[sustran] In the long run we all are . ..

[Eric Britton]

Our friend and colleague Robert Stussi from Portugal kindly sent me the attached
work program which describes the focus of one of the three technical sessions
being organized as part of the forthcoming conference in November of this year
of the Mo.Ve Forum which was created in 2002 to enhance sustainable mobility.
The founding organisations are: ACI, RACC, RACE, Oeamtc and Methodos. The
association is open to Automobile Clubs of Europe and to other public or private
organisations with the specific interest in sustainable mobility. You can find
full details on their meeting and the forum on their website at
http://www.move-forum.net/. 

 

It looks like quite an interesting collection of papers, but I do notice the
strong stress on the hopes for technological change as the way out of our
present situation of gross un-sustainability (new energy sources, cleaner
vehicles and fuels) and in parallel with this a preponderance of emphasis on
longer term considerations - which set them distinctly apart from our chosen
focus of the New Mobility Advisory/Briefs which as you know are about to be
launched on Friday (http://newmobilitybriefs.org <http://newmobilitybriefs.org/>
).

 

As I studied the program, I thought it might be useful to add the following to
the Briefs site, which I have now done - and concerning which I would be very
eager to have your comments and critical remarks. I think it is important to be
balanced and fair - and that is precisely what I an trying to be here. 

 

I look forward to your remarks and will be pleased to try to integrate them into
the more definitive version of the following working draft as posted this
morning.

 

Eric Britton

 

 


In the long run we all are . .. 

Well, dead! 

But this is not the reason why within the New Mobility Agenda and this program
in particular we are not giving what some may regard as "due attention" to long
run considerations and strategies in our clearly benighted sector. Here in a few
quick bullets is why we have decided to concentrate our efforts over the next
several years within the Advisory/Briefs program one hundred percent on the very
short term: 

1.	There are plenty of groups and programs around the world busy focusing
on long term considerations, which if course is absolutely critical if we are to
be responsible. (Click here
<http://www.ecoplan.org/briefs/general/partners-world.htm>  for a good sample.)
Typical planning and action horizons string out to 2020, 2030, 2050 and beyond,
enriched by projections, forecasts, predictions, scenarios, re-forecasts,
backcasts, Delphi exercises and other tools of the long term planning industry.
In many cases these programs have very significant financial and institutional
support. And this is all well and good. But if we were asked to give our
evaluation of these efforts on the basis of what we have seen thus far and in
the face of the overall priorities as we understand them, we would judge them as
"necessary but insufficient". 
2.	Within the New Mobility Agenda by contrast we are struck with a sense of
emergency and a need for immediate action in a way which is closer to that of
deciding what needs to be done in the face of a natural disaster or war zone.
Thus, we say that this is a situation of High Emergency!! (What do you say?) 
3.	High emergency? Either it is or it isn't -- and if you click to the
Challenge section here you will see our reasons for the position we take on
this. And what do you do in a situation of high emergency? You look hard, you
mobilize, you act, and you never stop looking hard as things continue to develop
and evolve day after day on the battlefield. 
4.	And behind this all, we need to bear in mind that every day we put off
specific near term strategic action and start to generate the pattern changes
that are called for in our cities (and on our planet for that matter), there are
(a) people, groups and interests that continue to damaged and handicapped by the
gross dysfunctionality of our transportation arrangements. And in parallel with
these, there are (b) groups and interests who each day are doing very nicely
indeed out of the present inertial arrangements and are in fact profiting from
keeping things much as they are. ( I'll leave it to you to figure out who they
are, and if you happen to know any of them personally tell them that they have a
chance to make a difference for their cities, their families, and yes for
themselves by getting behind programs for meaningful short term changes that can
show visible results in two or three years. Nothing will ever look the same once
we have set off on that path. Which brings us to our last point.) 
5.	Changing a transportation system, even some parts of it, changing a
city, making a difference in people's daily lives is not only a cerebral but
also a muscular activity. It is not something that you can achieve solely by
sitting in front of a computer screen or meeting with people much like yourself.
And since it requires a level of intensity of effort and involvement which is
far difference from our former ways, it seems reasonable to expect that we will
emerge from this first round of intense activity changes with rather different
views of what it is that needs to be done and what indeed we can do about it. We
will, like the walker or cyclist, be whipping ourselves into collective shape to
do something about all this in time to make a difference. 
6.	And finally, by taking action we will for sure alter once and for all
our perceptions of the entire problematique. This is important and needs to be
made clear. We are today looking at the issues and trade-offs from a position of
(a) gross systemic dysfunctionality and (b) long held habit of inertia which
lock us into (c) 'old <http://www.ecoplan.org/briefs/general/old-mobility.htm>
mobility' thinking . To be unkind but accurate we are today losers and thus take
a certain passivity and loser attitude to the challenges before us. But once you
and your city begin to make real progress, once the people there start to see
that they can change and make a difference, a whole new world of attitudes and
priorities will certainly emerge. Thus, if we move on this now, when it comes
time in 2010 to think again about the longer term and what we can and should do
about it, things are going to look very different indeed. 

And that Sir, as our 'man in the street' says in the short clip, An
<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6479435200757745813>  Unexpected
Interview in Groningen: "We are the inventors of a new world, my Friend.
Statistically you can prove it". ;-) 


Conclusion: 

*	50% of all funding in the sector in and around cities between 2007 and
2010 should focus on short term changes 


Your views on this recommendation? 

*	Click here <mailto:NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com>  to send to your
comments to the New <mailto:NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com>  Mobility Idea
Factory. 

 

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