how the city’s public transportation system can change according to shifts in demographics, how private transportation fits into the city’s future, how the city can incorporate increased bike riding, and how the city’s plans fit into the global context. Sustainability is very critical for our future.
I-Public and Private Transportation:
Public transportation must be an accessible, sustainable and abundant alternative to automobiles. The city must be prepared for population growth in its quest to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2020
There are some underlying fundamental ideas around which our and analysis and examination is centered around. Evaluation of the public transportation situation in the city today reveals that the subway lines are overcrowded, inefficient and underfunded for the current population capacity. However, over the next 20 years, demographic projections show an increase of nearly one million public transportation commuters – a statistic that today’s MTA infrastructure cannot support. We propose a plan wherein the MTA extends its lines to areas where they are currently deficient and therefore, commuters choose to use cars instead, such as places in Eastern Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. By extending lines to these areas, the MTA will be able to provide public and cheap transportation to commuters in need, while discouraging the use of cars within city lines.
II- Cycling
When examining cycling, the city must increase the number of bike lanes. We fully endorse the recent steps the city has taken, such as making midtown New York City a pedestrian-friendly area and increasing the number of bike lanes on Prospect Park West. We feel that cycling has the potential to be the primary form of transportation in New York City.
III-Model Cities
When examining the progress the city has made in terms of the global context and examining how other cities have fared, we based our analysis on the World Bank report. The city has fared very well in terms of the steps it has taken when compared to other cities that are regarded as environmentally-friendly. The developing world’s wealth has increased dramatically in the past decade. As wealth has increased, as proven by many studies, people tend to drift towards private transportation. Many changes in the foreign transportation have changed the dynamics. Indian cities, for exampled, that are already filled with traffic are expected to have greater traffic because of the introduction of the Tata Nano car, a car that is within reach of India’s burgeoning middle class.
We advocate a holistic approach which accounts for each of our four major factors. We suggest discouraging the use of cars, increasing accessibility to public transportation, and making cycling safer for the residents of our city.
If we change, the world will follow.
