[sustran] Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest - Vol-5 (Issue-7)

[sudhir gota]

Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest

Vol. 5 Issue 7

7 May 2008

SUMA News Digest is a free weekly e-mail publication that features news,
information, and events related to sustainable urban transportation in Asia.


*** VISIT THE SUMA PAGES: http://www.cleanairnet.org/suma ***

SUMA Partners on the Move!

Two-day and six day training courses Mass Transit training held by GTZ
SUTP under SUMA-Project, 26 April 2008

GTZ, CAI-Asia, Energy Foundation China and Shandong University have jointly
organised a 2-day training course on Mass Transit and BRT Planning in Jinan
on April 24-25, 2008. The event was hosted by Shandong University of Jinan
and was a part of the SUMA project developed together with CAI-Asia and
other partners. Read more:
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1113&Itemid=1&lang=uk


Training course on NMT Planning held in New Delhi under SUMA, 16 April 2008

GTZ-SUTP conducted a training course on Non-motorised Planning from 10th
-16th April 2008 at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, India. The course
was targeted towards a group of pre-selected future trainers as a part of
the SUMA capacity building activity. Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-Ce),
also a SUMA partner, took part in the course. Read more:
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1109&Itemid=1&lang=uk

* * * * *

HEADLINES

A busload of money for city transit 30 April 2008

Bus Rapid Transit is catching the imagination of whole world with many
cities pledging support to the scheme. Latest to join the bandwagon is the
city of wheels I.e. Chicago. Exponential growth in congestion has forced the
government to pool in $153 million to create a bus-rapid-transit program in
the city on four designated corridors.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72619.html

 Mass transit the answer to North Texas traffic problems 30 April 2008

Urban Land Institute a Washington based research organization has asked
United States to "wake up" and fix up the ailing infrastructure. The
institute studied America's 23 largest urban areas, which the report said
plan to spend nearly $2 trillion on transportation alone in the next 25
years. The report suggests proper land use planning with transit oriented
development would provide some relief. **

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72620.html

 VIET NAM: Ha Noi acts to return city pavements to pedestrians 29 April 2008

Ho Noi city in Vietnam has proposed to crack whip on roadside parking and
footside vendors to protect the right of way of pedestrians. Pedestrians for
long have faced blocks with road side parking and vendors who illegally
block the pedestrian movements.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72621.html

 USA: Highlights from the 7th EcoCity World Summit 28 April 2008

"*In order to transform our cities, we need to move from ego-culture to
eco-culture*."

The above statement by Rusong Wang, President, Ecological Society of China
sums up the highlights of 7th ecocity world summit. The summit had many
experts interchanging ideas and accessing the impacts of various measures
unleashed in various eco cities of world. The link provides some of the
summit key discussions

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72622.html

 18% of Employees Leave Cars at Home and Take Mass Transit after Enrolling
in Commuter Benefits Programs at Work, Finds New Study from TransitCenter,
28 April 2008

A study conducted by Business Week Research Services has estimated that
nearly one in five employees signing up for tax-free commuter benefits
switches from driving a car to commuting by mass transit to get to work in
New York. Many researchers for long have campaigned for the increase in
Transport Demand Strategies such as Cummuter Benefit Program for achieving
sustainable transportation. The other intersting find by the study was that
nearly 53 percent of employees whose companies donot currently offer
tax-free commuter benefits would participate in a program if it was offered
indicating its far-reaching potential.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72623.html

Massport sets goals for carbon footprint reduction, 22 April 2008

The Massachusetts Port Authority said Tuesday it has planned a series of
environmental initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations.
The initiatives would also enhance its environmental stewardship and give
customers options that can reduce their impact on the environment.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72591.html

India: Roads to Perdition, 21 April 2008

The Congestion and Pollution are not the only terms associated with roads
but also accidents and safety. A new Indian Council for Medical Research
(ICMR) study reveals some chilling figures on the causes for death in
accident cases on roads. Only 19 per cent victims get the help of an
ambulance, 48 per cent have to make it to hospital on their own. The police
are conspicuous by their absence. In fact, it is fear of harassment by the
police that stops passersby from helping victims.**

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72624.html

 INDIA: Metro to zoom into 4 cities soon, 18 April 2008

Metro has found favors with the Indian Government with proposals being made
to expedite the metro works in four cities of India namely Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi. The government plans to tackle rapid increase
in congestion and pollution by improving the public transport systems with
metro in these cities.**

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72625.html

 More air quality and sustainable mobility news at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-14783.html

* * * * *

INTERESTING FINDS

What will it Cost to Protect Ourselves from Global Warming?

By Nathaniel Keohane, Ph.D. and Peter Goldmark

This paper examines the potential impact of a cap on greenhouse gases on the
U.S. economy as a whole and on American families.
What will it cost to protect ourselves against the potentially catastrophic
consequences of global warming? Advocates of action anticipate minimal
costs. Those who want to do nothing sometimes assert that carbon cuts will
bankrupt the economy. Who is right?

This paper conducts the broadest assessment to date of the impacts on the
U.S. economy of capping greenhouse gases. This report synthesizes the findings
of several state-of-the-art economic models, and arrives at a strong
conclusion: The United States can enjoy robust economic growth over the next
several decades while making ambitious reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions. If we put a cap-and-trade policy in place soon, we can achieve
substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions without significant adverse
consequences to the economy. And in the long run, the coming low-carbon
economy can provide the foundation for sustained American economic growth
and prosperity.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72589.html

 Pedestrians at Crossroads: A Case Study of Bangalore

By Sudhir, CAI Asia and Sameera Kumar, Secon Pvt. Ltd.

Walking is the most ancient mode of transport but in this automobile age,
walking is often the most neglected mode. There is a tendency to
underestimate the pedestrian infrastructure needs when compared to the needs
of the motorists. The situation has come to such a state that daily at least
one pedestrian is killed on Bangalore roads. In this paper, the authors have
tried to investigate the design-safety-economic and policy issues concerning
existing pedestrian infrastructure in Bangalore. Also an attempt has been
made to access the public perception on pedestrian issues.

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72580.html

Deciding on Human Plunder

By Curtis A. Moore, Editor, Spring 2008 Newsletter on Health and Clean Air

The Earth is, in the words of one prominent climatologist, "perilously close
to dramatic climate change that could run out of our control". Confronted
now with arguably the gravest threat to its survival in recorded history,
humanity is, on the one hand, allowing sheer inertia to dictate the outcome,
while on the other deciding affirmatively, but wrongly.

Curtis A. Moore, the editor of newsletter on Health and Clean Air reviews
the worldwide research on pollution and lists down the classic case of
pollution paradox ruling the roost. Read more

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72626.html



* * * * *

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

The European Sustainability Summit

Berlin 6 May 2008,

http://www.eurohypo.com/media/ehlisten/englisch/sonstiges/Programme_The_European_Sustainability_Summit_F.pdf

A Lighter Footprint': Sustainability Conference

16-17 May – 2008,

http://extension.osu.edu/~news/story.php?id=4567<http://extension.osu.edu/%7Enews/story.php?id=4567>



ECOMM 2008 - The 11th Annual European Conference On Mobility Management,

Travel Demand Management - Tackling Climate Change

4-6 June-2008, London

http://www.ecomm2008.eu/



Towards Carfree Cities VIII,

Rethinking Mobility, Rediscovering Proximity

16-20 June 2008, Portland, Oregon, USA,

http://www.carfreeportland.org/



World Cities Summit 2008,

Livable and Vibrant Cities,

23-25 June 2008, Singapore,

http://www.worldcities.com.sg/



PODCAR City Sustainable Transport Conference,

14-16 September 2008, Ithaca,  New York,

http://www.podcar.org/ithacaconference/



UITP 2nd Sustainable Development Conference
Making tomorrow today
22-24 October 2008, Milan, Italy
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72425.html



Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshop 2008
12-14 November 2008 Bangkok, Thailand
Call for Abstracts ongoing; First Call for Pre-events
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72312.html



See more SUT events
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-27089.html



See CAI-Asia's events calendar
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-13577.html

* * * CONTRIBUTE * * *

To contribute articles, news items, or event announcements for the
next  issue, send an email with the complete details and URL source to
suma-news-owner at googlegroups.com with subject "FOR SUMA NEWS". mailto:
suma-news-owner at googlegroups.com?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS<http://suma-news-owner@googlegroups.com/?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS><

suma-news-owner at googlegroups.com?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS<http://suma-news-owner@googlegroups.com/?subject=FOR_SUMA_NEWS>>.


Past issues from March and April 2008 are found at
http://groups.google.com/group/suma-news

* * * ABOUT SUMA * * *

The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program of the Clean Air
Initiative for Asian Cities ( www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), Asian
Development Bank ( www.adb.org), EMBARQ-the World Resources Institute Center
 for Sustainable Transport ( http://embarq.wri.org ), GTZ Sustainable Urban
Transport Project ( www.sutp.org), Interface for Cycling Expertise (
www.cycling.nl), Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (
www.itdp.org), and United Nations Center for Regional Development (
www.uncrd.or.jp/est) is made possible through the generous support of the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ( www.sida.se).

SUMA works with Asian countries and cities to strengthen then formulation
and implementation of sustainable urban transportation policies,
specifically in

(i) Improving urban air quality by adopting AQM planning in sustainable
transport policies and promoting public transportation,

(ii)Improving road safety by encouraging non-motorized transport and public
transport, and

(iii)Reducing transport's contribution to climate change by adopting a
co-benefits approach with urban air quality management.


-- 
Sudhir Gota
Transport Specialist
CAI-Asia Center
Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower,
ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
Tel: +63-2-395-2843
Fax: +63-2-395-2846
 sudhir(at)cai-asia.org
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia