Mobility and Environment - Humanists versus Engineers in Urban Policy and Professional Education

piMobility and Environment/i calls for a mobility revolution which does not simply mean taking a bus instead of a car: it implies a dramatic shift in the political debate from a technical to a political culture. The author introduces his book by disputing "non-political" Sustainable Development policies which are among the major culprits for the conservatism in environmental policies. /ppFor at least forty years, urban mobility policies, based on compulsive infrastructure building, have failed both in satisfying transportation demand and in coping with high environmental impacts.
Nonetheless decision-makers keep employing the same professionals and therefore they act as shepherds who commit their sheep in the wolf's custody. Corrado Poli treats mobility policy as a political, ethical, social and educational issue rather than as a mere civil engineering one. /ppiMobility and Environment /ichallenges some deeply entrenched professional and economic monopolies which negatively affect urban and transportation planning in North America and Europe, and argues the old idea which bounded transportation and communication.
A real environmentalist effort in traffic planning should begin from new technologies and from the analysis of citizens preferences. A series of new projects are presented which include mobility demand reduction and focus on democracy in planning./p