Open Collections

Sustainable community planning : the business case to address declining transport-related quality of life in the Kuwait urban area

University of British Columbia

Current urban transport systems are based primarily on automotive transport powered by fossil fuels, and generate complex social, economic, and environmental impacts that result in lowered Quality of Life that inevitably diminishes over time and is not sustainable. The current community planning principles are a superior method to use in considering alternate models and understanding the complexity of cities and their relation to land use and transportation networks. This research utilizes proper Social Cost-Benefit Analysis in all its economic models. It found that the Light Rail Transit (LRT) alternative, powered by hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology, offers more significant potential to deliver comprehensive benefits to Kuwait society and government than either the Bus Rapid Transit system or the Business-As-Usual alternatives. The results demonstrate a cost-benefit ratio of 83, with Net Present Value (NPV) of $ 674 billion. The sensitivity analysis shows that air pollution savings is the most sensitive parameter in the analysis, followed by GHG savings. Thus, the more improvements are made to air quality factors, the more profitable the LRT project will be. It is also emphasizes that avoiding the long term adverse economic effects when considering climate change and sustainability is a must in transportation projects. The research survey indicates that the majority of Kuwaitis (both citizens and residents) prefer not to drive if given alternatives, are open to using different transit modes, and demand more walkable and bikeable communities. Participants indicated ongoing issues with accessibility to work, shopping, and recreation destinations. This research argued that a substantial obstacle to transportation and public transportation reform in Kuwait is not the harsh weather or the challenge of encouraging behavioral changes, which are commonly cited, but are rather the limited transport sector’s structure and a weak planning process, which require immediate, substantial reform. This research outlines different policies and planning reforms that can preserve economic productivity and diversity, and improve communal equity in transportation.

Text

2019-12-04

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/72552

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/