Abstract: ALTHOUGH MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HAVE PROVIDED THE POWER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE, PLANNING FOR SOCIAL GOALS IS CURIOUSLY DEVOID OF AMBITION. FEASIBILITY, RATHER THAN CHALLENGE, HAS BECOME THE CRITERION FOR DECISION AND ACTIONS, AND EXTRAPOLATION THE GUIDE AS TO WHAT THE FUTURE WILL HOLD. THE APPROACH TO TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS IS AN EXAMPLE. TO STEM THE THREAT OF DETERIORATING MOBILITY, REMEDIES ARE TAKEN FROM AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE USE OF COMMON TECHNIQUES, I.E., SOLUTIONS WHICH REQUIRE NO TECHNOLOGICAL BREAK-THROUGHS OR NEW INVENTIONS. BETTER ANSWERS TO TRANSPORTATION NEEDS OF TOMORROW'S CITIES ARE NEEDED, ANSWERS WHICH CAN BE REACHED ONLY BY LONG-RANGE PLANNING. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT HAS SPONSORED A FUTURISTIC STUDY OF IDEAL TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO URBAN TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS TO INDICATE THE SORT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS WHICH SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ANOTHER EFFORT IS THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY INQUIRY BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING INTO THE FUTURE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT. A THIRD STUDY, BY THE HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD, WILL ANALYZE PUBLIC PREFERENCES FOR FUTURE INDIVIDUAL TRANSPORTATION. TRENDS DEMONSTRATED BY THESE STUDIES ARE: DISAPPEARING SEPARATION OF FORECASTING AND PLANNING; TRANSFORMATION OF LONG-RANGE DECISION MAKING INCLUDES STATEMENT OF GOALS, DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES, EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES AND SELECTION OF A WORKING STRATEGY. IN ORDER TO DEVELOP MEANINGFUL GOALS, A DEEPER PERCEPTION OF THE TOTAL NEEDS OF THE CITY DWELLER AND OF THE URBAN COMMUNITY IS NECESSARY. ATTEMPTS TO DEFINE URBAN COMMUNITY IS NECESSARY. ATTEMPTS TO DEFINE URBAN TRANSPORTATION GOALS IN TERMS OF CONCEPTS OF URBAN DESIGN ARE CONFRONTED WITH ESTABLISHING PUBLIC PRIORITIES AND RECONCILING CONFLICTING INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS AND SOCIAL GOALS, OPTIMIZATION OF A TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MUST CONSIDER THE GOALS OF THE COMMUTER, OF THE CITY RESIDENT, OF THE SHIPPER, OF THE TRANSOORT OPERATOR, IN OTHER WORDS OF ALL GROUPS OF A GIVEN COMMUNITY. THE METHODOLOGY OF NORMATIVE PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED SUFFICIENTLY TO ALLOW THE AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING OF DEFINITION OF AN OPTIMUM TOTAL URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
Publication Year: 1969
Publication Date: 1969-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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