A new destination--urban sustainability--is changing the way we make the journey.
I was startled a few weeks ago to hear the urban sustainability director of a large city bemoan the fact that the community's schools require students to learn how to drive. The logic was simple: if fewer people know how to drive, there will be less driving and less driving helps will have grown to 2 million members.
Driving these trends are several factors: Environmental awareness, the shocking spike in gasoline prices, and the cost of owning a car at a time of high unemployment. Much of this was acknowledged by Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. "I certainly knew 30 years ago when I joined the company that the consumption of natural resources and the pollution that our industry was causing were unsustainable." But for many years, consumers were not demanding fuel-efficient vehicles and the auto industry didn't have the technology to deliver fuel efficiency and the strong vehicle performance consumers wanted. "We are at a confluence now. We have ever-increasing fuel prices, and technology that is a game-changer and can be introduced affordably."
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