The Independent Transport Commission (ITC), with its remit to explore both transport and land
use policy questions, has a keen interest in this topic. In particular, it is important to understand
whether the policy measures necessary to achieve low-carbon cities differ according to the
scale and location of an urban area. To explore this question we have been pleased to engage a
research team from Nottingham Business School, as part of their wider research study funded
by the European Union’s impressive Horizon 2020 scheme.
This important study has explored the challenges faced by policy makers in a range of scales of
city, from an international mega-city such as London, to a small historic city such as Durham in
north-east England. The researchers show that scale matters in terms of the policy responses
required to achieve low-carbon transport, due to the different travel needs and infrastructure in
each location. They also demonstrate that governance structures are crucial, since urban areas
with the strongest local powers and most robust funding sources are in a better position to
meet the net-zero carbon challenge, and in many cases are further ahead on their roadmap to
achieving this.
We commend these findings to national and local policy makers in helping them achieve the
most effective roadmaps to low carbon urban transport. I
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