Citation

Zegras P. J. Transp. Land Use 2010; 3(3): 1-3.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, The author(s), Publisher University of Minnesota, Center for Transportation Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article serves as the introduction to a special issue on transport and land use in China. The author maintains that no developing country better represents the challenges and opportunities posed by the forces of urbanization in this century than China. China is undergoing a major demographic transition of rapid and intense urbanization. At the same time, China has already become the world's single largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) due to its energy consumption (International Energy Agency 2010) and the single largest manufacturer of both automobiles and commercial vehicles (International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers 2010). The author notes that the articles in this special issue consider where the combination of these massive, interacting forces will take urban China's land use and transportation systems. This special issue of the Journal of Transport and Land Use offers a snapshot of the interactions between land use and transportation systems in China at three different scales of analysis. In the first paper, Ng, Schipper, and Chen take a macro-level perspective, showing graphically how China's "business-as-usual" motorization trend threatens to overwhelm the nation's cities in terms of space consumption, air pollution, energy security, congestion, etc. In the second paper, Næss focuses on a particular metropolitan area and a specific question:how relative location in a mid-size Chinese city influences household travel energy use. Finally, Tao, Mehndiratta, and Deakin examine the relationship between pedestrian activity and street design in the mid-sized city of Fushun.