System Sustainability

The Economist issue of August 21, 2010 has an article that highlights the problems of sustainability in a systems context - - End of the lines: Atlanta's transportation system faces huge service cuts. It is not alone. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transport Authority (MARTA) is facing a $70 million deficit next year. It is raising fares for weekly and monthly passes, cutting rail services by 14.2% and laying off around 300 people. This will have an impact - - 500,000 people ride MARTA per day. Of this total, 46% would not be able to travel without MARTA. The Economist provided the following context:

MARTA's situation is dire, but hardly unique according to Transportation for America, a public-transport advocacy group based in Washington, DC, around 160 urban and regional transport systems in America cut service, raised fares, or did both in 2009 or 2010, even as ridership on public transport nationwide has risen to levels unseen since the 1950s. Yet a survey by the group found that while only one in five voters has used public transportation in the past month, four in five believe the country would benefit from an improved transport system, while nearly three in five say the federal government should boost spending on public transport. They did not, alas, say where the money should come from.

Sustainability, especially the notion of sustainability in the context of transportation systems, needs to become much more systems based. The engineering communities need to have a firmer understanding of the economic, financial, culture, political, climate change/environmental, energy independence, and development linkages that interface with our transportation systems, especially the components that are dedicated to public transport. A singular focus on construction material sustainability, for example in the context of public transportation, misses a key point within any sustainability analysis. Everything is linked, everything is connected, everything must be functional as a system - - economically broke systems are still broke systems that are unsustainable. The engineering community needs to be a leader and visionary in the context of the entire system - - every part.

Think in terms of systems and contexts - - whenever you hear the word sustainability.