An initial review of UK transport policy and practice since the 1960s leads into more detailed examination of travel behaviour and its relevance to the design, analysis and evaluation of transport policies. Issues covered include: satisfying mobility versus improving accessibility; the crucial relationship between land use planning and transport; environmental degradation and the need to develop a sustainable transport policy; financial, administrative, and organisational aspects of transport; and the demographic, economic, social and technological factors which influence the demand for travel. Students will also be introduced to theories and models of behaviour which form the basis for understanding and predicting the response of a travel market to transport policies. The course will be illustrated with case studies. Students will engage in a site-specific project which examines accessibility and the potential for sustainable transport. The module will be assessed through a literature review on an aspect of sustainable transport (40%) as well as an individual site-specific sustainable transport report (60%).  

By the end of the module students should be able to:

1. appreciate the challenge facing transport planners in meeting travel needs and desires
2. understand the key elements of transport policies and their impact upon travel
3. appreciate the demographic, social, economic and technological factors influencing the demand for travel
4. appreciate the motivations behind and barriers to behavioural changes in transport
5. critically appraise a range of transport policies for promoting greater sustainability at national, regional and local levels
6. possess a knowledge of theories and models of travel behaviour applied to both travel markets and individuals within them
7. understand the need for an integrated critical approach to planning and transport, and especially the appraisal of transport policies, in order to protect and conserve both built and natural environments
8. understand the way in which personal values and attitudes, of both the public and the planner, can affect travel behaviour including modal choice

The module will be delivered by lectures, presentations by invited speakers, problem-solving live project and participatory workshops and seminars.

1. individual skills in problem definition (conceptualisation; identification of analytical, organisational, and reactive dimensions of policies) and in research and data collection (using both primary and secondary sources)
2. the ability to produce a consultancy-style report, involving the synthesis and application of knowledge to practice, and including an appreciation of the need to take a strategic view
3. demonstrable applied team work skills in oral and graphic presentation, through working in small groups to research and present material in seminars

Type of assessment

%

Contribution

Title

Duration
(if applicable)

Approx. date of Assessment

Individual Literature Review

40%

1,600 words

Autumn

Individual Report

60%

2,400 words

Autumn

The potential for reassessment in this module

Students are permitted to be reassessed in a module which they have failed, in line with the course regulations. The reassessment will usually take place during the summer.

Travel trends and the evolution of transport policy and planning
The relationship between travel behaviour and urban form
Policy instruments to influence travel behaviour
Trip reduction programmes
Changing travellers' behaviour
Low carbon travel – walking, cycling and reducing the need to travel
Transport impacts: society, economy and the environment
The role of government: transport policy and transport interventions

• Banister, D. (2002), Transport Planning, London: Spon (2nd edition).
• Breheny, M. J. (ed) (1992), Sustainable Development and Urban Form, London: Pion.
• Brotchie, JF, Anderson, M and McNamara, C (1995) “Changing Metropolitan Commuting Patterns” in J Brotchie, M Batty, E Blakely, P Hall and P Newton (Eds.) Cities in Competition (chapter 20). Longman: Melbourne.
• Bruton, M. J. (1992), Introduction to Transportation Planning, London: UCL Press (3rd edition).
• Buchanan, C (1964), Traffic in Towns (shortened version), London, Harmondsworth: Penguin/HMSO
• Headicar P (2009) Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain, Routledge, London
• Ewing, R and Cervero, R (2010), Travel and the Built Environment, Journal of the American Planning Association 76(3): 265-294
• Rodrigue, J-P, Comtois, C & Slack, B (2006) The geography of transport systems, London ; New York : Routledge.
• Stern, N. H. (2007) The economics of climate change: the Stern Review, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Cole S. (2005) (3rd Edn.), Applied Transport Economics, London: Kogan Page.