International Transportation | Collection 2022 37 European Friedrich-List-Award 2022 SCIENCE & RESEARCH Design of transport infrastructure considering sustainability criteria in selected German regions Transport infrastructure, Sustainability, Region, Sustainable development The research object of this thesis is the analysis of the transport infrastructure (road, rail, waterway) of a study region in relationship to the sustainable development. The impact of the transport infrastructure on the sustainable development of a region is analyzed, based on ecological and socioeconomic indicators. In addition, the transport demand and the relationship between population density and transport infrastructure are examined. The objective of the thesis is analyzing and presenting the effects of transport infrastructure on the sustainable development of a region. The ecological analysis includes a forecasting procedure with the indicator of land use. The socioeconomic analysis examines the development of seven indicators: population development, total net migration, commuter balance, unemployment rate, employment rate, household income, gross domestic product. Stefan Schomaker T he 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) of the United Nations (UN), also known as the Brundtland Report, includes the requirement of sustainable development, which involves meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [1]. The so-called “3-pillar model” of sustainability was established, consisting of an ecological, an economic and a social dimension. In 2015, the UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. The core of the 2030 Agenda was formed by a total of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which take into account all three dimensions of sustainability in equal measure [2]. The relevance of the transport infrastructure in the context of a sustainable development becomes clear in the current sustainability strategies of the United Nations, the European Union as well as the Federal Republic of Germany, from which a need for action as well as the reason for the choice of the topic can be derived. The Agenda 2030 includes the effort to develop sustainable transport systems [3]. The EU sustainability strategy of 2006 also explicitly states that transport systems must meet economic, social and ecological requirements and thus minimize their impact on the economy, the environment and society [4]. The success of the European Green Deal depends, among other subjects, on a sustainable transport system [5]. The importance of transforming the economy into a sustainable development has made it clear by resource increase, energy demand, raw material price, and the political EU climate neutrality objective by 2050. It can also be seen that, in terms of sustainability strategies and political efforts at global, European, and national level, transport and transport infrastructure are important for sustainable development. The necessity to design the transport infrastructure in a sustainable way is taken up in this thesis and analyzed for selected regions in Germany. This work provides a scientific contribution to sustainable development in the field of transport infrastructure. Transport and transport infrastructure can make an important contribution to sustainable development. Objectives The work objectives are analyzing and presenting the effects of transport infrastructure on the sustainable development of a region. Based on these results, options for action to realize the sustainable development of a region in connection with the transport infrastructure are formulated. The main objective is to determine the conditions for the sustainable development of a region and the influence of transport infrastructure on a region. Furthermore, the development of economic, ecological and social sustainability indicators is necessary to measure the sustainable development of a region. Possible mechanisms of interaction between the transport infrastructure and the sustainable development of a region must be described. Likewise, potential conflicts between often desired economic impulses [6] and negative ecological impacts of transport infrastructure development have to be presented. From this context, corresponding research questions can be derived. Thus, it is also the objective of the thesis to clarify the research question, which effects do the regional transport infrastructure has on the economic, ecological and social development of a region. Furthermore, the question is to be answered, which measures are necessary in relation to the transport infrastructure in order to promote the sustainable development of a region. Research results First, the article shows insights into the relationship between population density of a region and transport infrastructure den- International Transportation | Collection 2022 38 SCIENCE & RESEARCH European Friedrich-List-Award 2022 sity (Table 1). If the population increases, this is potentially related to an increasing demand for mobility. However, a causal relationship is not necessarily given [7]. There is a strong correlation between population density and transport infrastructure density for the individual counties and independent cities of the three study regions. Connected with the ecological analysis is the question of whether the respective study region achieves the target value for the daily increase in settlement and transport area in 2030. As a conclusion, it can be stated that in two of the three study regions, the development of the regional transport infrastructure can be recognized as ecologically sustainable, since the region-specific target values are not reached in 2030. In the context of the analysis, it should be noted that the indicator does not exclusively include the transport infrastructure area, but that the settlement area is also included in the calculation. Within the framework of the ecological analysis, it was found that the share of settlement area in the above-mentioned indicator corresponds to approx. 63 percent throughout Germany and the share of transport area to approx. 