[sustran] Re: Sutainable Urban Accessibility

[Erica Schlaikjer]

More on the ³access paradigm² that Morten Lange brings up....

TheCityFix recently wrote two posts about "sustainable accessibility" that
this group might find interesting:

"Avoiding Environmental Disaster through Sustainable Accessibility"
http://thecityfix.com/avoiding-environmental-disaster-through-sustainable-ac
cessibility/

> This lecture by Dr. John Sterman <http://jsterman.scripts.mit.edu/>, part
> of MIT¹s series of seminars about transportation
> <http://mitworld.mit.edu/series/view/156> , provides a great introduction to
> the concept of accessibility as an alternative way to consider transportation
> system design.
> 
> To design a sustainable and successful accessibility system, Sterman says, we
> need research across areas, including technical innovation; policy and
> business practices (i.e. new business models, policies, economic issues, price
> externalities that are currently not priced at all); and human  behavior (i.e.
> taking full account of idiosyncrasies and irrational aspects of  human
> behavior). All of this must be integrated.
> 
³Manifesto for Urban Accessibility in India²
http://thecityfix.com/manifesto-for-urban-accessibility-in-india/

> Sudhir Chella Rajan <http://in.linkedin.com/pub/sudhir-chella-rajan/2/282/b05>
> , a professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of
> Technology-Madras and Coordinator of their Indo-German Centre for
> Sustainability, recently published a fantastic overview
> <http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/comment/reply/721#comment-form>  of sustainable
> accessibility in the Indian context but with global implications. He talks
> about how a focus on accessibility improves life not only for the poor but
> also for all urbanites, and his article highlights issues in India that got me
> interested in this side of sustainable mobility.




On 6/10/10 6:44 AM, "Morten Lange" <morten7an at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear Vinay, Good article ! One comment that pops to mind is that some people
> talk of access, rather than mobility.  For instance that would include
> improved access to services / shops by decentralising them. This can be done
> e.g. by urban planning including financial incentives that will influence
> where services are located. This as an addition to improving access for more
> effective and equitable modes. So access is improved not only by improving how
> many people get move about per /hour / per square-kilometer / per million
> dollar or Lakh /per unit of health or pollution. The "Access-paradigm" also
> inherently takes into account the needs of different segments of the
> populations. That is, the access-paradigm as I have perceived it. I might be
> out on a limb here, but take my chances, in order to get the opportunity to
> learn and discuss. -- Regards / Kvedja Morten Lange, Reykjavík --- On Sat,
> 5/6/10, Vinay Baindur <yanivbin at gmail.com> wrote: > From: Vinay Baindur
> <yanivbin at gmail.com> > Subject: [sustran] Cities need mobility, not cars > To:
> "CAF2" <citizens-action-forum at googlegroups.com>, "Hasire Usiru"
> <hasiruusiru at yahoogroups.com>, "Hu Gov" <hu_governance at googlegroups.com> >
> Date: Saturday, 5 June, 2010, 11:30 > *URBAN ENVIRONMENT* > > *Anumita
> Roychowdhury*, Centre for Science and Environment > > *Cities need mobility,
> not cars* > > Our cities are in a mess and the clutter will grow. Recent >
> number crunching > by global consulting firm McKinsey and Co. Llc predicts
> an > urban population > in India of 590 million by 2030‹nearly twice the size
> of > the current US > population and 40% of the total projected Indian >
> population. Cities, which > account for 70% of India¹s GDP (gross domestic
> product), > will drive the > economy. But these same cities are on a toxic
> spiral, urged > on by growing > wastefulness, energy use and car mania. The
> current > obsession with car-based > infrastructure and urban sprawl will only
> increase car > dependency, travel > distances, energy and the pollution
> intensity of travel. > > The choking haze of pollution and growing illnesses
> are the > scary evidence > of urban growth. The International Energy Agency
> warns that > cars will also > drive energy demand. Currently, one-third of our
> urban > population in three > mega-cities accounts for nearly half of the
> carbon > emissions from transport. > Parking needs are devouring urban
> commons‹10% of > urbanized Delhi is wasted > as parking spaces. > > Can we
> make our cities livable? Make public health, urban > design quality and >
> community well-being the basis of this growth? > > Our future depends on the
> choices we make today. And the > choices are clear > in our densely built
> cities, where the bulk of all travel > trips have short > distances‹5-10km. In
> fact, walking and bicycling make up > more than a quarter > of all trips in
> major cities and greater than half in small > towns. Public > transport and
> para-transit modes meet more than three > quarters of the > passenger demand
> for motorized transport. Protect and scale > up this > strength, and ensure
> equity in allocation of road space to > all users. > > Make the change real.
> Leverage the emerging policy > opportunities‹reform-based agenda of the
> Jawaharlal Nehru > National Urban > Renewal Mission and the clean air action
> plans. Cities must > deliver on > public transport reforms, control pollution
> sources and > pursue innovative > measures to restrain the car bulge. There is
> no other way. > > Look at Delhi. With less than a quarter of households >
> owning cars, and > despite the largest road network, life¹s ebbed out of its >
> streets. Road > widening and flyovers have not helped. > > The signpost is
> clear: Cities need mobility, not cars. > Scale up alternative > mobility
> choices, set the post-2010 road map to leapfrog > vehicle technology, > and
> redesign cities to promote safe mobility. Cities must > interlink a full >
> range of actions that form the big solution. > > *Anumita Roychowdhury is
> associate director at Centre for > Science and > Environment.** Comment at
> feedback at livemint.com* >
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--
Erica Schlaikjer
Media Relations and Online Engagement Coordinator
EMBARQ ­ The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport
World Resources Institute
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