<html> <body> Victoria, British Columbia is considered one of the world's most livable cities, but it also has problems with public urination (<a href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=b3d6a1b2-0f66-4529-8ba7-f9b5ae55f299" eudora="autourl"> http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=b3d6a1b2-0f66-4529-8ba7-f9b5ae55f299</a> ), ugly and disorderly development, homeless people crowding sidewalks, and the perception that government is inefficient due to multiple, conflicting levels of government and inefficient institutions. I've worked in developing countries and know how difficult it often seems, but such conditions also offer the greatest potential for cost-effective improvement. For example, several very poor and corrupt cities have implemented BRT systems which include both physical improvements and reforms that reduce conflicts (including violence) and corruption within the bus industry - the key is to find an ownership and payment structure that rewards operators based on service quality rather than simple volume. I was recently delighted to hear that South Africa is implementing such a system (<a href="http://itdp.org/STe/ste23/johannesburg.html" eudora="autourl"> http://itdp.org/STe/ste23/johannesburg.html </a>) which should significantly reduce transport problems and improve mobility for economically disadvantaged people, and we hope will inspire similar systems in other African countries. If you only see problems and negative examples you are overlooking the many, many opportunities and successes. My advice is to approach these problems with a positive attitude and apply "change management" techniques (see http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm114.htm ). An excellent resource is "Sustainable Transportation: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing Countries," by the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (<a href="http://www.sutp.org" eudora="autourl">www.sutp.org</a>), which includes modules on institutional reforms and enforcement practices, in addition to my own module on Mobility Management (available in English, Spanish and Chinese). The, admittedly substantial challenges we face make the successes even more satisfying! Best wishes, -Todd Litman At 03:33 PM 4/17/2007, Jonathan E. D. Richmond wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">On my flight from Chennai to London today I found myself seated next to the vice-president for US operations of one of India's most significant companies. A perceptive and sophisticated individual, he provided me insight into many realities of Indian business, government, and social life. We talked about management and mismanagement -- where things work in India, where they fail. He did not mince his words in describing failings, and smiled when I told him about the response on this list to my truthtelling. My views about the tragedy of cities of despair such as Chennai are unchanged: the place is mostly a dump, as I said, people urinate in the street making large areas stink, development is ugly and disorderly, and the system of corruption that prevents changetaking place is alive and well. The poor sleep out on the streets, their children looking frail sprawled out on the pavements at night. What future can these children have without the promise of an adequate education or a government with the decency to care about them? So I continue to believe that before a city can plan for itself, it must be able to keep its public toilets clean and other basic public services running, and it must try to remove at least some of the corruption which gets in the way of productive change. Leading Indians are quite convinced of this need, and Westerners connected with development must move from futile academic thinking to facing the harsh reality of dysfunctional organizations filled with dishonest people which are in need of basic reforms. So, be unhappy about being told the truth if you like -- but understand that hiding distasteful realities helps perpetuate them.                                       --Jonathan ----- Jonathan Richmond 1 (617) 395-4360 e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu <a href="http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/" eudora="autourl"> http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/</a> -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to <a href="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss" eudora="autourl"> http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</a> to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). </blockquote> <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> Sincerely, Todd Alexander Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (<a href="http://www.vtpi.org" eudora="autourl">www.vtpi.org</a>) litman@vtpi.org Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA “Efficiency - Equity - Clarity”   </body> </html>