Sir, – Your editorial “Building sustainable cities: a lack of vision” (May 8th) identifies a topic affecting the quality of life of billions of people and requires a multidisciplinary approach involving engineering, design, economics, psychology and planning. Globally, public transport is expected to grow significantly as mega-cities become the centre of human development. The functionality of cities is influencing humanity and humanity’s future. To live in cities, the quality of urban living is critical. Urban communities have become separated by car traffic. The climate crisis is manifest because of congestion. Research suggests that public transport use involves more physical activity compared to car travel, with the consequent health benefits. Building sustainable cities requires a strategic plan. After all, if a monkey buys a pair of trousers, he needs to know where to put his tail. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS POWER,
Lecturer in
Economics and Finance,
Faculty of the Built
Environment
and Engineering,
Technological University
Dublin 7.