Urban Transportation Development in China:Evolving Environment vs. Sustainable Development in a New Situation

This paper discusses the evolving environment for urban transportation development in China in terms of urban development constraints,spatial structure adjustment,and population group segregation.Through an analysis of travel characteristics and traffic operations in China,the author points out that a travel demand increase plus a worsening of traffic congestion results in huge challenges in urban and transportation sustainable developments.Given the above situation,the paper introduces an array of policies and strategies adopted by the central and lo-cal municipal governments to promote urban and transportation sustainable developments,including transit priority,vehicle emission management,transportation and land use coordination,and institutional and organizational reforms in transportation agencies.Finally,the paper illustrates some on-going activities of green transportation,as well as the formulation and implementation of sustainable transportation development policies in Beijing,Shanghai and Tianjin.