[sustran] Principal Voices, New Mobility and Kyoto

[Eric Britton]

Plet2 The Kyoto World Cities Challenge: 2005-2007

*

Latest program background at  <http://kyotocities.org/>
http://kyotocities.org

International Advisory <http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/panel.htm>
Panel: http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/panel.htm

Kyoto Resources <http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/resources.htm>
Inventory:  http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/resources.htm

 

  Thursday, March 17, 2005, Paris, France, Europe

 

Mr. Stan Stalnaker,

Marketing Director

Fortune Group, London

 

Dear Stan,

 

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly on this.  I appreciate
that.  But the nature of what I have to communicate, to propose to you is
perhaps a bit more complicated than that kind offer of a free ticket.  

 

But before I dig in here, let me do everything I can to emphasize the point
that what follows is intended in the most positive, creative spirit.  I am
not carping in this or trying to get on your case.  Rather I am very very
enthusiastic as to what you can do with this terrific timely challenge if
you get your sites fully on it.  And there we can help.

 

Based on what I have seen thus far - and indeed I have a pretty
comprehensive daily Google alert for everything that breaks in your program,
so I am following progress pretty well from here - I have to assume (sorry)
that you got into this transportation component without delving too awfully
deep into the current state of play in the field.  In fact things are
changing very rapidly now in our sector and it is hard to follow the speed
of the action.  That happens all the time of course but in this particular
case it carries with it quite some risk (i.e., the danger of a largely
wasted effort). But let me hope that there is some flex on your end and that
you may indeed be interested in making a genuine splash with the transport
portion of the program.  You could and my colleagues and I can help you with
this.  So since time is short on both sides let me handle this next note as
efficiently as I can from here.

 

In this note I wish to address specifically the transportation component, an
area in which my international colleagues and I have quite some experience.
Since I am not sure how deeply you yourself are into what is going on in
this troubled sector world wide - and which in fact is one of the reasons
why your Voices initiative is, potentially, so very timely - I have to give
you a bit of quick background on the state of play:  (If you already know
this, apologies for my heavy-handedness, but I prefer to err on the
conservative side since this is a matter of some importance to all who will
be tuned in to your activity).

 

If all you want to do is talk about metros in Mexico City in your November
session - as the site now seems to suggest -- then you are only going to dig
in well explored terrain and it will be hard for anyone (other than the
suppliers of course and their usual acolytes) to get excited.  I don't thing
this is the level of public interest that you, CNN, Fortune, Time, etc. can
be satisfied with.  But there is real terrain here for a very high profile
series of discussions. The trick is to find out how to get at it.

 

I should add that before getting this to you, we have engaged in a fairly
extensive brainstorming which has brought in a good number of the main
shakers and movers of the field since your reporter first got in touch with
me late last autumn for the article of the topic which appears on your site.
Thus, everything that follows has been shaped by these exchanges. I am
further copying this note to several of the networks so that we can se what
they might have to add to this.

 

Voices Background in the World of Transportation Today:

 

We note that of the four areas that you have targeted for simulating
discussion, transport alone has been targeted with a single voice.  This is
a major oversight since the sector is as it happens being shaped today
through the interactions between no less than three major voices.  Which
are: 

 

(1)   Transportation Voice 1: The long established defining Voice of
Transportation expertise in design, engineering, construction, operation,
finance, etc., which essentially dominated and defined the transportation
systems of the 20th century, still remains the main operational paradigm in
most places (and in any event a critical central component of the next
generation transportation paradigm that must be able to call in these skills
and experience). This Voice is at present most ably represented by Mr.
Ellatuvalapil Sreedharan one of India's greatest civil engineers, the
architect of the supposedly unbuildable Konkan Railway linking Mumbai and
Mangalore, and, more recently, designer of the Delhi Metro system (See
<http://www.principalvoices.com/voices/elattuvalapil-sreedharan-bio.html>
http://www.principalvoices.com/voices/elattuvalapil-sreedharan-bio.html for
more)



(2)   Second Voice?  No conversation concerning the future of the
transportation sector would be complete without the vigorous participation
of this important second voice.   A parallel but in many ways separate but
very powerful in its own right financial, institutional, political, and
industrial lobby "Voice", a good example of whose thinking can be seen with
the recent WBCSD's "Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability" report (see
<http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/general/wbcsd.htm>
http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/general/wbcsd.htm for report and some context)
that has been actively supported by this currently formidable element of the
transportation establishment. 
 

