Criteria for Sustainable Transport Planning - what, how and why to measure?

Sustainability has become a key concern for transport policy and planning, not only in terms of reducingimpacts like climate change or developing specific solutions such as electromobility, but also as a strategic overarching policy framework rooted in sustainability science and governance for a sustainable society. Criteria for sustainability need to be adapted to the transport system specific context and to distinct policyapplications such as problem identification, goal setting, ex ante assessment, monitoring and ex postevaluation for accountability, while maintaining a holistic overarching perspective.The research project SUSTAIN has the double aim to help establish National Sustainable Transport Planningas an international research topic connecting transportation engineering and governance scholars around the world, and to develop a practice framework for National Sustainable Transport Planning in Denmark.The presentation will focus on the conceptual and operational aspects of measuring sustainability in the transport sector, and how to select indicators for sustainable transport planning and policy making. Some of the existing indicator systems for sustainable transport will be examined, and an outline of a nationa lsystem will be proposed. Apart from representing research in the SUSTAIN project an additional aim is to invite a discussion on how to connect transport system related research methods and findings across DTU under a sustainability perspective. Can information form somewhat disconnected research topics like alternative fuel systems,engine optimization, green logistics, infrastructure design, life cycle analysis, and other transport related features contribute to a system for measuring the sustainability of urban, national or global, transport systems?