Spatial planning of sustainable transportation with an emphasis on climate change (Case Study: Tehran Province)

Greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the transportation sector, contribute significantly to climate change; these gases threaten environmental protection and human health and cause droughts, floods, storms, and coastal threats. For this reason, developed countries have focused on sustainable transportation to reduce climate change; however, developing countries, by prioritizing the economy, do not prioritize the environment. This research, by purposefully forming an 18-person Delphi team in Iran as a developing country, shows that the indicators of renewable energy consumption indicators, public transportation development (rail, air, road), government budget, electronic communications, government policymaking, private sector investment, people’s lifestyle and travel behavior, and public awareness are key indicators affecting sustainable transportation with an emphasis on climate change. The research results indicate that paying attention to the three principles of “reducing trip length”, “reducing the number of trips” and “increasing the diversity of public transportation” in sustainable transportation can reduce climate change. In this regard, “defining public transportation routes for busy routes”, “connecting city centers and increasing public transportation speed” can reduce trip length. “Awareness, culture and education”, “increasing electronic communications, especially for administrative purposes”, and “developing encouraging or strict rules and regulations, especially for private vehicle traffic” can reduce the number of trips and thereby reduce climate change by producing less carbon. Also, “increasing rail and train lines”, “slightly increasing air infrastructure” and “slightly increasing road infrastructure and bus fleet” can also increase the diversity of public transport, leading to greater use by people (and consequently less use of private vehicles).