[sustran] Re: The Seven Simple Truths of Sustainable Mobility (Come argue with me)

[Todd Edelman]

Hi Eric,

This is great, but for Truth 7 I would insert, before* the current 
points, something like:

a) Happy, social, integrated, respectful communities
b) Safe, quiet, good-smelling neighbourhoods

*A lot of people still do not believe that humans are causing global 
warming (tough beans) and related/more importantly the "green" thing is 
over-rated and over-used as a hook for New Mobility. Also most people 
don't care about where their oil comes from. Sure the following points 
are acceptable but who is this Seven Simple Truths list for? The 
public... or policy makers? They have many of the same priorities in 
relation to the points I suggest but policy makers also have to meet 
various environmental goals but to do it effectively get their 
constituents to help using a different angle (e.g. 1% of the 40-odd% of 
the people in Copenhagen cycle because it is "green", most do some 
because of relatively well-applied sticks and carrots).

- T

  On 25/02/11 09:19, eric britton wrote:
> The Seven Simple Truths  of Sustainable Mobility (Come argue with me)
>
> Sometimes in life things can be simple. Let's look at one case.
>
> One of the problems with the hard up-hill fight for "sustainable transport"
> in cities and countries around the world is that so far everyone seems to
> have a different definition and a different agenda.  True, there are an
> enormous range of interests and concerns. Among them such important things
> as :improving conditions for pedestrians and cycles, car access and parking
> control, more ridesharing, carsharing, taxisharing, more flexible and
> responsive public transport services, strategic deployment of economic
> instruments (to reflect full social costs), BRT, congestion charging, speed
> reductions, etc. The long list goes on.
>
> And at the same time there are all those other measures and approaches which
> claim to fly under the banner of sustainability but which in our view need
> to be put to tougher and more public tests.  Many of these last call for
> very large investments of taxpayer money or property, and often considerable
> lag times before bringing even those benefits to the streets of our cities
> or indeed the planet.
>
> So we really do need a unifying  strategy.
>
> And  if you look hard enough, you will see that there is only one
> overarching strategy that will do the job.   It works like this:
>
> Truth 1.             You can't have a sustainable planet without sustainable
> cities
>
>
> Truth 2.             Nor sustainable cities without sustainable mobility
>
>
> Truth 3.             The key to sustainable mobility is to ensure that every
> step, every project, every investment you take will end up by reducing motor
> vehicle miles or kilometers (VMT, VKT) travelled both in that place and
> overall.
>
>
> Truth 4.             Moreover these reductions have to be achieved
> strategically, quickly and at scale. (Otherwise it fails the responsibility
> test.)
>
>
> Truth 5.             The policy response involves a strategic combination of
> carrots and sticks, which will of course be different from city to city and
> country to country, but even with all the necessary variations the central
> lines of the strategy will be the same.
>
>
> Truth 6.             We know all we need to know about both (a) the sticks
> (economic, regulatory and other instruments to reduce, sequester and control
> traffic, etc.) and (b) the carrots (all those other ways of getting around
> which need in each case to be woven into a mobility system of affordability,
> enhanced life quality and choice).
>
>
> Truth 7.             When you reduce VKT/VMT notably and rapidly through the
> best available means and proven strategies, here are the main benefits
> a.       You help save the planet: through resource savings and GHG and
> related emissions reductions
> b.      You proportionally reduce today's crushing dependence of imported
> fossil fuels
>
> And in order to achieve these ambitious - but completely doable - goals, you
> have to open up more choices and better and fairer mobility for all those in
> and around our cities who are at present NOT well served by the old (20th
> century dominant) own-car, no-choice  pattern (bearing in mind that this is
> a majority of all citizens).
>
> Conclusion: You can't do it with the carrots. And you can't do it without
> the sticks. We know what they are, so what is hold us back?
>
> Your turn:
>
> Eric Britton
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-- 

Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory,
a member of the OPENbike team

Mobile: ++49(0)162 814 4081

edelman at greenidea.eu
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