With an increasing population and expanding economy, China has emerged as an importantworld power. In recent decades, China's urban population has grown exponentially, with acorresponding increase in the personal wealth of citizens. The capital city of Beijing exemplifiesthe rapid development of urban China. The city is now home to over twenty-million people andis expected to continue gaining residents. This growth also drives unprecedented challenges forurban policy and city management.The two primary challenges for managing large Chinese cities are mobility and airpollution. Traffic congestion and air pollution in Beijing have become such critical issues as toattract worldwide attention. These issues are inter-related, as transportation modes often createexhaust composed of polluting gases and airborne particulates. These challenges have beenexacerbated by increasing automobile use in Beijing, which is up from 5% of trips in 1986, to34% by 2010.Addressing such challenges require detailed knowledge of multiple factors, includingtrends in urban development, existing transportation and air quality conditions, planningpractices, and societal context. This report provides background information needed to inform asystems-based approach to developing solutions to the challenges of mobility and air quality inBeijing. Initiated by the University of Michigan's Sustainable Mobility and AccessibilityResearch and Transformation (SMART) initiative under a grant from the Alcoa Foundation andundertaken in partnership with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), this research aims tohelp catalyze effective and targeted solutions for Beijing and other cities in China.
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