[sustran] Re: Nomination for the WTN 2004 Environment Prize - KenLivingston and the London road pricing crew

[Debi Goenka]

Hi Eric

I would be happy to add my name to this nomination.

Cheers

Debi
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr 
  To: 'Sustran-Discuss at Jca. Ax. Apc. Org' 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:27 PM
  Subject: [sustran] Nomination for the WTN 2004 Environment Prize - KenLivingston and the London road pricing crew


  Dear Friends,



  I would like to ask your views - and if you are in agreement an indication of your support for the following initiative



  I have decided to take advantage of some leverage that I happen to have to nominate Ken Livingston and his road pricing team in London for this year's prestigious  WTN (World Technology Network) 2004 World Technology Award for Environment (see www.wtn.net for details).  

  Moreover, I thought that the whole thing might have even higher impact if any of you who happen to share my views and  care to do so might lend your name to this nomination.  All it would take could be your agreement that this is maybe not such a bad idea and a quick email indicating that you are willing to join us in this.  We already have a dozen or so leading transportation thinkers and practitioners from seven countries thus far, and it would be good to have some of you here as well.  If you do agree, please send on a short email either here or to me personally at Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org, sign in with your full title, affiliation, etc.



  The question comes up, is this a good idea?  While many fine sustainability practitioners and thinkers have signed on, two of my most respected friends and colleagues have indicated that they do not agree.  Here is my position on that. Is the London scheme original?  Well the answer to that is the usual yes and no, and for you here I certainly do not have to spell that out.  OK, but is it perfect?  No way.  But as I see it, it provides an important, concrete, near-by demonstration of a sustainability approach that can be made to work and to which virtually all of our larger cities should be giving their very closest attention.  But if there is not clear recognizable example (and that means not at the other end of the globe) and in a recognizable socio-economic-political context, then the message will simply not get through.  So hooray for Ken, his crew and their project, warts and all.



  What we can hope is that this will set in motion a wave of projects that can build on these lessons, and which can have even higher positive impacts.  But if we have to wit forever for the perfect project. . . well, forever is a pretty long time 



  Below is a bit of background on the Prize etc. which you may or my not wish to take the time to read.



  I look forward to your reactions. 



  Eric 



  PS.  And with your nomination or comment, it would be interesting if you might list a small handful of cities well known to you where you think they might do well by looking into a road pricing scheme for themselves.  If this push of ours gets wide media coverage, it may be just one more bit of pressure where it can help.



  ======================================================

  For more information on the network and the Prize, I would point you to http://www.wtn.net/.  Now as it happens, I am one of the small group of people who are in a position to make this nomination.  And if that sounds a bit puffed up to you, let me explain why.  In fact, in good part (I believe) I was awarded this prize myself just month's after our June 2001 final events in Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities(see www.partnerships.stockholm.se) because of all SEVERAL HUNDRED OF US DID TOGETHER to make such a splendid event and network.  Unfair really to be honest, since I was singled out for an honor that properly belonged to all involved.  What I can say in my defense is that I mentioned in my acceptance speech that this was above all a team effort, and that I considered myself merely an agent of the City of Stockholm team under our energetic colleague Adam Holmstrom and his team, our wonderful international jury, but, above all, all of you the project teams.



  To give you a better sense of what this is all about, let me quote the WTN citation for the awards:



  "The World Technology Awards have been created to honour those individual leaders or, at times, co-equal teams from across the globe who most contribute to the advance of emerging technologies of all sorts for the benefit of business and society. We especially seek to honour those innovators who have done work recently which has the greatest likely future significance and impact over the long-term... and who will likely become or remain "key players" in the technological drama unfolding in coming years. These awards are not necessarily "lifetime achievement" awards, nor are they particularly for individuals whose work of greatest significance was less than recent. These are about those individuals whose work today will, in our opinion, create the greatest "ripple effects" in the future... in both expected and unexpected ways."










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