Excruciating traffic jams. Struggling transit agencies. An epidemic of pedestrian fatalities. It is clear that transportation is not working in the United States and that we need to rethink our approach. In Shifting Gears, Susan Handy provides an in-depth history of the ideas embedded in American transportation policy and the emergence of new ways of thinking that could give us better transportation options. Weaving in bits of her own personal narrative, Handy gives readers a deeper and clearer understanding of our transportation system and the roots of its successes and failures.
Handy covers the myriad costs of car ownership, the futility of expanding highways, and the misplaced faith in technological innovation. She offers new ideas and strategies that can improve the health of our car-centric transportation system-most crucially, the idea that communities across the country must create an array of choices for daily travel. Shifting Gears asserts that a diverse transportation ecosystem is essential for creating more just, sustainable communities, but getting there will take a dramatic shift in how we think about transportation.
An expertly woven history and critique of the ideas shaping transportation in the United States.
Excruciating traffic jams. Struggling transit agencies. An epidemic of pedestrian fatalities. It is clear that transportation is not working in the United States and that we need to rethink our approach. In Shifting Gears, Susan Handy provides an in-depth history of the ideas embedded in American transportation policy and the emergence of new ways of thinking that could give us better transportation options. Weaving in bits of her own personal narrative, Handy gives readers a deeper and clearer understanding of our transportation system and the roots of its successes and failures.
Handy covers the myriad costs of car ownership, the futility of expanding highways, and the misplaced faith in technological innovation. She offers new ideas and strategies that can improve the health of our car-centric transportation system-most crucially, the idea that communities across the country must create an array of choices for daily travel. Shifting Gears asserts that a diverse transportation ecosystem is essential for creating more just, sustainable communities, but getting there will take a dramatic shift in how we think about transportation.
By:
Susan Handy
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 154mm,
Spine: 21mm
Weight: 374g
ISBN: 9780262546966
ISBN 10: 0262546965
Series: Urban and Industrial Environments
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 05 December 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION 1 1 IDEAS: What are those transportation people thinking (and who are they, anyway)? 9 2 FREEDOM: Cars make life easier, except when they don’t 27 3 SPEED: Going fast is great, but going slow can be better 47 4 MOBILITY: Traffic is truly horrible, but does it actually matter? 71 5 VEHICLES: My car is happy, but I’m feeling a little neglected 91 6 CAPACITY: All that construction, and this is what we get? 117 7 HIERARCHY: I love my cul- de- sac, but I’m not so sure about yours 137 8 SEPARATION: If you can’t play nice together, we’ll have to separate you 159 9 CONTROL: Just what we need, another traffic light 187 10 TECHNOLOGY: And they said Segways were going to solve everything 205 11 UP AHEAD: Who’s got a better idea? 225 ABBREVIATIONS 239 NOTES 243 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 279 INDEX 287
Susan Handy is Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Policy and Director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at the University of California, Davis, where she also chairs the graduate program in Transportation Technology and Policy.
