From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Oct 1 02:53:05 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 23:23:05 +0530 Subject: [sustran] 400+ Cameras Ready to Move Carmageddon II Traffic Along Message-ID: *400+ Cameras Ready to Move * If Angelenos stay off the road when a 10-mile stretch of the nation?s busiest freeway is shut down, who will witness Carmageddon II? Hundreds of cameras at intersections across the city to monitor road conditions during the Sept. 29 weekend when part of the San Diego (405) near the Getty Center will be closed for construction. Bhuvan Bajaj is a transport engineer who is carefully monitoring traffic flow from one of 450 computers connected to the project. "Each green dot is an intersection. We can see traffic going in real time," Bajaj said. At LA?s Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control center, known as ATSAC, they?re gearing up for Carmageddon II with additional staffing. The state-of-the-art facility at City Hall east in Downtown LA is capable of monitoring and controlling some 4,500 traffic lights. So if cars being detoured off the 405 start to jam up on side streets, controllers can step in. "We can coordinate signals, we can re-time traffic signals, we can add more time to left turns, or less time. We can do whatever we can to mitigate delays in the field," Bajaj said. The ATSAC system was built more than 30 years ago to handle traffic for the 1984 summer Olympics. Since then it?s quadrupled in size. Engineers are quick to point out that despite all the surveillance, none of the live cameras record video. "It?s not being used for any big brother purposes, there?s no license plates recognition technology, no embedded software, it?s strictly for traffic surveillance cameras," said Greg Savelli, chief of parking enforcement operations and traffic control. Two-hundred traffic officers also will be in place during the freeway closure but instead of being stationed at fixed locations like they were during last year?s Carmageddon, some will be mobile so they can clear the way if there?s an emergency. "All the emergency services, hospitals, ambulance, fire and police departments are pre-deployed in the areas knowing the transition is going to be difficult, so some of our officers will be in strike team formation if a problem arises," Savelli said. From kaye.patdu at cai-asia.org Tue Oct 2 11:52:17 2012 From: kaye.patdu at cai-asia.org (Kaye Patdu) Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 10:52:17 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Accessing Asia: Data for Development Message-ID: Dear Colleagues What do ADB, GAPF, GIZ, IGES, UNCRD, USAID AND World Bank have in common? As Knowledge Management partners for air quality and climate change, they all need, collect and spend on data. Input data for estimating emissions will be released for 13 countries and 24 cities in Asia. To find out about the data available in your country, join us at the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2012 in Hong Kong, 5-7 December 2012. [image: Inline image 3] For those interested to receive data teasers and/or receive updates on the this initiative, please contact: ? May Ajero, Air Quality Program Manager: (may (dot) ajero (at) cai-asia.org ) ? Kaye Patdu, Air Quality Specialist: (kaye (dot) patdu (at) cai-asia.org) ? Eryn Gayle de Leon, Environment Researcher: (eryngayle (dot) deleon (at) cai-asia.org) -- *Kaye Patdu, Air Quality Specialist* *Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia)* *Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES Tel +632 395 2843 l Fax +632 395 2846 l kaye.patdu@cai-asia.org l SkypeID kaye.patdu www.cleanairinitiative.org | www.facebook.com/cai.asia Please consider the environment before printing this email. * -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 258379 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121002/da26e8e7/attachment-0001.png From ashok.sreenivas at gmail.com Wed Oct 3 19:28:05 2012 From: ashok.sreenivas at gmail.com (Ashok Sreenivas) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2012 15:58:05 +0530 Subject: [sustran] The future of sustainable transport: solving global gridlock - live debate (on 14th November) Message-ID: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/future-sustainable-transport-solving-global-gridlock?newsfeed=true Ashok From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri Oct 5 01:23:29 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2012 18:23:29 +0200 Subject: [sustran] My university work going back to the early... Message-ID: <012901cda24c$9c307cd0$d4917670$@britton@ecoplan.org> Eric Britton posted in Sustran Global South Eric Britton 5:00pm Oct 4 My university work going back to the early sixties was in the field of development economics, and so it seems only right that as I work on my new book, "Getting Around: On Cities, Indolence, Complexity and Equity" I keep at least some of th is in mind. The book is in fact a strategic rethink of the most important things I have observed and learned over forty years of international work in the field of transport and cities -- so it seems like a good idea if I can at least from time to time get my head out of the pure transport and mobility perspective, and keep in mind what the development economics approach has to offer by way of broader horizons and ideas. It is a wonderful, rich and highly diversified field, and if it has lost some of its shine in the last couple of decades, let me assure you that those working in the field are just gathering their strength to make a new round of contributions and impacts. So with that in mind, I have just today opened a new focus forum in Facebook that if you are interested you can find at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thinking-about-Development-Economics/389252557 812543 For the moment it is an empty box, but I am sure it will shortly start to have a vigorous life of its own. Have a look and make up your mind for yourself. Thinking about Development Economics In this forum, we will be looking at the intersect of development economics and the issues and event... View Post on Facebook . Edit Email Settings . Reply to this email to add a comment. From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Thu Oct 11 22:55:52 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:55:52 +0200 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?World_Transport_Policy_=26_Practice_=E2=80=93?