Green Cities: Let’s turn our heads to public transportation…

As a Torontonian, I see public transportation as one of the most important keys to a functional and livable city. Public transit in Toronto is not horrendous unlike other cities in Southern Ontario. Our subway system has its flaws but overall it operates quite well. In earlier posts I have alluded to climate change initiatives and how they should take place at the city level. Cities like Toronto are massive metropolises managing increased urbanization and population pressures.

Whether we’ll admit it or not, traffic congestion and air pollution problems are typically found within a city’s core. Mainly due to the heavy use of automobiles, more consumer activity and the urban heat island effect- something I discussed a couple of weeks ago. Cheap gasoline among other things will always increase our use of automobiles and provide more of a disinclination to use public transit. Public transit costs have only been increasing, however, increased costs have concomitantly led to more investment in transit infrastructure and services i.e. transit is becoming more efficient. Population growth will add more pressures to the public transit system and if it is not managed well, as in we see ridership decrease, then air pollution and the nasty symptoms of climate change are bound to worsen.

My optimism in all of this is with public transportation. Public transit i.e. using buses, light-rail transit (really expensive but can be effective given the resources), streetcars and trains are all viable options. When you increase ridership on all of these modes of transportation you significantly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and volatile organic compounds that are spewed out of our vehicles. This is no simple solution and will take years to implement adequately. Large city populations must demand these services. How is this going to happen? Creating more public and green spaces in city cores can help for one. Nature is always the remedy for devastating urbanism. In other words, creating green space like parks, marinas and orchards dispersed around the city can motivate and compel citizens to take public transit. Green spaces and more nature areas will eventually lead to a cleaner city both environmentally and socially. Cleaning up transit for one is a great way to allure citizens to use it. Urban planning needs to address this more clearly. Civil servants and leaders of our cities must allocate more resources into public transportation.

Key message: Increasing the welfare of society requires civic leadership and public participation. Both of these things are important for public transportation initiatives. Public transit is undoubtedly expensive to implement at first, but the long-term savings and accumulated capital are noteworthy. Public transit is one of our strongest allies in the fight against climate change. Invest money in it and reap the environmental, economic and social benefits.