Abstract: Many consider home ownership to be a superior tenure. Individual households supposedly reap financial benefits, and communities of home owners are portrayed as stable. The increase in home ownership in a given area is assumed to result in local improvements. On these grounds the extension of generous subsidies to all home owners, irrespective of their income position, is legitimized. Since the 1960s, the Dutch government has tried to boost the rate of home ownership, which was traditionally low in comparison with many other West European countries; even today, at 43.2 per cent, it stands out as the lowest among neighbouring countries. The conversion of rental housing to owner-occupancy has in recent years significantly increased the number of home owners. The sale of private rental housing for home ownership has become a well established phenomenon throughout the Netherlands. The process is the major cause of the decline of the private rental sector from 60 per cent of the stock in 1947 to 16 per cent in 1985; during this period, some 750,000 dwellings were converted from the rental to the ownership sectors (Dijkhuis Potgieser, 1985). The underlying economic causes of the process have been analysed elsewhere (Van Weesep and Hamnett, 1988, pp. 46-47; Hamnett and Randolph, 1986). The important point is that the process has also occurred in the public sector, though generally for different reasons (Boelhouwer and Van Weesep, 1987). Any substantial further growth of home ownership will entail a major increase in the conversion of public-sector dwellings, because of the falling rate of new construc-tion and the depletion of the private rental stock. This point has been made repeatedly by policy makers at the national level.

Abstract: The author summarises a collection of nine papers on the possibility of gridlock - parts of a city being completely seized up due to traffic congestion - and possible approaches to easing the problem. Two papers cover the strategic policy background and the need for a radical rethinking of current approaches. It is suggested that America has advanced through the process of suburbanisation, population structure changes and the mismatch of jobs and housing. The need for action is now reinforced by environmental and health concern. Approaches available are reviewed in the other papers; these include road pricing, controls through taxation on ownership or usage and improved public transport facilities. There is evidence that a co-ordinating policy of demand management and investment in high quality public transport can tempt people from their cars. Information systems can also help to reduce congestion but it may only delay the gridlock. Cities cannot accommodate an unrestricted demand from car drivers but it seems that people are very reluctant to give up their cars no matter how bad congestion is. Government appears reluctant to support draconian measures to combat congestion. (TRRL)

Abstract: This paper analyses the causes of the increasingly serious problem of urban traffic congestion in the USA, and discusses some possible approaches to its solution. The problem has become so severe that many Americans now view it as the most important urban threat. Its costs are increasing, not only in lost leisure, but also in terms of increased daily stress, declining productivity, and deteriorating quality of life. More and more American cities are passing draconian no-growth or slow-growth traffic measures. Causes of congestion include: (1) traffic increasing faster than available road capacity; (2) the growth of middle-aged two-worker households with few children; (3) location of more workplaces on urban fringes, leading to more suburb-to-suburb commuting; (4) long distances between homes and workplaces. It is agreed that America's congestion problems have no quick solutions. Because each strategy has identifiable winners and losers, bargaining and consensus-building become essential tools of implementation; removal of existing biases for motorists must be matched by incentives to travel by public transport. Demand side approaches include shifting: (1) demand over space; (2) demand over time; (3) travel by mode. Supply side approaches include: (1) new road construction; (2) new technologies that could affect travel modes. 'Gridlock' occurs, not only on the roads, but also in institutions and political systems. (TRRL) (Author/TRRL)

Abstract: A new generation of privately funded toll roads are being constructed in the US, mainly in fast-developing suburban areas. Tolls will only fund part of the cost and it is the supplementary funding and guarantees that make the road feasible. But will toll roads only be built in locations of high demand, not of the greatest need? The potential of toll roads as a transportation strategy is very much a matter deserving further consideration. This paper reviews the new toll road projects and assesses the pros and cons concerning their proliferation. The paper begins with a brief review of US toll road policy, then examines the renewed interest in toll road development. Concerns raised about tolls are examined next, followed by a discussion of possible future directions for toll road policy.

Abstract: Oxford, England has evolved a transport policy by default rather than design. A balance has been struck between cycles, buses and the car based on bus priority, park and ride and vigorous parking controls in the center. However, there is still a need for a city-wide strategy rather than one based on the city center alone. This paper provides an overview of the early attempts to accommodate the car in Oxford; it discusses the principles behind the 'balanced transport policy', which with modifications has underpinned the city's transport policy since 1973; it summarizes the consequences of the policy; and it discusses the lessons that can be drawn from the Oxford experience.

Abstract: The paper discusses the strategic policy background in Britain, and the need for a radical rethinking of current approaches as gridlock is occurring both on the road and within institutions and political systems. It recognizes that a strategic view is required to ensure that acceptable levels of accessibility are maintained through efficient use of road space and controls on the use of urban land. The article urges allocation of space according to priority of use and not by market.

Abstract: Charging economic rates for car parking is one means to raise awareness of the full social costs of using the car in congested urban areas. One mechanism suggested in this paper is to charge an economic rate for parking that is directly related to the space used. On-street parking takes up valuable space and should be priced at the appropriate level, namely an equivalent office rental rate. A similar argument could be used for privately and publicly owned off-street parking even though the price may be subsumed in the rent paid for the property. The car is not being directly charged for the time that it is in use but for the time it is not in use. It is at this time that it occupies scarce and expensive urban space and should be charged for that space at an economic rate. Such a policy would make the driver reduce the time that the vehicle is not being used to a minimum and make him consider whether the journey needs to be made by car at all. To make such a policy effective as a strategy, similar pricing mechanisms would have to be applied to all parking, public and private.

Abstract: Technology provides one means of reducing traffic congestion and squeezing more capacity out of the transportation network. The potential is enormous and a variety of schemes have been tested in Tokyo. This paper discusses telecommunications and data processsing technologies that have been introduced into road transportation with the aim of mainly reducing traffic congestion. Advanced traffic information systems, bus location systems, automatic vehicle monitoring systems, and comprehensive automobile control systems are some examples of areas where the new technologies have been applied.