Environmental Assessments Instruments for Urban Transportation Planning: From a Reactive to a Proactive Approach

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the development of environmental assessment instruments for urban transportation planning. However, numerous studies show that current instruments are largely ineffective in addressing the complex environmental consequences of urban transportation, particularly in its interactions with land use. Most existing tools are geared more towards monitoring plans than supporting decision-making. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces the Proactive Environmental Instruments Design (PEID) strategy, a method for developing environmental assessment tools to support decision-making in urban transport planning. According to this strategy, environmental instruments should meet four criteria: performance-based, reference value-based, integration-oriented, and decision-oriented. The paper illustrates the application of the PEID strategy through the development of an environmental assessment instrument used to evaluate alternative transit corridor plans in Granada, Spain. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and highlights issues for further research.