An Integrated Framework for Planning Successful Complete Streets Towards Sustainable Transportation

Sebnem Hoskara (Visiting Professor, Urban and Regional Planning Program, UTSA)

In recent years, the concept of sustainable transportation has become a leading research topic around the world. Diverse movements and strategies to relieve compounding issues and enhance the level of sustainability in the transportation sector are surfacing in many countries. These strategies differ greatly from city to city and country to country relative to dissimilar travel patterns within the specific social, political, economic, and cultural contexts. However, as many scholars argue, there are universal and indispensable aspects that can serve as foundations to planning movements and enhance levels of sustainability in the transportation sector, one of them being 'shifting transportation modes' and the other one is the concept of 'complete street' as the latest movement emerging in North America.

This research focuses on the emergence of active modes of transportation in both developed and developing countries and shifting of current modes towards more sustainable transportation, with a particular emphasis of complete streets. Based on the argument that complete streets integrate all modes of transportation and therefore provide more opportunities to use active modes of transportation, this research will present findings of a comprehensive investigation resulted in combining the concepts of active transportation with those of complete streets and outlining the main determinant variables which must be considered in the processes of promoting use of active modes of transportation and planning successful complete streets. The research argues that, development of an integrated framework for planning successful complete streets and lending to a sustainable transportation sector begins with clarification of the determinant variables and phases. Together, with identification of the socially and physically inclusive variables, the research recommends use of an integrated framework for phasing successful complete streets into communities for achieving sustainable transportation which will then lead to more livable cities and increased level of quality of life.