Improving the environmental sustainability of large scale transportation infrastructure

大型交通基础设施项目对我们城市的经济和可持续发展产生了变革性的影响；它们影响着人们的行动、生活和工作方式，是土地利用类型和强度的重要因素，也是环境排放的关键驱动因素。随着各级政府努力减少温室气体(GHG)排放，需要更多的研究来了解和指导交通基础设施项目和系统的可持续性。这项研究计划调查基于铁路的交通基础设施项目在其整个生命周期中对温室气体的影响。之所以把重点放在交通基础设施上，是因为交通运输部门是加拿大温室气体排放的一个越来越大的贡献者，交通基础设施的建设和运营由政府控制；这是一个政府有权和控制的领域，如果它选择的话，可以迅速做出改善。*运输对温室气体影响的研究往往侧重于用于旅行的推进能量的影响，而且最常见的是基于模型。这掩盖了交通基础设施建设中与材料和能源使用相关的重大环境成本，以及新交通基础设施对出行行为和土地使用的影响带来的潜在温室气体好处。对模型的依赖忽略了基础设施在理论和实践中的表现之间的重大差异。*本研究计划将揭示所研究的基础设施对现实世界的温室气体影响；确定温室气体成本的主要驱动因素和最大化温室气体收益的最佳机会。这项工作将推进研究现实世界基础设施系统的科学和工程方法，建立对轨道交通基础设施整体温室气体影响的基线理解，并开发工具，为未来围绕交通基础设施的规划、设计、建设和政策提供信息。

Large-scale transportation infrastructure projects have transformative impacts on the economy and sustainability of our cities; they affect how people move, live and work, are a strong factor in land use type and intensity, and a key driver of environmental emissions. As all levels of government work to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, more research is needed to understand and guide the sustainability of transportation infrastructure projects and systems. This research program investigates the GHG impacts of rail based transportation infrastructure projects over their full lifecycle. Focus is placed on transportation infrastructure because the transportation sector is a growing contributor to GHG emissions in Canada and construction and operation of transport infrastructure is controlled by the government; this is an area where the government has the power and control to quickly make improvements should it choose. ***Study of the GHG impacts of transport often focuses on the impacts of the propulsion energy used for travel and is most commonly based on models. This obscures the significant environmental costs associated with the material and energy use in the construction of transport infrastructure, and the potential GHG benefits associated with new transport infrastructure from its influence on travel behaviour and land use. The dependence on modelling overlooks meaningful differences between how infrastructure performs in theory and in practice.***This research program will reveal the real world GHG impact of the studied infrastructure; identify the main drivers of GHG cost and the best opportunities for maximizing GHG benefit. The work will advance scientific and engineering methods for the study of infrastructure systems in the real world, develop a baseline understanding of the holistic GHG impacts of rail transit infrastructure, and develop tools to inform future planning, design, construction and policy around transport infrastructure.