American Geographical Society

Metropolitan Transportation. 1980: A Framework for the Long-Range Planning ofTransportation Facilities to Serve the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Region byComprehensive Planning OfficeReview by: Ernest W. Williams, Jr.Geographical Review, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct., 1964), pp. 607-608Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/212994 .

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GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS

places. Witness Hodge's quotation from Terah L. Smiley, "We have learned that we can make the desert 'bloom,' changing it from an unproductive wasteland to a subtropic paradise by the application of water; but only now are we beginning to see the extreme price that we must pay for this activity in regard to our shrinking water supply"; or Duisberg's quo- tation from Louis Koenig that "the use of irrigation in the arid lands [of the United States] of the 20th century is not an appropriate use of that valuable resource, water ..." In clos-

ing, this reviewer deplores (as he has done in other connections) the inattention to the ever- fundamental and indubitably ecological factor of landform condition.-ROBERT M. GLENDINNING

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION-1980: A Framework for the Long-Range

Planning of Transportation Facilities to Serve the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Region. By the Comprehensive Planning Office, The Port of New York Authority. xi and 380 pp.; maps, diagrs., index. New York, 1963. $5.95. 93 x 64 inches.

Problems of metropolitan transportation have achieved new prominence since the end of World War II as a result of the quickening pace of urbanization and the changing character of urban areas. Various metropolitan areas have endeavored to cope with the transportation problems generated by the outward expansion of the urban area, the decline in density, the deterioration of the central business district, and the heterogeneity of movement paths produced by dispersion of economic activity within the urban area. Perhaps no metropolitan complex has been subjected to more study than the tristate New York area, where, in large part because of the geographic setting, these problems take on a unique configuration.

Much study of the transportation problems of the New York Metropolitan Area, other than that done by The Port of New York Authority, has concentrated on the movement of passengers and, more specifically, on the mass transport facilities with particular reference to the commuter railroads. Yet passenger and freight movements are closely related and, in no small part, employ common routes. The Port Authority has, as opportunity has afforded or necessity dictated, become steadily more deeply and comprehensively involved in the transport and terminal problems of the port district until it is without a peer in the United States. Its early planning role became augmented by the construction and operation of tunnels and bridges, an airport system, extensive marine terminals, and other types of terminal facilities. Although not concerned with mass passenger transport until very recently, the Authority has watched developments closely for many years and has participated in one way or another in the several studies that have been provided in response to changing circum- stances. Most recently, through acquisition of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, it has become active in the operation of transit facilities. That property is undergoing rehabilitation and will doubtless become more closely tied into the commuter operation of New Jersey railroads.

The work under review is a concise, but comprehensive, account of the movement of freight and passengers in the area, of the facilities devoted to this purpose, and of the trends evident generally since 1920. Projections are made to 198o that cover the expected water- borne commerce of the Port, separated into general and bulk cargo and with particular attention to containerships, prospective rail traffic, and projected air cargo and passenger volumes. The treatment of future motor-carrier volumes is somewhat less specific, though developments, and in particular the trends in terminal location and function, are well covered.

places. Witness Hodge's quotation from Terah L. Smiley, "We have learned that we can make the desert 'bloom,' changing it from an unproductive wasteland to a subtropic paradise by the application of water; but only now are we beginning to see the extreme price that we must pay for this activity in regard to our shrinking water supply"; or Duisberg's quo- tation from Louis Koenig that "the use of irrigation in the arid lands [of the United States] of the 20th century is not an appropriate use of that valuable resource, water ..." In clos-

ing, this reviewer deplores (as he has done in other connections) the inattention to the ever- fundamental and indubitably ecological factor of landform condition.-ROBERT M. GLENDINNING

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION-1980: A Framework for the Long-Range

Planning of Transportation Facilities to Serve the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Region. By the Comprehensive Planning Office, The Port of New York Authority. xi and 380 pp.; maps, diagrs., index. New York, 1963. $5.95. 93 x 64 inches.

Problems of metropolitan transportation have achieved new prominence since the end of World War II as a result of the quickening pace of urbanization and the changing character of urban areas. Various metropolitan areas have endeavored to cope with the transportation problems generated by the outward expansion of the urban area, the decline in density, the deterioration of the central business district, and the heterogeneity of movement paths produced by dispersion of economic activity within the urban area. Perhaps no metropolitan complex has been subjected to more study than the tristate New York area, where, in large part because of the geographic setting, these problems take on a unique configuration.

