Chapter 1: Introduction

The distribution of different land uses in different locations stimulates the demand for transport, and the supply of transport enables the distribution of different land uses in different locations. In this simple statement are bound up the logic of transport geography, accessibility, land management and property markets, an implied division of labour and associated economic geography; and hence the professional concerns of various kinds of urban and spatial planner, transport planner and highway engineer, public transport and logistics operator, employer, retailer and developer; and ultimately the travel and location decisions made by every citizen.

Despite the inherent logical complementarity of land use and transport – the interconnectedness of their causes and effects – each has tended to be pursued within different spheres of professional attention: in particular, land use planning and transport planning. These disciplines have not always been as well integrated as they might be. From the point of view of knowledge, there is not always a clear understanding of land use and transport relationships and the complex effects of policies on outcomes. From the point of view of action, there is not necessarily a clear consensus of how best to link the different kinds of land use and transport policy instruments, institutions and infrastructures; how to link incentives to ‘more sustainable’ outcomes with disincentives to ‘less sustainable’ ones; or what are the potential benefits of the different combinations of possible measures.