Transport Planning in the Global South

Abstract

Modern transport planning in the global south is faced with the twin challenges of addressing longstanding structural deficits in basic infrastructure and capacity for connectivity while attempting to reduce marked social, spatial, economic, and environmental inequalities. Such inequalities are both associated with land development models driven by strong market forces and informal approaches that attempt to respond to the needs of socially vulnerable populations, and public–private models of infrastructure development and supply of public transport that has consolidated connectivity in some areas while bypassing poorer and less attractive parts of cities across the board. Conventional approaches to transport planning in developing contexts build on assumed links between infrastructure development and economic growth, with a historical focus on private motorized travel that has increased the mobility and access gaps between social groups. However, new paradigms of accessibility and sustainability have led to growing focus on harnessing transport infrastructure as mechanism for social integration in some contexts. This article provides a critical overview of the evolution of approaches to urban passenger transport in the global south, its current practice and social consequences, and perspectives toward the future