Presentation to Arizona Task Force on Policy and Planning Assignment

Presentation to Arizona Task Force on Policy and Planning - Assignment Example First and foremost, although the definition of sustainable transportation varies, many definitions tend to allude to reduced dependence on automobiles, increased use of public mass transit and increased use of non-motorized forms of transport such as bicycles and walking. Black (2004) particularly defines sustainable transportation as the transport system that is able to meet the current mobility and transport needs without compromising the ability of ability of the future generations to be able to meet such needs. However, Black (2004) argues that the contemporary transport systems are currently being hindered from becoming sustainable by a number of factors some of which include diminishing petroleum reserves, global atmospheric impacts of the transport systems, congestion and fatalities among others. There are a number of reasons why I feel that a paradigmatic shift in the current Arizona transport planning is urgently needed. Although Arizona like many other states has always depended on the mobility planning approach to develop its transport policies, this approach is increasingly becoming unsustainable due to wide range of emerging issues including environmental pollution concerns, diminishing petroleum reserves, congestion and rising fatalities and increased urban sprawl among others. Accessibility planning approach primarily focuses on regulating land use arrangements in order to reduce the travelling needs of the members of the society. In many parts of the United States, this may include jobs-housing balance (such as by locating housing near potential workplaces), developing transit villages as well as encouraging sustainable forms of transport such as mass transit, bicycles and pedestrianism. Compared to the â€Å"mobility† approach that is largely concerned with enhancing the ability of commuters to travel fast,