[sustran] invitation to join UN - Habitat World Urban Forum - e-dialog on Urban Mobility, Energy and Environment.

Cornie Huizenga cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org
Wed May 2 13:20:03 JST 2012


Dear all,

UN Habitat and the City of Naples are hosting the 6th World Urban Forum
(WUF) in Naples, Italy from the 1st-7th of September (
http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=672).

In preparation of the 6th. WUF is hosting a series of e-dialogs of which
one will focus on Urban Mobility, Energy and Environment.  SLoCaT is
partnering with UN-Habitat in hosting this e-dialog which kick off next
Monday May 7th and which will run until May 25.  Also on behalf of
UN-Habitat I would like to invite you to sign up as a participant at
http://www.worldurbanforum.org/countdown.   You will be pleased to hear
that UN-Habitat will make available some tickets to the most active
participants in the e-dialog to travel to Naples in September to take part
in the 6th. WUF.

For further information on this e-dialog please see below.

With best regards, also on behalf of my co-moderator Carlos Pardo.

Cornie



*Dialogue 4: Urban Mobility, Energy and Environment*
*

Current Issues*

Urban mobility underpins the prosperity of cities. At the core of urban
mobility is mass transportation, which is fundamental for growth and
development. Cities that are adopting mass transportation solutions are
becoming more competitive and attractive by reducing the unit cost of trips
for users, reducing congestion and thereby decreasing travel time and
offering reliable access to different areas in the city. Mass transport
solutions contribute to energy conservation and environmental protection
with respect to urban air quality, health, and
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that is crucial in addressing
global climate change at city level. It is therefore increasingly apparent
that urban mobility plays an important role in the achievement of the
city’s wider sustainability objectives.

*Future Scenarios*

In many developing countries clean(er) fuels, integrated BRT, light‐rail
and (strong) non‐motorized transport systems (bicycling and walking inter
alia) are the current future scenario. Conversely, cutting edge
technologies include E‐mobility, the use of hydrogen cars, fuel cells and
the use of renewable energies as the primary source of energy for urban
mobility. Future scenarios for sustainable urban mobility in the 21st
century will be drawn specifically for the many cities in question. The
important task on the drawing board is to achieve realistic scenarios
appreciating the variety of cities with their individual needs.

 *Objectives of the Dialogue*

 Dialogue 4 will analyze the prospects and challenges that cities face in
adopting sustainable solutions for urban mobility. At the heart of urban
mobility is mass transportation that combined with non‐motorized solutions
increases connectivity and interactions, which are essential for economic
growth and city prosperity. A connection will be established between
infrastructure provision, mass transportation and energy conservation and
its benefits on climate change. The dialogue will also explore the possible
impacts of climate change on urban mobility. This is expected to be severe
in terms of infrastructure damage, cost of delays and lost trips especially
in developing countries where infrastructure supporting urban mobility may
be of poor quality and inadequately maintained.

 *Methodology for the discussion*

The e‐dialogue will serve as basis to gather key ideas and questions to be
used during the on‐site dialogue. The Dialogue will be moderated by a
professional who will question the panelists in a way that realities and
experiences in developed and developing countries can be compared for
better knowledge sharing.

 *Key components, topics to discuss, key words:

*

·         Sustainable infrastructure investments in poor cities

·         Leveraging agglomeration advantages and linking urban fabric with
mass transit models

·         Leapfrogging and low‐technology innovation in developing cities

·         Embracing para‐transit

·         Making NMT popular and work for lower income communities

·         Incentives (“pulls” and “pushes”) of green mass transit

·         Institutional sustainability

·         Decoupling, dematerialization and avoiding the rebound effect.

 *Initial Questions

*

a)      How can cities mobilize huge investments to finance infrastructure
development to enhance urban mobility?

b)      Mass transit systems have clear benefits, yet many cities have not
been able to integrate these solutions in their urban mobility plans?

c)       How can poor cities adopt their mass transit systems with a view
to achieving more to
increase the chances of prosperous development?

d)      How may para‐transit systems be integrated into sustainable and
safe urban transport systems?

e)      How have cities integrated special and transport planning?

f)       What type of institutions and capacities are needed / will need to
be strengthened to transfer existing “good” concepts and ideas into a
sustainable future reality?


-- 
Cornie Huizenga
Joint Convener
Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport
Mobile: +86 13901949332
cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org
www.slocat.net


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