[sustran] FW: Sustainable Transport e-update (text only)

[Paul Barter]

(Here is a text only version of ITDP's latest e-update. Sorry for some
formatting problems resulting from conversion from the original graphics
rich version, Paul). 
------------------------

From: "ITDP" <mobility at igc.org>
Subject: Sustainable Transport E-Update No. 2

Sustainable Transport e-update
August/September 2002
No. 2

The Bulletin of the
Institue for Transportation & Development Policy
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In This Issue

Latin America

The Highway to Inequality
  Santiago Fights the 'Constanera Norte'
Will Mexico City's 'Segundo Piso' Crumble Under Its Own Weight? 
Quito Paves Over Good Intentions 
Green Fund Switches to Sustainable Transport 
Lima's New Direction Clearing the Air in Santiago


Asia

Riding for the Return of Manila's Fireflies
Neither Reason Nor Snipers Can Stop It
   The Trans-Israel Highway Lurches Forward


Central and Eastern Europe

New Remedies for 'Big Box' Syndrome
Exposed: Massive Corruption in Polish Hypermarkets
The EBRD's New Property Policy


Africa

South Africa's High-Speed, High-Risk Rail Project
Bikes Empower Girls and Fight Aids in West Africa
Basic Mobility Now Costs Less
   Kenya and Tanzania Reduce Bike Tariffs


And:

WBCSD: 'Catalyst for Change' or Green Wash?
Segway Corp. Stalks Pedestrians
Upcoming Events 

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The Highway To Inequality
The Citizens of Santiago Fight the 'Constanera Norte'
By Patricio Lanfranco, Ciudad Viva

Despite years of spirited resistance from outraged citizens groups, the
C= onstanera Norte highway, which cuts through the heart of Santiago de
Chil= e, has begun construction. Citizens groups have not given up yet,
and alr= eady have won some important victories. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#highway
-----------------------------------------------------------

Will The 'Segundo Piso' Crumble Under Its Own Weight?
A referendum will determine the fate of Mexico City's double-decker
flyov= ers =A0=09 At the end of last year, Mayor L=F3pez Obrador
announced plans for what h= e called the most important construction of
his tenure, the "Segundo Piso= " (second deck) to the city's busiest
roadways. Thanks to pressure from e= nvironmental groups and the allure
of superior alternatives, the project = is in trouble. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#segundo


-----------------------------------------------------------

Good Lip Service; Poor Transit Service
Quito Paves Over Good Intentions
By Ricardo Buitr=F3n, Acci=F3n Ecol=F3gica=09

The new Master Transport Plan for Quito, Ecuador says all the right
thing= s, but parking lots and flyovers are getting all the money. With
no inves= tment to back up the plan's goals for bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructu= re, Quito is sowing an unsustainable future. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#quito

----------------------------------------------------------

Green Fund Switches to Sustainable Transport
....But Future Funding Is Threatened 

With an initial focus on expensive tailpipe technologies, the
well-endowe= d Global Environmental Facility (GEF) spent millions on a
handful of hydr= ogen fuel-cell buses. Now, just as two new initiatives
in Lima and Santia= go herald a welcome shift towards more viable
solutions, the whole GEF pr= ogram is stalled. Once again, the US is in
arrears on its dues, and its e= fforts to cut the GEF budget
dramatically prompted an outraged EU to put = off further negotiations
on the third GEF replentishment until at least t= he fall.

Click here (http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#lima) for a summary
o= f the Lima, Peru project By Carlos Cordero, CICLORED=20

Click here (http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#santiago) for a
summa=
ry of the Santiago, Chile project By Rodrigo Quijada, Ciudad Viva 	
-----------------------------------------------------------

Riding for the Return of Manila's Fireflies
Submitted by the Firefly Brigade

The day before Earth Day, over 2000 cyclists took to the streets in
Manil= a to "bring back Manila's fireflies." In 1999, a group of
environmental a= ctivists and cyclists started the annual "Tour of the
Fireflies", which h= as now grown into a national phenomenon in the
Philippines.=20

Their website (www.fireflybrigade.org) explains the origin of their
notab= le name:

The fireflies have all fled because of air pollution. All of us,
cyclists= , walkers, runners, pedestrians, commuters, even those of us
who ride car= s... we can choose to fight for clean air and bring the
fireflies back.=20=

FULL STORY: http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#manila
-----------------------------------------------------------

Neither Reason Nor Snipers Can Stop It
The Trans-Israel Highway Lurches Forward
By Noam Segal=20

Delayed by protests, snipers, and mounting debt, the first section of
the=
 Trans- Israel Highway opens this summer. While the environmentally
disas= trous mega-highway is being billed as a private-sector toll road,
the gov= ernment has agreed to cover 80% of contractor losses if
revenues fail to = cover construction and maintenance costs. Already on
tenuous ground (see = Sustainable Transport #6, Fighting the
Trans-Israel Highway) the project = now faces increasing political
instability, an economy on the slide, and = new questions about
contractors who have direct ties to housing and big-b= ox retail
interests. FULL STORY: http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#israel

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New Remedies for 'Big Box' Syndrome
By Yaakov Garb

"Big Box" retailers conquered the US and then spread to Western,
Central,=  and Eastern Europe, where they are knows as "hypermarkets".
Now they're = expanding into developing countries. Auchan, Carrefour,
Metro, and Tesco = offer low prices, but they also currently head the
list of our Campaign f= or Smart Retail Hall of Shame. Bribing local
officials, locating on green= fields far from the nearest bus stop,
making infrastructure investment pr= omises to local governments they
don't keep, building more parking than a= llowed by their building
permits, and crushing local shopkeepers, are jus= t a few of the things
these companies are doing in Central Europe and els= ewhere. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#bigbox

Click here for a short summary of NGO and press comments about=20
Carrefour (http://www.itdp.org/SR/read_SR/Carrefour.doc),
Auchan (http://www.itdp.org/SR/read_SR/Auchan.doc),
Metro (http://www.itdp.org/SR/read_SR/Metro.doc), and=20
Tesco (http://www.itdp.org/SR/read_SR/Tesco.doc).=20

Click here to learn more about ITDP's Campaign for Smart Retail 
(http://www.itdp.org/SR/SR4.html) 
Exposed: Massive Corruption in Polish Hypermarkets
Building permits were issued illegally
The Polish Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) recently released a report
o= n hypermarket zoning which found widespread corruption at the local
gover= nment level. Of 54 building permits issued to hypermarkets, 14
were issue= d illegally. Nearly half of all zoning changes made to allow
hypermarkets=  were also found to be illegal. The auditing agency also
found that the h= ypermarkets had frequently reneged on promised
infrastructure investments=  and evaded taxes. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#exposed
-----------------------------------------------------------

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Issues New Property Policy

The EBRD released a new Property Policy this spring. The EBRD has moved
h= eavily into real estate investments in the last few years. Only two
organ= izations participated in the public review process on this
document: ITDP=  and CEE Bankwatch. For the full policy and their
summary of public comme= nts, please see:
http://www.ebrd.com/new/index.htm

The final Property Policy accepted certain changes suggested by ITDP and
= CEE Bankwatch. These include an increased focus on brownfield
redevelopme= nt and corporate governance, agreeing to have the
Environmental Appraisal=  Unit review the current environmental
protocols to be used when doing du= e diligence on property projects,
and a more careful assessment of their = lending's impacts on small
business. We were disappointed that the increa= sed lending for
residential real estate development is not better targete= d to
low-income beneficiaries and the reconstruction of deteriorating hou=
sing estates.=20

For a full review of ITDP comments on the new policy,
click here (http://www.itdp.org/read/EBRD Review.PDF).

-----------------------------------------------------------

South Africa's High-Speed, High-Risk Rail Project
By Madeleine Costanza, CERF/IIEC-Africa

Plans for an expensive high-speed rail link between Pretoria and
Johannes= burg are moving forward, but with existing public transport in
a shambles= , activists are questioning the government's priorities.=20
FULL STORY: http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#SA

-----------------------------------------------------------

Bikes Empower Girls and Fight AIDS in West Africa
A New Social Marketing Tool is Born=20
=A0
Bike tours organized by US Peace Corps Volunteers are turning heads and
p= roving effective and novel tools for AIDS prevention and girls'
access to=  education. Reports from Senegal's Tour des Femmes and
Ghana's HIV/AIDS E= ducation Bike Ride.=20
FULL STORY: http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#bikeride
-----------------------------------------------------------

Basic Mobility Now Costs Less
Kenya and Tanzania Reduce Bike Tariffs

In light of rising petrol prices, advocacy groups in Kenya and Tanzania
a= re changing the public perception of the bicycle as vital tool for
develo= pment, and convincing their governments to make bicycles less
costly. Ken= ya recently eliminated the import tariff on bicycles, and
Tanzania reduce= d the duty on bicycle tires.
FULL STORY: http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#tariffs 

-----------------------------------------------------------

'Catalyst for Change' or Green Wash?
NGOs Respond to Mobility 2001 Report
=A0=09
In the Spring of 2002, ITDP, acting on behalf of the United Nations NGO
C= aucus for Sustainable Transportation, coordinated NGO reaction to the
WBC= SD's (World Business Council for Sustainable Development )
'Mobility 2001=  Report'.

The WBCSD, a self-professed 'catalyst for change', is composed of
Mitsubi= shi, Conoco, and 158 other multinationals.=20

The million =96 dollar Mobility 2001 study mostly covers familiar
territo= ry. While not as biased as one would expect given its sponsors,
it genera= lizes too much from US experience. It also lacks insights
into the very s= ubjects these corporations should be strongest, such as
projections for f= uture oil reserves, and trends in cleaner vehicle
technology development.=  As the project moves into its second phase,
recent PR reports from the M= obility 2001 web site, plugging products
from Renault and Volkswagen, hav= e re-awakened NGO fears that the
Mobility 2001 project is becoming primar= ily a tool for 'green
marketing' and 'greenwashing.=20

www.wbcsdmobility.org/news/cat_1/news_109/index.asp and:
www.wbcsdmobility.org/news/cat_1/news_106/index.asp

The Full Mobility 2001 Report is available at
www.wbcsdmobility.org/publications/mobility2001.asp

The full text of ITDP's criticism is available at www.itdp.org

The WBCSD's summary of these comments is available at:
www.wbcsdmobility.org/news/cat_2/news_84/index.asp

The WBCSD's reaction to these comments is available at:
www.wbcsdmobility.org/news/cat_2/news_85/index.asp

-----------------------------------------------------------

Segway Corp. Stalks Pedestrians

The Segway Corporation, the well-heeled entity behind the much-hyped
"sel= f-balancing, personal transportation device that's designed to
operate in=  any pedestrian environment", wants their 70-pound
motor-scooters to be u= sed on sidewalks. This would of course take
habitat away from more practi= cal modes of conveyance. To accomplish
their goal they are lobbying hard,=  and changing state and federal laws
at a breakneck pace. FULL STORY:
http://www.itdp.org/STe/STe2/index.html#segway

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Sustainable Transport E-Update is published by the
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)
mobility at igc.org