In China, agricultural reforms, increased production efficiency, and the country’s industrialization are causing the number of people living in cities to rise (in 2005, 31% of the population lived in urban areas; by 2010, this number had increased to approximately 40%, and it is expected to rise to as much as 60% after 2025). Similarly, in the United States, the majority of the population lives in cities (urban clusters of tens of millions of people are located along the East Coast).
Japan is a country with a relatively small land area (377,900 sq km, of which 4/5 is mountainous and unsuitable for settlement) in relation to its population (127,716,000), which naturally predisposes it to the development of agglomerations. The majority of the country’s population consists of residents of three main cities: Tokyo, Nagano, and Osaka.
The situation is different, for example, in Russia, a country with a vast territory and very low population density—only 8 people per sq km (it is worth recalling that in the European Union, regions that do not exceed this population density were covered by Objective 1 under regional policy due to their unnaturally low density). The situation there is therefore specific, which in many cases forces the country’s residents to rely on air transport (80% of the population lives in the European part of Russia).
The increasing urbanization rate makes urban transport of growing importance. In the countries discussed, often more than 70% of the population lives in cities. Urbanized areas occupy more and more space, which significantly hinders the possibility of expanding communication arteries, while the need for mobility is very high. The most difficult situation is in large agglomerations, such as New York, Shanghai, Beijing, or Tokyo, whose size—along with urban complexes and the influx of population—reaches 10 to 15 million people.
Development of urban transport in selected agglomerations
New York is the largest city in the United States by population (8,274,527 people in 2007; 21.5 million in the agglomeration), located in the state of New York (also known as the “city that never sleeps” or the “Big Apple”). Its area is 1,214 sq km, and the population density is about 10,000 people per sq km. This city, considered a global center for advertising and media (and until recently, finance), is divided into 5 boroughs: Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island. The most frequently chosen and most convenient means of transport for moving around within it is the subway. An optional means of transport for passenger carriage is the well-developed bus network (Table 1). Departments established to oversee transport in New York effectively implement programs to develop urban transport infrastructure. A high budget allows for the maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels in very good technical condition, preventing disruptions in passenger traffic. City authorities also implement pro-ecological programs to prevent the effects of urban transport congestion in large agglomerations. The city’s policy encourages employers to prefer more economical ways of transporting their employees and encourages the public to change their travel habits. An integrated fare program for public transport in New York facilitates this (the structure of passenger transport by individual means of transport in New York is shown in Figure 1).
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2012.