Sustainability and Transportation Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is at the top of the list of challenges facing humanity today, caused in large part from the burning of fossil fuels. About 15% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from the transportation section [1]. By 2100, the world’s population is projected to reach approximately 10.9 billion, with annual growth of less than 0.1% – a steep decline from the current rate [2]. Almost all this growth will be in the urban sector [3]. Considering these statistics, researchers and policy makers must think about the increasing demand and strain on the existing transportation and energy infrastructure [4]. They must consider what future actions mean in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. Projections through 2050 for one of the largest energy consumers in the world, the United States, for example, indicate that, while fuel efficiency across all vehicle types will increase, gasoline vehicles will continue to dominate the market. Further, passenger travel and freight movement across virtually all modes of transportation are projected to increase. Too often, researchers fail to place adequate emphasis on the consumer and their choices or challenges. This special issue invites papers that explore all these complex and critical issues and how they might come to define a sustainable transportation system of the future. Specifically, papers are invited that focus on:

• Reducing the environmental impact of transportation.
• Proposals for sustainable transportation systems, particularly those that focus on a holistic approach – users, pedestrians, neighbourhoods, policymakers, etc.
• Advances in technology, particularly novel methods such as machine learning or biomimetics.
• Challenges and options for consumers and early adopters – case studies, socioeconomics, etc.

Prof. Dr. Warren Vaz
Prof. Dr. John W. Sheffield
Guest Editors

References

1. IPCC, 2019, “IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate”, H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.), in press.
2. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2019.html
3. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Population Prospects 2019. https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_Highlights.pdf
4. Call for data on climate footprints and costs of mitigation options within the transport sector. https://ipcc-wg3-lcadata.ntnu.edu/home
5. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020). https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/AEO2020%20Transportation.pdf

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Environmental impact
• sustainable transportation system
• Clean energy
• Artificial intelligence
• Biomimetics
• Socioeconomics
• Consumers and early adopters