= =?utf-8?B?IFZvbC4gMTgsIE5vLiA0?= Message-ID: <00c901cda7b8$247dfcf0$6d79f6d0$@britton@ecoplan.org> See http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/world-transport-policy-practice-vol-18-no-4/ for the full feature. Eric Britton posted in World Transport Policy and Practice Eric Britton 3:33pm Oct 11 World Transport Policy & Practice ? Vol. 18, No. 4 worldstreets.wordpress.com The three articles in this Autumn 2012 issue make an important contribution to transport de?bate and point clearly to different ways of viewing some of the key public policy issues currently underpinning transport and urban planning thinking. View Post on Facebook ? Edit Email Settings ? Reply to this email to add a comment. From patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com Mon Oct 15 14:25:51 2012 From: patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:55:51 +0530 Subject: [sustran] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Delhi row over bus lane reveals class divide in society !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Message-ID: 15 October 2012 [image: Inline image 2] Experts say the controversy over the bus corridor reflects class divisions in the Indian society An interesting article on the recent controversy about Delhi BRT and efforts by the misguided pro-auto vehicle interests to get it shut down. (Thank you Dr Uday Kulkarni for the forward) *"Car owners are the creators of wealth. Do you realise that they get exhausted sitting in their cars due to traffic jams and they reach office completely tired? It affects their efficiency. Do you want them to perform less?" asks the main petitioner BB Sharan.* *--------------------------* * * *"Cars use more space; crowd the road and move far fewer people. The problem is that people do not matter in our cities; cars do. In this situation, BRT becomes the hate symbol while people waste time in traffic jams," Ms Narayan wrote in the latest issue of Down to Earth magazine.* *--------------------------* *Do read the full article here:-* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19572583 -- Sujit -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [image: Inline image 1] *Parisar* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com sujit@parisar.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India Tel: +91 20 25537955 Cell: +91 98220 26627 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/ Parisar: www.parisar.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 17934 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121015/5405caa5/attachment-0003.jpe From yanivbin at gmail.com Thu Oct 18 22:04:18 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:34:18 +0530 Subject: [sustran] CSE welcomes Delhi High Court Judgment on Delhi BRT Message-ID: http://cseindia.org/node/4572 CSE welcomes Delhi High Court Judgment on Delhi BRT [image: brtbig.jpg] - *Visionary judgment from the Delhi High Court upholds the principle of sustainable mobility* - *Questions increased dependence on personal vehicles and disproportionately high government investments in car centric infrastructure * *New Delhi October 18, 2012:* The Centre for Science and Environment(CSE) welcomes the judgment from the division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh of Delhi Court today in the public interest litigation on Delhi bus rapid transit (BRT) system. The judgment has dismissed the writ petition without any specific order but highlights the mobility crisis and upholds the guiding principles for sustainable transportation. ?This judgment while putting the 5.8 km BRT stretch in perspective sets the vision for transportation management in the city. This powerful message has come at this crucial time when Delhi has to decide its future mobility options to escape the pollution and congestion nightmare.? says Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director and in charge of air pollution and transportation programme at CSE. The judgment has also highlighted the remedial measures suggested by the Government Counsel KTS Tulsi that includes construction of parallel roads to bypass the traffic from Saket. The government is expected to look into the specific problem at Chirag Delhi crossing and take remedial measures. The judgment makes strong observations on the current mobility crisis and highlights the following concerns: *Need second generation action* - The judgment underscores that the period between 1998 ? 2003 has witnessed an active intervention by the Supreme Court in response to Public Interest Litigations. The choking haze of air pollution and its impact on public health, brought to the notice of the Supreme Court, resulted in a spate of directives. - But thereafter the city, gradually and slowly, started losing out ? air pollution levels started rising again. It is apparent that a second generation policy action is warranted. *Limit to growth of personal vehicles* - The Judgment makes note of the Delhi Master Plan 2021, which states that there has been a phenomenal increase in vehicles and traffic in Delhi. Despite measures taken by way of increasing the length of the road network through widening, construction of flyovers/grade separators and Metro, traffic congestion continues to increase unabatedly. - If the current trend continues, by the year 2021 car ridership would increase by 106% and bus ridership would increased by only 28%. *Sustainability demands increased public transport ridership* - The judgment states, that two cars transport only three persons as against 60 to 70 persons in a bus during peak hours and around 40 persons during non-peak hours. A car commences and terminates its journey with the same 1.5 persons. But a bus would drop and pick up many persons en-route. The number of persons transported along the route would be as high as up to 200. - The RITES survey of 2008, show that in prominent arterial roads such as Swaran Jayanti Marg in Dhaula Kuan, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Nelson Mandela Marg, Olfo Palame Marg and Outer Ring Road, 70% traffic volume is cars which carry only around 18% of the total people transported. The 10% traffic volume on these roads consists of buses that transport about 60% of the total people. This shows, that unless traffic volume of cars is reduced, ?one would see nothing but misery on the streets of Delhi.? - The Ring road is designed to carry peak hour traffic of 75,000 passenger car units. Today it carries 1,60,000 passenger car units during peak traffic hour. If the current trend continues the figure would increase to 4,00,000 by the year 2020 and as against the current 6 lanes on Ring road it would require at least 18 lanes. Where would the land come from? *BRT has benefits* - Report submitted by the Central Road research Institute (CRRI) to the Delhi High Court shows evidence that before BRT corridor was put into place and thereafter, bus users increased by 7%. - Since 50% people are transported in buses, a dedicated lane for BRT is justified. The journey time for cars would continue to increase even if there is no BRT because the number of cars and two-wheelers on Delhi roads is increasing. Unless BRT is accepted by the citizens of Delhi, the journey time for cars to cover the necessary distance would continue to increase. - A BRT corridor would require the buses to ply on the central median side because of the right turns which the buses have to take at the crossings and the signaling put in place. *Disproportionately high investments on roads when majority uses public transport* - Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the grant by the Central Government through the Ministry of Urban Development to Delhi has been utilized: 83% for expansion of roads and construction of flyovers, 15% on parking projects and only 2% on other transport projects. What does it reveal? - ?Cars, cars and cars and nothing else. It could well be argued that when more than 50% of the road passengers travel by buses it would be illogical and irrational to spend 98% of the grants under JNNURM with the targeted beneficiary being cars? states the judgment. *Court upholds government policy* - The judgment says, if the government policy is not offending any constitutional principle like the Article 14, the Court cannot and should not out-step its limits and tinker with the policy decision of the executive functionary of the state, says the judgment. - The Master Plan for Delhi embodies the principles recognized by National Urban Transport Policy 2006, which recognizes that personal vehicles have overwhelmed the road space in urbanized areas. - It is the principal purpose of a Government to promote the interest of the general public rather than to distribute public goods to restrictive private benefit. - The issue is large: one of urban transport policy. A policy has to be evolved where people voluntarily switch over to public transport. The judgment is thus conclusive on BRT. It says that keeping in view the fact that road space cannot be augmented, there is no option other than to put into place a good public transport system, with BRT being an integral part thereof; for only then would the citizen of Delhi shift to public transport. The bench makes the incisive observation that, ?A developed country is not one where the poor own cars. It is one where the rich use public transport.? This judgment has put to rest the acrimonious debate on people vs vehicles in the city. ?It is very clear, Delhi can avoid the looming pollution and congestion disaster only if its transport planning hinge on sustainability, equity, and people centric approach? says Roychowdhury. Read the High Court Judgment: http://lobis.nic.in/dhc/PNJ/judgement/18-10-2012/PNJ18102012CW3802012.pdf For more details, please get in touch with *Vivek Chattopadhyaya* at vivek@cseindia.org or 09911791243 From baq2012 at cai-asia.org Fri Oct 19 13:57:26 2012 From: baq2012 at cai-asia.org (BAQ 2012 Secretariat) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:57:26 +0800 Subject: [sustran] BAQ 2012: Program Updates and Sustainable Transport Debate Message-ID: [image: Inline image 1] To view the conference program, click here . To view the list of conference pre-events, click here . To view the list of post-conference site visits, click here . *We are also bringing back the Sustainable Transport Debate in BAQ 2012!* Two teams will debate the motion that restrictions in the number of new vehicles as currently being practiced in Singapore and the three largest Chinese cities: Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai needs to be integral part of an effective sustainable urban transport policy. Cities in countries like India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and others will succumb to the pressures of increased private motorization unless similar restrictions are put in place. If you want to take part in this exciting debate, please send an email to: - Bert Fabian (bert.fabian@cai-asia.org); and - Cornie Huizenga (cornie.huizenga@cai-asia.org) Best regards, ** *BAQ 2012 Secretariat** * ** ** Follow us on Facebook l Twitter l YouTube ** * * -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 43680 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121019/9d53ab36/attachment.jpe From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Oct 24 19:04:45 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:04:45 +0200 Subject: [sustran] WTPP Archives: Background and Introduction Message-ID: <004c01cdb1cf$021db3a0$06591ae0$@britton@ecoplan.org> WTPP Archives: Background and Introduction Posted on October 24, 2012 | Leave a comment The goal of this supplementary website is to offer a comprehensive, easy to use archive offering ready access to the close to seventy editions of the Journal of World Transport Policy & Practice that have published under the leadership of Founding Editor John Whitelegg since 1995. We also offer here easy one click connections to a certain number of supporting projects and media, which you can see on the left hand column here. Click for article: http://wp.me/p2PF75-2d From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Oct 24 20:15:41 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:15:41 +0200 Subject: [sustran] "Travel-Time Budget" for Twitter et al Message-ID: <007001cdb1d8$ea922130$bfb66390$@britton@ecoplan.org> Remember Yacov Zahavi of the World Bank and famous his "Travel-Time Budget"? In a nutshell it read like this: The research showed that a) most of the world spends about an hour a day in travel b) most commutes are under half an hour, and c) Families spend about 12-15% of their disposable income for mobility. What's the point in our present discussion context? Well, it's a question really. As we talk about time spent/misspent with things that on the surface are supposed (at least in part) to be useful -- such as Twitter, Facebook, et al -- do we in fact have, individually and as groups, our own Time Budget for these kinds of "information commuting" activities. >From a personal point of view I may be protected because I put a high value (?!) on my personal time, to which I can add a pretty low threshold for wasting my time. So I think personally I am OK. Thus far. But back to Zahavi, which is far more interesting than my personal case: There must be analysts who are working with this, and it would be interesting to know a bit more about them. It can be argued that the social media are themselves a form of mobility. In the meantime I muddle on and post this reflection to Facebook, Twitter and one or two other hopefully somewhat efficient places.. Eric Britton P Avant d'imprimer, pensez ? l'environnement From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Oct 24 22:46:35 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:46:35 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Unconfusing the World Transport and other YohooGroups and social media Message-ID: <012601cdb1ee$03c13960$0b43ac20$@britton@ecoplan.org> Unconfusing the World Transport and other YahooGroups Fora in our New Mobility family of projects and sites. Let's try this in three crisp parts: World Transport Forum: The World Transport Forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldTransport has been in operation since February 1999 and presently serves some 274 international subscribers. ? It is intended specifically to support the Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice, and in particular to work in close tandem with the original Eco-Logica publication site at http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/worldtransport.htmland the new WTPP Archives that is just now opening at http://worldtransportjournal.wordpress.com/. ? The YahooGroups Forum is intended for those who read, wish to follow and contribute to the Journal. We try to keep the mailings tightly focused to the interests of this group. ? These Fora have the advantage of offering an fully searchable information base of messages and information shared over the years (unlike the more ephemeral Facebook and, above all, Twitter). ? For those who enjoy Facebook there is a parallel Facebook support page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Transport-Policy-Practice/30066484670129 9 World Streets and the New Mobility Caf?: The New Mobility Caf? (at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe/) has been in operation since July 1999 and presently supports some 253 subscribers. ? The Caf? is the main conversation and exchange point in support of World Streets and all our collaborative work in the broad areas of the New Mobility Agenda more broadly. ? World Streets also maintains its own Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/worldstreets Other Focus Groups: We also maintain a collection of other more specialized fora and social media sites, focusing on developments and exchanges in such areas as 1. Carsharing (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldCarShare/) - Since September 1998, 107 members. Also on line at http://www.facebook.com/groups/worldcarshare/ 2. City cycling (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldCityBike) - Since January 2008, 111 members. Also http://www.facebook.com/groups/worldcitybike/ 3. Taxes and value capture (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LandCafe/ - Since July 2003, 101 members and with more than 14,000 ,messages our most lively discussion group. Also http://www.facebook.com/groups/landcafe/ 4. Car Free Caf? (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarFreeCafe - Since April 2005, 122 members - also http://www.facebook.com/WorldCarFreeCafe 5. Sustran Global South Network . In addition we feed in information and ideas on a regular basis to the Sustran Global South Network (sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org). I hope that this will be reasonably clear and that it will help you to decide how, if at all, you wish to take advantage of these collaborative groups. We try very hard to say rigorously on focus and to avoid unnecessary overlap between these groups and ask that those involved in each try to do the same. And yes indeed, if you have ideas and clues for us as to how to do a better job on all this, please do not hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime plug into World Streets and the Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice and be part of the leading edge. Free Subscription: To sign up for your free subscription to World Transport quarterly, click-- mailto:subscribe@worldtransportjournal.org - and off we go. Eric Britton _____________________________________________________________ Francis Eric Knight-Britton, Managing Director / Editor New Mobility Partnerships | World Streets | The Equity/Transport Project 9, rue Gabillot 69003 Lyon France | T. +339 8326 9459| M. +336 5088 0787 | E. eric.britton@ecoplan.org | S. newmobility 9440 Readcrest Drive. Los Angeles, CA 90210 | Tel. +1 213 985 3501 | eric.britton@newmobility.org | Skype: ericbritton P Avant d'imprimer, pensez ? l'environnement -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 40168 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121024/863bec36/attachment-0003.jpe From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Oct 26 15:51:43 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:21:43 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Bengal private bus operators seek up to 60% hike in fares In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/bengal-private-bus-operators-seek-up-to-60-hike-in-fares/article4031608.ece Bengal private bus operators seek up to 60% hike in faresAYAN PRAMANIK Move follows increase in diesel rates; threaten indefinite strike if demand not met KOLKATA, OCT 25: Private bus operators in West Bengal are demanding a nearly 60 per cent increase in fares to cope with the hike in fuel prices. The operators may also resort to a strike if fares are not revised. ?Given the increasing operating costs, we would like the fares to go up by up to 60 per cent,? Tapan Banerjee, joint secretary of the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate , told *Business Line*. He said the bus operators? body has already submitted detailed reports on operating costs to the State transport department and requested the Government to increase the fares accordingly. Hit by a recent increase in fuel price and higher operating cost, nearly 50 per cent of the private buses have stopped plying across the State, he added. According to Indian Oil Corporation?s Web site, non-branded diesel price have gone up by about 45 per cent over the last three years since July 2009, in Kolkata. WAITING FOR ACTION ?We are eagerly waiting for a positive decision on fare hike by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before October 29. No fruitful decision may lead to an indefinite strike thereafter,? Deepak Sarkar, Vice-President of Bengal Bus Syndicate, said. Banerjee said the chief minister promised the operators of a fare hike at a meeting on October 8. He added it would be ?a natural death? of the private bus transport system in the State without an immediate hike in fares. ?Diesel price has been increased by 45 per cent here since 2009. So, the fares should go up accordingly. We are not taking the higher operating cost into account,? Sarkar said. Both the operators? associations control about 95 per cent of the 42,000-odd private buses plying across the State. JNNURM BUSES Banerjee said of the 685-odd buses under JNNURM scheme (operated on a public private partnership basis), more than 350 buses were already off the roads. This has been attributed to the widening gap between fares and higher operating costs of these buses. West Bengal is the only State that operates JNNURM buses through PPP route. ?Minimum fare for the buses running under JNNURM scheme should be increased from Rs 5 to Rs 8 (for non-AC category) with immediate effect,? he said. *ayan.pramanik@thehindu.co.in* From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Oct 29 14:25:57 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:55:57 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Bogota | Up Against The City In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.caravanmagazine.in/letters/bogota-against-city Bogota | Up Against The City Residents of Bogot? resist the urban renewal projects that displaced them from their homes By FEDERICO P?REZ | 1 October 2012 FEDERICO P?REZ FOR THE CARAVAN The site for Bogot??s Block 5 project, which has led to the eviction of many residents from the city?s downtown area *"WE?RE THE DISPLACED* persons of Block 5!? chanted Jairo, a middle-aged man, as he stood by the house his family had lived in for decades in the heart of downtown Bogot?. Behind him was the demolition site?measuring roughly 8,500 square metres?where the city government had planned the construction of a cultural centre and a housing and commercial complex. It has now been seven years since Bogot??s Company of Urban Renewal launched the Block 5 project and it has yet to take off. The cultural centre, funds for which were donated by the government of Spain, was ultimately cancelled as a result of Spain?s financial crisis, one of the worst in the eurozone, and the tough austerity measures adopted by the recently elected Spanish conservative government of Mariano Rajoy. The rest of the block was sold to a private developer in 2011 at several times the price paid by the city to the original owners. While the city government currently struggles to redefine what can only be described as state-backed real estate speculation, Jairo has managed to cling to his property on a legal technicality, at least for now. As we talked in front of the ruins, he contained his anger. ?They came in and robbed us?this has been such an odyssey,? he said. A few blocks away, in one of downtown Bogot??s first residential high-rises, built in the late 1950s, live Humberto and Margarita, a couple in their late 60s who were also evicted from Block 5. They lost their main source of income, a parking lot, and have since dedicated themselves to waging a legal battle with the city. Surrounded by aging porcelain figurines and crystal decorations in their son?s modest apartment, where they had to relocate, they shied away from talking, preferring instead to show me the facts. Sitting in their small study, they opened up an archive they had compiled over the past five years: news videos, photographs, press clippings, official letters and legal documents, among other materials, all organised in folders with dates and headings. As the couple relived their ordeal while sifting through the bureaucratic paraphernalia, it seemed as if it was their way of recovering part of what they had lost. An indignant Margarita said that what disturbs her most is having been treated in such a manner by the state. The archive, she later confessed, had taken over her life; she spent her days piecing together countless decree numbers, names of public functionaries, and technical planning terms to no avail. Finally, in between sighs, she asked Humberto, ?Whom can we talk to darling, if what they call justice is really injustice?? The Block 5 project has become a symbol of the many anxieties that surround redevelopment policies in one of Latin America?s most rapidly growing capital cities. Over the years, Bogot? has become known worldwide for its innovations in urban policy and, in particular, for the development of a successful Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system known as the Transmilenio. More recently, sustained improvements in security, economic growth, increased foreign investment and a thriving tourism industry have spurred what some are calling a construction boom and others have already warned is a real estate bubble. The sight of houses disappearing and buildings sprouting up in their place has become all too common. ?The city is constructing its second-floor,? as one urban planner described it. As vacant land within city limits becomes scarcer, the pressure to reconstruct inner city neighbourhoods has increased. The process has been piecemeal?lot by lot, the built environment expands upwards while infrastructure and public space below does not. All the while, the city has spilled over into neighbouring towns and rural areas where industrial complexes now compete with luxurious residential enclaves. In an effort to manage the unruly growth of the city, policy makers have turned to ideas of planned ?densification? to attract more people to the inner city and curb urban sprawl. Public and private sectors have now been given licence by the law to transform areas that have been slated for urban redevelopment on grounds of decay and underutilisation. Most plans have failed, however, due to bureaucratic gridlock and local divisions. And the few that are underway, such as the publicly led Block 5 project, seem to only further drive the wedge between the city?s wealthy north and the impoverished south. Bogot??s downtown lies at the crux of these urban transformations. The historic centre bears the marks of a turbulent history of political violence and social fracture. A place of power and prestige during the Spanish colony and up until the 19th century, the city centre became the main stage for Colombia?s independence struggles and anxious entrance into nationhood. Many Colombians trace the beginning of the country?s armed conflict to the assassination of populist leader and presidential candidate Jorge Eli?cer Gait?n in 1948 in the *Avenida Jim?nez *in the heart of Bogot?. The riots that ensued left a trail of rubble through several downtown districts. Interestingly, destruction by political unrest facilitated an urban operation at the time to build a modern avenue through downtown Bogot?, the *Carrera D?cima* (Tenth Avenue). The modernist ambitions of local planners, amplified by the visit of planner Le Corbusier, deepened these processes of urban destruction and reconstruction in the city?s core. The aims of political and economic elites to modernise downtown Bogot? and rid it of undesirable populations and decaying structures were never accomplished. In later decades, a bourgeois flight from the centre of the city was followed by sustained disinvestment and escalating crime. But in spite of its dwindling residential population, downtown Bogot? never ceased to be a hub of state power, economic activity, and social life. The city may have become segregated, but the centre, as the home to elite educational institutions, state services and formal and informal commerce, remained the meeting ground for stakeholders of all sorts. Still, many continue to search for ways to reverse the perceived decline of the heart of Bogot?. The city has launched several waves of renovation policies over the decades: real estate development in the 1970s, heritage preservation in the 1980s and the construction of public space in the 1990s. One idea has remained: the city centre?s renaissance depends on its repopulation. The question, of course, is renaissance for whom and according to whom. Calls to re-centre the city could well result in the middle-class re-conquest of downtown spaces at the expense of the less privileged. Yolanda, a strong-willed middle-aged woman, lives with her father in the town of Funza, more than an hour and a half west of Bogot?. The town is a prime example of the haphazard urbanisation of the city?s hinterland: green pastures are gradually filling with factories and subsidised housing projects. I met Yolanda in one of these bucolic low-income projects where she was now the manager. As she walked out through the gate, I was struck by the sight of the city behind her, at a distance, in the foothill of the tall and green eastern mountain range. As we greeted each other, she looked past the fields and remarked with sadness at how that used to be her home. Yolanda was evicted from her apartment in downtown Bogot? in 2011. The five-storey building where she lived for more than 20 years was located in an area that had been marked for urban renovation and where the city government is currently carrying out a plan called Estaci?n Central (Central Station). Several blocks were expropriated for the construction of an underground BRT station with a real estate development project above it. As in Block 5, the amount of money received by property owners made it impossible for them to find new homes in the area. ?I will never have the quality of life I used to have,? Yolanda told me as we sat in a cafeteria in Funza near the housing project where she now rents an apartment with her elderly father. ?It?s so nice now over there,? she continued. ?How is it possible that they won?t let us stay?[So it turns out] I left my home to benefit only a few.? Ironically, the real estate company in which Yolanda works as a building manager will very likely be one of the same firms looking to invest in the Estaci?n Central project that expelled her from her home. Now a renter who pays greater costs to access urban services and amenities, Yolanda and her story are reminders of how the city can be rebuilt for profit and not for people. By chance I met Jairo and Humberto from Block 5 again, in front of the Jorge Eli?cer Gait?n Theatre, a few blocks north from where the political martyr, after whom it is named, was assassinated in 1948. Downtown residents had come to the theatre to hear about the new city administration?s revitalisation policies. Bogot??s planning director Mar?a Mercedes Maldonado explained how the administration was attempting to ?overcome the distrust the previous renovation approach had brought about?with a model based on citizen associations?. Estaci?n Central, she stressed, would now be an opportunity to redress previous exclusions. During the meeting, a well-known community leader?the person who had put me in touch with Yolanda?went around the auditorium handing out small slips of paper with a message on them. The last sentence, typed in bold letters, punctuated the stakes of redirecting the city?s redevelopment policies: ?The Plan must be inclusive for all, not as it has been for the people who they already took out of La Alameda neighbourhood and are today displaced and without a roof or opportunities because what they received was not enough.? *Federico P?rez* is a PhD student at Harvard University. He is currently conducting research on urban planning and redevelopment in Bogot?. From barbara at rideyourcity.co.za Mon Oct 29 17:49:52 2012 From: barbara at rideyourcity.co.za (Barbara Jennings) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:49:52 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Photos of Lagos and Delhi Message-ID: <508E4330.6030100@rideyourcity.co.za> Hi all, I am need to source photos of the following, please help! The photos need to be high res for print purposes. - Case study on Lagos BRT -Case study on Delhi public transport Please let me know if you need more info. Many thanks, Barbara barbara@rideyourcity.co.za From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Oct 29 18:30:47 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:00:47 +0530 Subject: [sustran] =?windows-1252?Q?=93Great_City=94_To_Be_China=92s_First?= =?windows-1252?Q?_Car-Free_Metropolis?= Message-ID: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/59382/great-city-to-be-chinas-first-car-free-metropolis/ ?Great City? To Be China?s First Car-Free Metropolis *All renderings ? smithgill * Another day, another proposal for a new Chinese city. The 1.3 square-kilometer Great City, designed byAdrian Smith and Gordon Gill will be a massive new development that is completely sustainable, affordable, and, most strikingly, car-less. The masterplan, which has been planned for 80,000 people, will be built around a massive transit hub at its center, with all destinations to be within a few minutes walk, a planning innovation that would make ?Great City? China?s (and the world?s?) first pedestrian-only city. Read more. Before drawing up blueprints, Smith and Gill had to find the perfect setting for this new, 320-acre green city. They discovered a plot outside the city of Chengdu with plenty of buffer landscape including forests, valleys, and bodies of water to integrate into the city. After delineating local farm land for its preservation, the designers meticulously drafted plans that partitioned the site into several zones, reserving 15% of the land for parks and green spaces, dedicating 60% to construction, and saving the remaining 25% for roads and walkways. As for environmental factors, Great City will certainly live up to its name. The development is expected to use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a comparable town its size. It should also produce 89% less landfill waste and 60% less carbon dioxide. In addition to these features, the city will employ ?seasonal energy storage? which can carry over waste summer heat and convert it to power for winter heating and hot water. The key to Great City?s green success, of course, is not just solar panels and parks, but also its urban planning. The distance between any location in the hyper-dense city to another will be only a 15 minute walk (or less). This eliminates the need for cars, as the town is also built around a mass transit hub that connects to Chengdu and surrounding areas in minutes. The surrounding green buffer is laden with pedestrian and bike paths that weave in and out of the landscape and through the city core. The project, expected to be finished by 2021, will hopefully become home to about 30,000 families, totaling 80,000 people. ?Great City will demonstrate that high-density living doesn?t have to be polluted and alienated from nature,? says AS+GG partner Gordon Gill, ?Everything within the built environment of Great City is considered to enhance the quality of life of its residents. Quite simply, it offers a great place to live, work and raise a family.? From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Oct 29 21:26:45 2012 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:26:45 +0100 Subject: [sustran] NEW MOBILITY AGENDA/GETTING AROUND: WEB, BLOGS & SUPPORTING SOCIAL MEDIA Message-ID: <007201cdb5d0$aec036f0$0c40a4d0$@britton@ecoplan.org> NEW MOBILITY AGENDA/GETTING AROUND: WEB, BLOGS & SUPPORTING SOCIAL MEDIA http://networkdispatches.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/labyrinth.jpg?w=297&h=1 35Source:29/10/12 http://worldstreets.wordpress.com When it comes to the multiplicity of internet sites and media that together make up the at-times somewhat labyrinthine New Mobility Agenda, there is a certain logic in our gameplan. Here in summary how things look today in the hope that it will help you make better use of the considerable potential of these tools. in your work. To support the various dedicated website and blogs, we also try to being in social media. Twitter we nominally use but still have not found the hook. Facebook has its uses but it is close to zero when it comes to context and less than that for depth of coverage. More, one important job it does not handle is to provide a searchable repository not only of messages but also shared documents and threads of discussions. For that reason we try to make sure that for each Facebook group, there is a parallel YahooGroups Forum that is available to provide at least a workable approximation of this shared, searchable database function. In all cases, the moderator ensures that the discussions rigorously keep to the focus of the group in the knowledge that everyone is short on time. In several cases the original web sits have not been entirely kept up to date. This is noted in each instance. Here is how things stand on our principal projects on this sunny late October day in Lyon: WORLD STREETS BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com WEB: http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm TW: https://twitter.com/worldstreets FB: http://www.facebook.com/NewMobilityAgenda YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe JOURNAL OF WORLD TRANSPORT POLICY AND PRACTICE BLOG: https://worldtransportarchives.wordpress.com/ PUBLISHER: http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/worldtransport.html FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Transport-Archives YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldTransport CARSHARING: BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/sharetransport/carshare/ WEB: http://ecoplan.org/carshare/ TW: https://twitter.com/worldcarshare FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/worldcarshare/ YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldCarShare CITY BIKES: BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/modes/cycling/ WEB: http://www.worldcitybike.org/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/worldcitybike/ YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldCityBike CAR FREE CAF? BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/modes/cars/car-free/ WEB: http://www.worldcarfreedays.com FB: http://www.facebook.com/WorldCarFreeCafe YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarFreeCafe EQUITY-BASED TRANSPORT BLOG: http://equitytransport.wordpress.com/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/EquityTransport YG: Uses http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe TW: https://twitter.com/EquityT WORLD SHARE/TRANSPORT FORUM BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/?cat=48609120 WEB: http://sharetransport.org/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/135703483141939/ SUSTRAN GLOBAL SOUTH Blog: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/region/global-south/ YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sustran-discuss/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/worldstreets/ WOMEN IN TRANSPORT: EQUITY/EFFICIENCY WEB: http://www.ecoplan.org/gatnet/gt_index.htm (out of date) BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/users/women/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/gatnet/ Discussions: http://goo.gl/Ntq95 LAND CAF?: TAXATION/VALUE CAPTURE WEB: http://www.ecoplan.org/land/lc_index.htm (out of date) BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/economic-instruments/taxes/ FB: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LandCafe YG: groups.yahoo.com/group/landcafe/ NUOVA MOBLITA BLOG: http://nuovamobilita.wordpress.com/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/NuoMob NOVA MOBILIDADE BLOG: http://novamobilidade.wordpress.com/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/NovaMobilidade STREETS OF INDIA BLOG: http://indiastreets.wordpress.com/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/IndiaStreets TW: https://twitter.com/indiastreets ALSO on Facebook: Thinking about Africa: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thinking-about-Africa-Transport-Equity/1833965 31766673 Thinking about China: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thinking-About-ChinaTransport-Equity/332432830 112751 Streets of Iran: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Streets-of-Iran/184134385030465 Calles de Guadalajara: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Las-Calles-de-Guadalajara/252290858149223 BRITTON MEANDERINGS; NETWORK DISPATCHES: http://networkdispatches.wordpress.com/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/worldstreets YG: Uses http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe And something that I regard as more important than it may at first appear to be: WORLD STREETS WORST PRACTICES DEPARTMENT BLOG: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/category/worst-practices/ FB: http://www.facebook.com/groups/worstpractices/ YG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HaveaStupidWeekend In the hope that you may find some use in this, and as always your comments and suggestions warmly solicited. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 15232 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121029/ee79a359/attachment.jpe -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 8869 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121029/ee79a359/attachment-0001.jpe From ksakamoto at adb.org Tue Oct 30 14:39:36 2012 From: ksakamoto at adb.org (ksakamoto at adb.org) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:39:36 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Join us next week at the ADB Transport Forum: Registration still open! Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, JOIN ASIA'S LARGEST TRANSPORT FORUM ! When: 6-8 November 2012 Where: ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines Registration is FREE and STILL OPEN Transport experts, policy makers, and civil society groups will share and learn best practices and technologies on urban transport, road safety and health, green freight and transport technologies, climate change resilience, road asset management, and financing mechanisms. Highlights and special events include: - Car-free Sunday at F. Ortigas, Jr. Avenue: revitalizing community spirit through fitness, games and sports - Mayors' Forum: local leaders from all over Asia on how they are supporting and promoting sustainable urban transport in their cities - Traffic Court: who is guilty for traffic congestion, poor air quality, and deteriorating quality of life in Asia?s cities? - Beyond Rio+20: multilateral development banks on how they are fulfilling their commitment for sustainable transport - Visions for cross-border transport in 2050: enhancing regional cooperation and integration For more information and registrations, please visit us at www.adb.org/transportforum2012 We look forward to welcoming you in Manila next week! Best Regards, ADB Transport Forum organizing team. ________________________________________________________ Ko Sakamoto Transport Economist Sustainable Infrastructure Division Regional and Sustainable Development Department Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel: +63 2 683 1664 Fax: +63 2 636 2198 Email: ksakamoto@adb.org http://www.adb.org ADB Transport is on: Twitter: www.twitter.com/adbtransport Facebook: www.facebook.com/ADBTransportForum YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC22FD57B214933D4 ADB Transport Forum 2012 Register at www.adb.org/transportforum2012 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121030/d12d590c/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 24720 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121030/d12d590c/attachment-0001.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ADB Transport Forum annoucement.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 106158 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20121030/d12d590c/ADBTransportForumannoucement-0001.bin From kanthikannan at gmail.com Wed Oct 31 13:48:47 2012 From: kanthikannan at gmail.com (Kanthimathi Kannan) Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:18:47 +0530 Subject: [sustran] (no subject) Message-ID: Dear all Greetings!! Can some one please provide me the contact details of Romit Roy? also any other experts in the field of pedestrian infrastructure? The GHMC Commissioner plansto have a meeting regarding pedestrian infrastructure design Thanks Kanthi From carlosfpardo at gmail.com Wed Oct 31 22:08:16 2012 From: carlosfpardo at gmail.com (Carlosfelipe Pardo) Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:08:16 -0500 Subject: [sustran] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Bogot=E1_21_-_towards_a_world-class_tran?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?sit-oriented_metropolis?= Message-ID: <509122C0.1030808@gmail.com> Hi, You may be interested in this book + video that we published yesterday. Comments and questions are most welcome. News item (spanish, but includes video) http://despacio.org/2012/10/30/bogota-21-publicado/ Direct link to book in English: http://despacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bogota-21-english.pdf Carlos. -- Please note: I will answer more quickly if you write to pardo@despacio.org (paradoxically) Nota: responder? m?s rapidamente si me escribe a pardo@despacio.org (parad?jicamente)