Addressing air pollution and beyond in ulaanbaatar: The role of sustainable mobility

Abstract

All over the world the transport sector contributes to local air pollution as well as CO2-emissions and transportation related problems such as congestion especially in urban agglomerations. In Ulaanbaatar traffic is currently not the most important source of air pollution but it will gain importance due to a growing demand for transport and related effects. A transformation towards sustainable mobility is therefore needed which is pursued by reduction of the number of trips, influencing the modal split towards more sustainable modes and more efficient handling of mobility. This paper discusses different characteristics of air pollution, traffic congestion and CO2-emissions and respective suitability of policy instruments. It is argued that conducting mobility more efficient will be not enough to address all relevant effects of growing demand. In doing so special attention is given to the interaction of built environment, land use and transport as well as related planning approaches which is particularly important in a situation when urban growth has to be managed. A transfer towards sustainable mobility needs a two-step approach: a more short-term improvement related to a more environmentally friendly transport system and a long-term approach to organise urban mobility in a sustainable way by adopting an integrated urban and transport planning and influencing transport behaviour.