Figure four shows the traffic in and around Boston during rush hour. It may be hard to see, but there is a lot of red, which indicates there is a lot of traffic and backup. Not only would cutting down transportation help with the emissions we are producing, but it would also be cutting down the traffic. Even though I keep mentioning sustainability as green and helping the environment, it is a lot more than just that. Sustainability is also helping with social needs, economic opportunities, and overall anything a city needs (Agyeman, 2013, p. 4). I am focusing on transportation and the environment, but people need to remember that creating transportation for all is helping with social and economical needs. Creating bigger sidewalks and pathways can allow for more people to walk and bike which saves everyone money on gas and car repairs. Even taking public transit that makes frequent stops will cost less than having expenses on cars.
Boston has created multiple climate action plans, starting in 2007. They have recently updated it and created one in 2019. Boston set carbon reduction plans of 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 (Walsh, 2019, p. 10). They have been working towards carbon neutrality which is releasing no carbon emissions. They have started to reduce emissions from buildings, transportation, waste, and energy supply (Walsh, 2019, p. 7). There have been multiple plans for different areas like Imagine Boston 2030 is about economic growth, Resilient Boston which talks about the capacity of individuals, Go Boston 2030 which talks about transportation and Open Space and Recreation Plan 2015-2021 which wants to create more space throughout Boston (Walsh, 2019, p. 15). There has been a lot of area of planning, but not much action. Sadly, there have been lots of planning since 2007, but since there has been a lot of different action plans, it seems like not enough is being done. I found one update from the Boston.gov website that was updated in February 2021. As you can see in figure 5, there have only been two things completed on the list and there is still a lot in progress. I believe that is the biggest place where we lack, actually continuing with our plans.
Here is a ted-talk that talks about sustainable transportation: