Abstract
Our aim is to evaluate the relevance of coordinating transport and land use policies to reduce the nuisances of daily mobility in the London metropolitan region. First, automobile dependency is diagnosed. Then the causes, manifestations, consequences and remedies to this dependency are contextualized within the complex workings and management of the region. In the present context of sustainable development, London's local authorities aim at reducing automobile dependency. Although researchers diverge on the presumed links between transport, land use and mobility patterns, authorities largely favour the coordination of transport and land use policies to attain sustainability. This reveals the consecration of a new urban and regional planning paradigm, which we wish to deconstruct. This deconstruction addresses the way through which such policies have been established and will evaluate the relationships between transport, land use and commuting in the London metropolitan region. It concludes that if the reduction of dependency is indeed conditioned by the coordination of higher densities and improved public transport, this very coordination induces the practise of what we name the “grand écart”.