the Ethical City

My latest interest that I wished to expound upon has been traffic. My review of Tom Vanderbilt's book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) is forthcoming, but I predict that it will be glowing.

In my research to gain a better understanding of this subject called traffic and how it affects people's lives I have also been thinking about what makes an ethical city?

And while we're on the subject, what makes a city?

The reason why my thoughts jump from traffic to ethics and the concept of the city itself is because traffic affects literally everyone. Not everyone will go to the new baseball stadium that the city is building or even the new shopping complex that they hope will increase revenue. But like it or not, your life will be affected by traffic, be you a pedestrian or driver/passenger.

A city is composed of so many elements and traffic is the common thread that binds it all togeter, for better or for worse.

Everyone is quick to jump on their high-horse and talk contemputously of those who refuse to "go green." But what about those who are less fortunate than us? Where are their prominent and highly visible advocates? Poverty continues to be an ugly stain on the cloth of society and regardless of whom you are voting for in the fall election and whoever wins, poverty and having an ethical approach to a city is vital if we want to be anything resembling the greatest nation on earth, for the right reasons.

I do not intend to imply that no one is doing anything to help aid the poor. There are so many people who tirelessly give of themselves daily. But unfortunately, poverty lacks that chic cache that being environmentally conscious has been experiencing of late. I would recommend the unlikely Mel Brooks movie, "Life Stinks" to see how truly degrading being homeless can be, an extreme aspect of poverty, but important nonetheless and from the most unlikely of sources.

It's no secret that most poor people are forced to use the less than glamorous public transportation system to get around. In fact, it's often implied in many towns, including all the ones that I have lived in that "only the poor and the crazy" ride the buses. A happy exception is Chicago, where one may rub elbows with a suit or purse that costs more than you make in a week. But like I said that was an exception. The socio-economic status of those who utilize public transportation should not have any relation to the determination of implementation of improvements to the public transport system.

There was an interesting article in the spring 1999 issue of UCLA's Critical Planning Journal, entitled, "Rethinking Bus Stops" by James T. Rojas, which points out the obvious, but important, concept that mass transportation isn't a high priority for the inhabitants of the suburbs, where the majority of people get around in their own personal car. But in the cities and especially in the poor sections of town, the majority of people rely on public transportation to get to their jobs and go about their daily business. However, the majority of these people not only lack personal means of transportation, they are also in lack of political power to put pressure on politicians to bring about needed change (this is a paraphrase from page nine in the section "Lack of Commitment Pressure")

UCLA's School of Public Affairs expands on this in their Masters of Arts (M.A.) in Urban Planning concentration section under "Transportation Policy and Planning"

"Transportation Policy and Planning comprises the whole context of economic, social, and political actions that determine the distribution of development, goods, and services. Economic development planning, environmental planning, housing and community development, and urban design are all linked by travel and transportation systems. Transportation access significantly affects quality of life, and differences in opportunities between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, and people of different racial, ethnic and social origins. Thus, the analysis of transportation policy includes questions of production and distribution - how efficiently are services provided, who pays, and who benefits. Such transportation questions in turn lead to more fundamental ones about the functions of planning and public policy. "

To say that traffic is just cars and roads and pedestrians takes a tunnel vision (pun intended) approach to a broad subject.

To be truly ethical in our dealings we must understand that traffic is only a section of what makes a city and each decision to where to put a roadway, a stop sign, a freeway ramp, etc., has a ripple effect on the rest of the city. Traffic definitely does not exist in a vacuum. Obviously, one shouldn't become paralyzed with over-analysis of each little sidewalk or painted road divider. But one should be mindful that each decision does have an impact on other areas.