37 percent [8]. The greater influencing factor on this indicator is therefore to be seen in the expansion of new settlement areas. It can be concluded for the socioeconomic analysis that a high transport infrastructure density in a county or a countyfree city is not synonymous with a comparatively good socio-economic situation of the analyzed city or county. On the other hand, a comparatively good socioeconomic situation of a county or a county-free city does not necessarily require a high transport infrastructure density. It can be stated on the basis of the results of the socio-economic analysis for the study regions, that a high transport infrastructure density is not a sufficient condition for a positive socioeconomic development of the region. In summary, the effects of transport infrastructure on the sustainable development of a region must be evaluated in a differentiated manner. They are to be distinguished between the ecological and the socio-economic impacts on a region. A strong linear relationship between a high transport infrastructure density and a high result of the socio-economic analysis cannot be statistically proven for the study regions. Accordingly, the transport infrastructure is to be regarded as necessary, in terms of socio-economic impulses for a region. However, transport infrastructure is not a sufficient condition. In order to follow the guiding principle of the Regional Planning Act (ROG) [9] and the Commission for Equal Living Conditions [10], a potential approach of the transport infrastructure would be to improve or expand the connection and linkage of the counties and independent cities with high and low socio-economic results. Finally, based on the empirical analysis, the conclusion is that there is both an environmental and a socioeconomic impact of transport infrastructure in terms of sustainable development of a region. The daily increase in settlement and transport area can be influenced by observing the regionspecific target value. Likewise, regions can benefit from the expansion and new construction of transport infrastructure as well as from improved connections and links between (central) locations by triggering growth effects. These have a positive effect on the socio-economic indicators mentioned above and thus the development of the region can correspond to a sustainable development. Eliminating the bottlenecks is additionally important for the design of the transport infrastructure, considering the sustainable development of a region. The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan carries out bottleneck analyses and gives priority to transport infrastructure measures where bottlenecks (congestion in road traffic, congestion in rail traffic) exist in the respective mode of transport to eliminate them. Congestion and train delays create capacityrelated bottlenecks that sometimes cause considerable waiting times. Reducing as well as resolving waiting times or bottlenecks has both environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Traffic-related emissions can be reduced and transportation costs can be lowered due to the time advantage. Thus, bottleneck elimination is also an important measure in the design of transportation infrastructure that promotes sustainable development of regions. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the long-term development of transport infrastructure should not be considered exclusively from the national level, but is part of the European transport infrastructure policy [11]. A unified European transport area is the goal of the development of a- trans-European transport network (TEN-T), including an overall network (completion 2050) as well as a core network (completion 2030). Accordingly, all modes of transport are to be developed in such a way that a sustainable and economically efficient transport system is ensured. The research results of this work can make an important contribution to this. ■ Full Dissertation Schomaker, S. (2022): Gestaltung der Verkehrsinfrastruktur unter Berücksichtigung von Nachhaltigkeitskriterien in ausgewählten deutschen Regionen. Lingener Studien zu Management und Technik, Band 21. Münster: LIT-Verlag. REFERENCES [1] UN (ed.) (1987): Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, “Our Common Future”. Oslo, p. 54 [2] UN (ed.) (2015): Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York, pp. 1 [3] UN (ed.) (2015): Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York, p. 8, 21 [4] Rat der Europäischen Union (Hrsg.) (2006): Überprüfung der EU- Strategie für nachhaltige Entwicklung − Die erneuerte Strategie. Brüssel, p. 10 [5] Europäische Kommission (Hrsg.) (2020): Strategie für nachhaltige und intelligente Mobilität: Den Verkehr in Europa auf Zukunftskurs bringen, COM(2020) 789. Brüssel, p. 1 [6] Art. 176 AEUV, ABl.EU C 326 from 26 October 2012 [7] Kühnel, S.; Dingelstedt, A.: Kausalität. In: Baur, N.; Blasius, J. (Hrsg.) (2019): Handbuch Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, , pp. 1401 [8] Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) (Hrsg.) (2016): Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Fischerei, Bodenfläche nach Art der tatsächlichen Nutzung, 2015. Fachserie 3 Reihe 5.1, Wiesbaden, pp. 19; own calculation [9] Raumordnungsgesetz from 22 December 2008, § 1 Abs. 2 [10] Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat (BMI) (Hrsg.) (2019): Unser Plan für Deutschland, Gleichwertige Lebensverhältnisse überall, Berlin [11] Regulation (EU) No. 1315/ 2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council from 11 December 2013, ABl.EU L 348 Study region Correlation coefficient Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania r xy = 0,9964 Lower Saxony r xy = 0,9568 North Rhine-Westphalia r xy = 0,9542 Table 1: Statistical correlation between population density and transport infrastructure density Source: Own calculation Stefan Schomaker, Dr. Research assistant, Institute for Management and Technology, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences - Campus Lingen (DE) s.schomaker@hs-osnabrueck.de