(3)   The Third Voice?   These are the growing number of international
experts and groups who are working together to open up and define what we
call the Sustainable Transportation or New Mobility Agenda. This approach to
understanding and deciding about mobility matters is altogether on another
plane from the older supply-oriented, specific, circumscribed
problem-solving approach that has long been the dominant mode of thinking,
policy and investment in the past, a time incidentally when the
'problematique' of transportation was vastly different from that which we
face today (See Todd Litman's recent piece "The Future Isn't What It Used To
Be" at  <http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf> http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf for
a good overview on this).  This new and far broader, more inclusive approach
to planning, decision making and even on down to implementation and
operation is the next step in a cumulative long run process of intellectual,
economic, social, environmental and political evolution. It is, no more no
less, the world transport policy and practice paradigm of the 21st century.


 

*     *     *

 

So this, as we say in French, is your problematique. And if you decide to
engage it head on, you will be assured of a healthy international audience
and of making a real contribution.  We have some ideas about how to factor
in those other two voices efficiently, and if you want to talk about it
we'll be more than pleased to do just that.

 

In the meantime, let me in closing invite you to have a look at the just
ginning up Kyoto World Cities Challenge program, at http://kyotocities.org
<http://kyotocities.org/> .  And if you want to see what those Principle
Voices that are increasingly shaping the transport sector in the future look
like, you have no farther to look than at the distinguished International
Advisory Panel.  These are the people and approaches that are going to shape
the main bulk of transportation decisions in the future.

 

I look forward to hearing from you Stan, and hope that you will take up the
gauntlet on this.  Together we can do a lot with it.

 

With all good wishes,

 

Eric 

 

The New Mobility Agenda is at http://newmobility.org
<http://newmobility.org/> 

Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara          75006 Paris, France

T: +331 4326 1323   Via Skype.com  Click here <callto://ericbritton/>
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E:  <mailto:postmaster at newmobility.org> postmaster at newmobility.org    Backup
E:  <mailto:fekbritton at gmail.com> fekbritton at gmail.com  

 

  





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 <http://www.ericbrittononline.com> Technology, Economy, Society 

 



Francis Eric Knight Britton
Innovation consultancy/advisory 

EcoPlan International
8/10, rue Joseph Bara
75006 Paris, France 


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IM: Skype - ericbritton
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tel: 
mobile: 

+331 4326 1323
+336 7321 5868 

 

 

T2 The Kyoto World Cities Challenge: 2005-2007

*

Latest program background at  <http://kyotocities.org/>
http://kyotocities.org

International Advisory <http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/panel.htm>
Panel: http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/panel.htm

Kyoto Resources <http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/resources.htm>
Inventory:  http://ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/resources.htm

 

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Kyoto World Cities Challenge - Abstract

 

Despite the fact that the transport sector is responsible for at least half,
often more, of all CO2 production in most cities, there is no provision
under the Kyoto Protocols to provide guidelines, mechanisms or incentives to
attack these problems.  Transport in cities was the "Empty Chair in Kyoto
<http://ecoplan.org/wtpp/challenge/empty-chair.pdf> ".  

 

The Kyoto World Cities Challenge Initiative has been created to provide an
open platform of expert guidance and international peer support for groups
and cities anywhere in the world wishing to attack these problems, and in
the process move toward being "Kyoto Compliant".  That said, for each city
taking these steps it is clear that the main incentive and benefits will
accrue directly to the city and its inhabitants as a result of a better
performing transportation system, itself an indispensable key for Kyoto
Compliance. 

The main pillars of this independent peer initiative include: 

1.       An aggressive Outline
<http://www.ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/20-20.htm>  Program Proposal and
Strategy for practical, high impact, short term, explicitly targeted
remedial action at the level of the city starting in 2005, supported by . .
.

2.       A distinguished International
<http://www.ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/panel.htm>  Advisory Panel: a high
level group of recognized experts and leaders in the wide range of fields
that need to be brought in to the solution process, and 

3.       Direct continuing contact and exchanges with a World Wide
<http://www.ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/resources.htm>  Inventory of
Programs and Sources active in related areas with coverage and competences
that are needed to meet the challenges. 

4.       A state-of-the-art multi-level Information and IP
<http://www.ecoplan.org/kyoto/challenge/bridge.htm>  Communications Platform
bringing together low cost high quality internet tools that can be used to
knit the network and the interested cities together. 

 

For further information and background: http://kyotocities.org
<http://kyotocities.org/> 

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