TRANSPORTE Y CALIDAD DE VIDA

Abstract

The priority given to private transport in the urban planning and design of the Spanish cities is leading to the worsening of their quality of life, and this is becoming ever more clear due to the increasing amount of negative effects generated by motorised transport. These include effects on the environment, accessibility and social effects. The urban planning for our cities needs to be reconsidered to provide priority for the use of sustainable modes of transport except in those places where the use of private transport is needed and required, and not the other way round. Our cities need to plan for a road hierarchy that will arrange the roads and streets depending on the volume of traffic that should be circulating through them, promote the use of public transport but, above all, the number of trips undertaken on foot or by bicycle, and discourage the use of private transport when the need for this is not essential. This paper will examine the relationship between quality of life and transport, the benefits that arise from the implementation of measures based on transport planning along with some examples already being applied in the UK, and the psychological reasons behind these effects. Keywords: Transport, Urban Planning, Strategic Planning