The provided tables illustrate the average speed of urban traffic in nine countries between 1970 and 2020, alongside the total number of urban zones in 1970 and 2020. Overall, traffic speeds have varied considerably over the fifty-year period, whereas the number of urban zones has generally trended upwards.
Regarding traffic speeds, France saw a significant rise from 60 kph in 1970 to a peak of 86 kph in 1990, before declining to an estimated 52 kph by 2020. Conversely, Italy experienced a steady increase from 32 kph to 58 kph over the same period. The USA showed a fluctuating pattern, starting at 48 kph, peaking at 57 kph in 1990, and dropping to 43 kph by 2020. Canada consistently maintained some of the highest speeds, rising from 69 kph to 73 kph in 2010 before falling to 64 kph.
In terms of urban zones, the USA witnessed a massive expansion, growing from 38,000 in 1970 to 128,200 by 2020. Most other nations also saw substantial growth; for instance, France increased from 2.8 thousand to 9.3 thousand. Russia was a notable exception, as its urban zones decreased from 6.7 thousand to 3.2 thousand over the fifty years.