Studying the Impacts of Vehicular Congestion and Offering Sustainable Solutions to City Living

摘要

City streets throughout the world are often congested due to limited right-of-way and increasing driving population. The congestion is worst during busy rush hours, which significantly adds to delay and vehicular emission. Air pollution as a result of vehicular emission is hazardous to human health. Many cities throughout the world have begun to recognize this issue and started adopting sustainable, environmentally friendly, and green solutions, such as promoting car-pooling, biking, transit, and congestion pricing. This paper examines the impacts of traffic congestion and vehicular emission on city living and offers some sustainable solutions. A case study example is presented using Synchro-based traffic simulation software to examine the effects of congestion along a heavily travelled road network in the City of Baltimore. Finally, some concluding remarks regarding sustainable solutions to city living are presented.