This site advocates less dependence on automobile transportation, and proposes suggestions for technologies and city layouts that would eliminate the need for it altogether. Some of the most interesting discussion concerns city topology, suggesting a six-lobe design. Each lobe is divided into many districts, and can support up to two million people (twelve million in all). A heavy-rail metro is...

The Advanced Transport Group at the University of Bristol, upon considering current traffic congestion problems in England and throughout the world, attempted to "identify the ideal system for future urban transport." The group's work has led to the development of the Urban Light Transport (ULTra) System. This paper, published in September 2002, describes the engineering challenges and...

Organized in 1991, the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at the University of California-Davis has become an internationally recognized center for both applied research and overall scholarship in the field of transportation, serving as a home for 50 affiliated faculty members and a number of graduate students. Here visitors can learn about the Institute, read about educational...

Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, has an entry that briefly outlines the US program to develop intelligent transportation systems (1). A fairly comprehensive list of ITS technologies and applications are also included. An analysis of specific ITS implementations, published in May 2003, gives a much more thorough explanation of how ITS impacts surface transportation (2). The benefits of such...

Short for magnetic levitation, maglev involves the use of superconducting magnets to cause an object to float. Train systems using maglev technology are a recent development, and they already have the potential to compete with existing forms of transportation in the 21st century. To get a basic understanding of the principles involved in maglev, try How Things Work (1) at the University of...

Established by a range of industry representatives in 1954, the Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC) was the first university transportation center is the United States. They perform a wide range of research studies, along with offering resources for the press and the general public. First-time visitors can check out their in-house newsletter Compass on the homepage, look over...

The Texas Transportation Researcher is a quarterly publication of "the largest university-affiliated transportation research agency in the United States." Located at Texas A&M University, the institution focuses on automobile, rail, air, and all other modes of transportation in an effort to improve system safety and efficiency. The second issue of 2003 includes articles about intelligent software...

Originally developed at the University of Minnesota, personal rapid transit (PRT) systems are now being explored further by a spin-off company called Taxi2000. The system is designed to operate on raised guideways and is set up in grid formations that can easily be expanded. While still in the planning stages, a great deal of information is presented on the Taxi2000 homepage. Many publications can...

What's the future of driving in developing countries? This question has tremendous implications and it's one that has intrigued a set of researchers associated with the Rand Corporation. This 132-page meditation was crafted by a five person team and it looks at the economic and non-economic factors that might encourage or inhibit personal automobile ownership and driving patterns in countries such...

The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at the University of California at Berkeley works in a number of topical areas, and one of these areas happens to be research on sustainable transportation strategies and development. The "Publications" area is quite useful, as it includes thoughtful policy analyses such as "A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard for California" and a supplementary technical...