Strategies and Policies of Sustainable and Integrated Land Use and Transportation Planning in Nablus City

Sustaining and conserving resources is considered, nowadays, as one of the most modern and contemporary concepts, as the time sources are lacking. Sustainability, as a result, is not a single clear and specified concept dealing with mathematics, or based upon hypothesis, inputs, and equations. Accordingly, specific results are not expected to be accomplished in a specific time. Basically, Sustainability is a methodology that can be viewed to represent a continuous and dynamic way of life, rather than a design problem needs magic solutions implemented in reality. This study aims to raise up the city of Nablus problems, and in particular, the problems of study area in an attempt to put a general frame and policy of sustainable, balanced, and even planning of land use and transportation; applying its concepts at study area as its still a growing one. Also, this study pays attention to conservation of environmental resources, reducing pollution, in addition to, city development study, land use and transportation development and problems, in an attempt to put a criteria for exterior spaces design, peoples movement, achieving sustainability of built environment, as well as, to suggest a general frame for each of strategies and policies of sustainable land use and transportation planning, and to establish proper management of the transportation system to satisfy efficiency and safety objectives. At the end, the study identified recommendations related to the sustainable planning for transportation and land use in an integral framework. Recommendations can be summarized as follows: • Necessity for an effective and general plan, in which, concepts of sustainability are implemented on all parts of city, considering effectiveness, flexibility, directness and clarity to the public. • Harmonized unified efforts of different responsible authorities to accomplish specific agreed upon goals. • Reach political commitment to make development changes in considering public participation. • Necessity for solving land ownership issues, as most of city land is a privately owned, resulting in obstacles affecting directing planning operation towards priorities. • Necessity for providing pedestrian facilities, bikes lanes, green areas, sitting, and rest areas. • Reducing employees transportation by implementing special policies concerning flexible working hours, and to encourage mass transportation of employees and students by public transportation means to reduce the number of private vehicles, reduce pollution, and increase conservation of energy. • A special body should be established to follow up and manage suggested transportation system affairs in order to achieve sustainability.