Sustainable Rural Roads for Livelihoods and Livability

Of some 33.8 million km. of classified roads that girdle the globe, nearly all unsealed roads and an estimated 85% of paved roads are low-volume roads (LVRs) with ADT of less than 1000 vehicles/day. Rural LVRs have a critical role in economic growth and poverty reduction, and a prominent function in emergency preparedness, disaster relief and rural job creation. This paper discuses the meaning of sustainability and its more practical subset--livability, in relation to rural roads and how the application of context sensitive solutions could help achieve a better balance among the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability.