Page 262 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CYCLING
AS A TRANSPORT MODE: BEST PRACICES

Cihan ERÇETIN

ABSTRACT
Urban mobility is an indispensable need along with considering the related
transport mode and sustainability. The mode of transportation which meets
this need has gained great importance in terms of environmental sustainability.
It is quite significant to prefer cycling, walking or private car depending on the
distance to go while moving in an urban area, in terms of ensuring a sustainable
environment for the future, social texture, economic balance and livable urban
spaces. In this respect, discussing what we can no longer sustain for urban
transport, what unsustainable transportation means, and what sustainable
alternatives to be will be in a decisive position in terms of contributing to the
urban planning discipline and urban policy-making processes. In this study,
environmentally unsustainable elements in urban transport are specified, and
car dependence is explained as the most basic reason behind unsustainable
transport. Mentioning the importance of cycling as an urban transport mode
in the solution of getting rid of car dependency to ensure environmental
sustainability, the examples of European cities that are prior in this respect,
such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as the cities of Munich, Paris,
Montreal, and Ankara -from Turkey-, where significant steps have been taken
for the adoption of bicycle culture are examined. The main aim of the research
is to reveal that safe, inclusive, and planned bicycle-oriented urban transport
could play an active role in solving the environmental problems caused by car
dependency in Turkish cities.

Keywords: Cycling, Environmental Sustainability, Car Dependency,
Sustainable Transport, Unsustainable Transport

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 247