Promise of Rural Roads: Review of the Role of Low-Volume Roads in Rural Connectivity, Poverty Reduction, Crisis Management, and Livability.

摘要

Low-volume roads are characterized not only by traffic volume, but also in terms of social and geographic context. Low-volume roads are a lower order of worldwide land transport. They begin where the animal track and walking trail end. They are at the beginning of world economy and are the lifelines for rural communities. Everything that sustains usgrown, mined, or drilledbegins on a low-volume road. Low-volume roads transcend language, culture, topography, and climate. Due to their basic necessity, they tend to drive innovation in design, material use, maintenance, and social development. Nearly 30 million km of low-volume roads connect the worlds population, yet, according to the World Bank, 31% of the worlds population (1 billion people) still do not have adequate access to transport. Three-quarters of the population of 21 least-developed countries do not have access to all-weather roads, which are a key diagnostic measure of development.