 Communities are considered to be connected when their design and the location of the various land uses allow residents to walk, bike or take public transit to their desired destinations. It is also important to have safe, direct and affordable connections to neighbouring communities and regional destinations.
Our chosen mode of transportation can have a substantial impact on the environment - locally and globally. At the community scale, excessive vehicle traffic leads to congestion, air pollution, smog and the urban heat island. In Ontario, the transportation sector is responsible for 20% of smog-causing particulate matter, 85% of carbon monoxide emissions, and 63% of nitrous oxides (1). At the global scale the consumption of fossil fuels for transportation is one of the major causes of climate change. In 2003, road transportation accounted for 19% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions (2).
Transportation-related pollution is not limited to air; transportation infrastructure leads to the deposit of road salt, dirt and dust, fertilizers, pesticides, antifreeze, engine oil, rubber and metal deposits, litter and other pollutants into aquifers, lakes, rivers, streams and oceans. Highways also contribute to altering and degrading wildlife habitat, threatening many species and driving several to the brink of extinction.
Based on population growth projections for the GTA, a business-as-usual approach to urban design would result in car ownership increasing by 50% by 2031. This would bring the regional total to 19 million vehicles and cause a 42% increase in greenhouse gas emissions (3). Striving to improve connectedness and the ease with which people can make alternative transporation choices is essential to sustainable community development.
Sources:
1 Environment Canada, 2005. Speaking notes for the Honourable Stephane Dion, P.C., M.P. Minister of the Environment from The Sixth Annual Smog Summit.
2 Statistics Canada, 2005. Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators 2005 (webpage).
3 Pembina Institute, 2003. Building Sustainable Urban Communities in Ontario: Overcoming the Barriers.
Image: Waterfront Toronto
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