A recent survey from the Automobile Association has found that vehicle congestion in cities as dropped by 31 per cent as a result of the recession. On that statistic, recessions are good for the environment. However, congestion, like economies come back and with every major urban area forecast to grow over the next 30 years, congestion will increase.
Cities like London are becoming more difficult to live in and unless you are wealthy, the quality of life is falling. Travel to and from work has lengthened, a direct product of congestion.
Most planners are not looking to decentralise development in cities and most governments are not commiting resources to vastly improving infrastructure. A lot is being done to prevent, or regulate, access to cities. Just think of the congestion charge.
One of the easiest ways of reducing congestion is to make public transport, or at least an aspect of it like buses, free, but with two provisios: public transport is more frequent and it is reliable. The thought is not impossible and already many capital cities have free bus services in their central business districts and many governments provide free travel to groups like pensioners and the unemployed. Free and more regular public transport for all will make people rethink the use of cars and ownership. It might cost more in the short term, and putting emissions aside, should eventually pay for itself if correspondingly the cost of car ownership is made to rise.
