[sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request

[Craig Townsend]

Roland

Two more cases:

In Vancouver, Canada, a freeway passing through an inner city community 
(Chinatown) was defeated in the late 1960s/early 1970s and since that time 
no freeway has been built through the urban core (City of Vancouver). While 
the battle involved one community (predominantly ethnic minority) they were 
able to mobilize wider support against freeway-building and this was 
translated into regional planning that emphasized public transport and 
compact communities (the "Liveable Region Plan"). A young lawyer (Michael 
Harcourt) who represented the community against the city went on to become 
the mayor of the City of Vancouver and then the Premier of the Province of 
British Columbia. He is now at the Sustainable Development Research 
Institute at the University of British Columbia. Also at the time of the 
freeway battle a reformist city council was elected, and it included 
transport planner Setty Pendakur. I can't provide you with any references 
at this time but this story is quite well documented.

Another case of an inner-city ethnic-minority community fighting freeway 
building is the case of Baan Krua in Bangkok. Recently, a 2.5 km elevated 
expressway linking to the larger network has been indefinitely postponed 
after a 13 year battle. While this has been a success for the Muslim 
community, it probably won't change the expressway-building transport 
development trajectory in Bangkok. However, indirectly it may contribute 
toward less road building because the private company holding the 
concession for the project is now suing the already severely-indebted 
Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (which has only ever built 
expressways!). If you are interested in more information on this case, 
please contact me directly.

In both cases community solidarity was a key to the successful defeat of 
freeway-building. In Vancouver there were wider political implications 
which have shaped transport planning and infrastructure development for 
more than a quarter of a century since. In Bangkok there are no wider 
implications of the case, although a greater emphasis on community 
participation and moves toward more democratization could in theory prevent 
these kind of mega-projects in the future.

________________________________________________
Craig Townsend
Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy
Murdoch University
South Street, Murdoch
Perth, Western Australia 6150

tel: (61 8) 9360 6293
fax: (61 8) 9360 6421
email: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au