Transport development and environment (VEU)

Mobility of persons and goods satisfies individual human needs. It provides employment and enables the division of labour in a globalized world. However, the permanent increase of mobility demands has also negative consequences. Traffic provides a major contribution to the emission of CO₂ and air pollutants. Furthermore, people are directly or indirectly affected by negative traffic effects like noise.

How can we ensure a high degree of mobility while reducing its negative consequences? And how can new transport policies and technological innovations contribute? To confront these urgent challenges, transport policy requires instruments that support a cross-sectoral decision-support.

Project

The aim of the project „Transport development and environment” (VEU) is to close this gap. The project brings together the competences of natural scientists, engineers and social scientists from several DLR research institutes and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The initiative is coordinated at the Institute of Transport Research. They develop instruments to describe scenarios and trends in ground and air transportation until 2030 and to identify and evaluate environmental and social impacts.

DLR (CC-BY 3.0)

Objectives

• to analyze and to evaluate the effects of transport policies and technological developments on transport, environment and society
• to identify key transport trends and their influencing factors
• to develop a modular and integrated model system for describing traffic developments and for evaluating their effects on climate, air quality, noise exposure and the economic importance of transport

Approach

Analysis and modelling of the transport system:

• to define main influential factors on the transport system (demographic change, economic development etc.) and to describe its trends until 2030
• to analyze mobility patterns in passenger transport as well as the impacts of production and location of firms on commercial transport demand
• to implement a model-based quantification of current and future development of ground transport volumes, fleet composition and transport emissions

Model-based impact analyses:

• effect of transport emissions on global air quality and climate and local air quality (chemical composition of the atmosphere, concentrations of air pollutants)
• impacts of noise emissions and noise expansion on noise immission and health
• determination of the economic effects and significance of transport (value-add, number of employees) depending on the economic and transport development

Technological development and transport policies:

• impact of new vehicle technologies and vehicle concepts on traffic development
• impact of transport policies on mobility patterns and on commercial transport

Contracting entity

• German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Partners

DLR institutes:

• Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology
• Institute of Aerospace Medicine
• Institute of Air Transport and Airport Research
• Institute of Atmospheric Physics
• Institute of Transport Research (project coordination)
• Institute of Transportation Systems
• Institute of Vehicle Concepts

Other partner:

• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research

Project duration

January 2010 – December 2013