Much study of the transportation problems of the New York Metropolitan Area, other than that done by The Port of New York Authority, has concentrated on the movement of passengers and, more specifically, on the mass transport facilities with particular reference to the commuter railroads. Yet passenger and freight movements are closely related and, in no small part, employ common routes. The Port Authority has, as opportunity has afforded or necessity dictated, become steadily more deeply and comprehensively involved in the transport and terminal problems of the port district until it is without a peer in the United States. Its early planning role became augmented by the construction and operation of tunnels and bridges, an airport system, extensive marine terminals, and other types of terminal facilities. Although not concerned with mass passenger transport until very recently, the Authority has watched developments closely for many years and has participated in one way or another in the several studies that have been provided in response to changing circum- stances. Most recently, through acquisition of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, it has become active in the operation of transit facilities. That property is undergoing rehabilitation and will doubtless become more closely tied into the commuter operation of New Jersey railroads.

The work under review is a concise, but comprehensive, account of the movement of freight and passengers in the area, of the facilities devoted to this purpose, and of the trends evident generally since 1920. Projections are made to 198o that cover the expected water- borne commerce of the Port, separated into general and bulk cargo and with particular attention to containerships, prospective rail traffic, and projected air cargo and passenger volumes. The treatment of future motor-carrier volumes is somewhat less specific, though developments, and in particular the trends in terminal location and function, are well covered.

607 607

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THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Planned developments of the highway system are discussed, and gaps in the system are pointed out.

The discussion of prospective developments and requirements is firmly buttressed by an examination of population and employment trends for the region as a whole and for each of the counties and important subareas that compose it. The basic data are derived in large part from the New York Metropolitan Region Study but are revised to reflect the 1960 census results. Examination of trends in the composition and location of manufacturing, whole-

saling, retailing, and servicing activities within the region yields an overview of the nature of the economic structure that is to be serviced by transportation, both freight and passenger. The trend toward dispersal, the areas in which this has occurred, and the probable future locations of such activities are highlighted. Thus a course of development is charted that, in

conjunction with national trends in the transportation industries, strongly suggests a con-

tinuing decline in the importance of rail freight to the area and a growth in reliance on motor

transport that may well continue to be more rapid than the growth of freight traffic in total. The book is most specific and detailed in its projection of general-cargo marine-terminal

requirements. The number of general-cargo berths required in 1980 is expected to be about the same as the number in use in 1957. Substantial replacement of existing berths will be

necessary, not only because of the advanced age of many presently active berths, but also because of the changes in ship size and design and in the methods by which cargo reaches the

piers and is taken away from them. If for planning purposes it is assumed that by 1980 no marine terminal in the Port will be more than fifty years old, then fifty-nine new or modern- ized berths will have to be provided beyond those currently under construction or firmly committed in order to meet the indicated requirement for 170 active berths. No major requirements are expected in the bulk trades, but it may be observed that there have been some favorable developments in the railroad-rate situation since the book went to press.

Although urban passenger transportation is not discussed in a controversial vein, the conclusions expressed as to the future role of mass passenger transportation will evoke critical reaction in some circles. The analysis of passenger movement within the region leads to the conclusion that it is becoming more diffuse: "More points of origin are becoming linked with more points of destination, but the links do not form any continuous linear arrangement. Travel paths are growing in number, and channelization is being eroded by dispersal." The evidence that underlies this description appears to be solid, as does the proposi- tion that "the travel trends of the recent past have been the consequences of the evolving metropolitan composition." And as these trends seem likely to continue, it appears that the role of mass transport will be further circumscribed, that reliance on the automobile will increase, and that the demands for highway expansion may well strain the capacities of state and local funds. If, in the face of this prospect, public policy is to intervene effectively, then it must find ways to affect the region's growth pattern. The study concludes that the under- lying factors are too strong to be challenged head on, that decentralization is not to be turned back but it need not become sheer scatter. Hope is held out that employment clusters of substantial size may open out opportunities for bus transportation, especially if residential areas can also be induced to become more distinct.

This volume is to be highly recommended as a readable and unusually comprehensive discussion of transportation in the New York area. It offers, moreover, a realistic appraisal of the course of development likely to be found over the next two decades.-ERNEST W.

WILLIAMS, JR.

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