Speaking of a green new deal…

January 28, 2021, Posted in  Blog

With the possibility of a green new deal getting closer, we would like to share our article, published a year ago in World Transport Policy and Practice, Pp. 89-105 “Freedom to Drive and the Tragedy of the Commons of U.S. Cities: Reflections on Policy, Culture and Technology”.
Available at transportchoice.org

Abstract:
This article reinterprets many of Garrett Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” arguments (1968) from the perspective that urban roadways are public “commons”. Solutions to transportation problems have historically been dominated by technological solutions, and the discourse today has
not changed, only the type of technology. Hardin, somewhat controversially, challenged humanity’s freedom to breed; this article challenges our freedom to drive. This article proposes that, rather than technology, what is actually required are changes in human behavior and changes in national spending priorities toward investment in mass rapid transit.

Keywords

Traffic congestion, public transit, city policy, public policy, technical solutions, tragedy of the commons, green new deal,