From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 1 02:01:32 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:01:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit Message-ID: <1238518892160.11678431-f0be-4519-82da-061343466885@google.com> [http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/curitibas-brt/] >From Elizabeth Press and our friends from Streetfilms: Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit. Click here for video. Curitiba, Brazil first adopted its Master Plan in 1968. Since then, it has become a city well known for inventive urban planning and affordable (to the user and the city) public transportation. Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit system is the source of inspiration for many other cities including the TransMilenio in Bogot?, Colombia; Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador; as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles. This video illustrates how Curitiba's public transportation system operates and the urban planning and land use principles on which it is based, including an interview with the former Mayor and architect Jaime Lerner. Current city employees also discuss the improvements that are being made to the system to keep it up to date and functioning at the capacity of a typical subway system. Curitiba is currently experimenting with adding bypassing lanes on the dedicated BRT routes and smart traffic lights to prioritize buses. They are even constructing a new line which will have a linear park and 18km of bike lane that parallels the bus transit route. - - - - And note Jaime Lerner's brilliant last words: "If you want creativity from your budget, cut it by one zero. If you want sustainability, cut it by two zeros. And if you want to make it happen, do it fast". Let's think about that one.The Editor -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 3/31/2009 02:59:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090331/c24cc0b3/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 1 18:00:56 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 02:00:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Toolbox: Walk Score your city Message-ID: <1238576456048.e5c36137-f30f-4ab8-b6bf-002589825630@google.com> [http://www.walkscore.com/how-it-works.shtml] 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Here is an interesting tool that Christopher Hart, Director of Urban and Transit Projects of the Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston brought to our attention in the last days:- Walk Score 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} To quote from their webpage on ?How It Works? Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle?not how pretty the area is for walking. What does my score mean? Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score: 90?100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car. 70?89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car. 50?69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car. 25?49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must. 0?24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car! The Walk Score? Algorithm: Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)?no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0?100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk. (Your Walk Score may change as our data sources are updated or as we improve our algorithm. Check out how Walk Score doesn't work. What do you think makes a neighborhood walkable? We built the Walk Score algorithm to measure the factors that we think are important to walkability. What makes a neighborhood walkable to you? Let us know and we'll publish your answers on our blog. == end == For the rest click to http://www.walkscore.com/ Now the World Streets angle on this. Until now their algorithm works only in the US. So we got in touch and asked about what would be needed to make this into an international tool. To which they answered ?we are looking into how we can open source Walk Score to collaborate with people on making it work better internationally. We're a small, but hard working, team so we're not there yet, but we hope to be soon.? So if you have any ideas about how to bring this (or something like it) to your city, you may want to exchange some thoughts with Mike Maisen at maisen@frontseat.org . And keep us informed, since I am sure that many of us living outside the US would like to see how our city stacks up. (I know I would.) The Editor -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/01/2009 07:39:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090401/9d508e58/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 1 21:41:57 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 05:41:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Toolbox: Walk Score your city Message-ID: <1238589717577.30c71820-cae0-46ec-b890-979bc84ee7ad@google.com> [http://www.walkscore.com/how-it-works.shtml] 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Here is an interesting tool that Christopher Hart, Director of Urban and Transit Projects of the Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston brought to our attention in the last days:- Walk Score 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} To quote from their webpage on ?How It Works? Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle?not how pretty the area is for walking. What does my score mean? Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score: 90?100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car. 70?89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car. 50?69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car. 25?49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must. 0?24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car! The Walk Score? Algorithm: Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)?no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0?100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk. (Your Walk Score may change as our data sources are updated or as we improve our algorithm. Check out how Walk Score doesn't work. What do you think makes a neighborhood walkable? We built the Walk Score algorithm to measure the factors that we think are important to walkability. What makes a neighborhood walkable to you? Let us know and we'll publish your answers on our blog. == end == For the rest click to http://www.walkscore.com/ Now the World Streets angle on this. Until now their algorithm works only in the US. So we got in touch and asked about what would be needed to make this into an international tool. To which they answered ?we are looking into how we can open source Walk Score to collaborate with people on making it work better internationally. We're a small, but hard working, team so we're not there yet, but we hope to be soon.? So if you have any ideas about how to bring this (or something like it) to your city, you may want to exchange some thoughts with Mike Maisen at maisen@frontseat.org . And keep us informed, since I am sure that many of us living outside the US would like to see how our city stacks up. (I know I would.) The Editor -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/01/2009 07:39:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090401/26c8eeb2/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 1 23:00:52 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 07:00:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Shared Space progress in the UK Message-ID: <1238594451850.1a6c7aa9-9cc6-4678-98ff-6afe55f0d272@google.com> [http://www.ashford.gov.uk/news_and_events/latest_news/more_towns_follow_ashford.aspx] Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Report from Ashford UK. Where Ashford leads in urban planning and street design, others follow ? that seems to be the message after it was revealed that more than a dozen UK towns are also adopting shared space concepts to help improve their streetscapes. Last month it was reported that Staines, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hereford and Edbinburgh were all considering redesigning their urban streets using the principles of shared space which have been successfully introduced in Ashford over the past year. Now further research has shown that more than 12 other UK cities and towns are also interested in adopting the shared space concept. These include Oxford, the Suffolk towns of Felixstowe and Ipswich, Poynton and Macclesfield in Cheshire, Torquay and Babbacombe in Devon, Stromness on Orkney, two separate locations in Blackpool, the Essex town of Colchester and various sites in Dorset. Local authorities in most of these locations are believed to be in the early stages of design development as part of local regeneration projects; however Blackpool Council is about to begin construction work on a shared space scheme covering two sites in the bustling seaside resort. New Inn Hall Street, in the heart of Oxford?s congested city centre, has been earmarked for redevelopment using a shared space approach similar to that adopted in Ashford. In November, Ashford completed the first phase of its award-winning shared space project to transform its 1970s ring road into quality, two-way streets in which drivers, cyclists and pedestrians have equal priority. The scheme has opened up the town centre to make it more attractive to residents, businesses and visitors. The ?15.6m scheme has been implemented by Kent County Council and forms part of a ?2.5bn public and private sector investment programme for Ashford. Unnecessary street furniture, road markings and traffic lights have been removed and the speed limit cut to 20mph. Road surfaces have been replaced with high-quality materials, wider footpaths and low kerbs, to create a distinctive streetscape, while artists are transforming the public space along the road into an attractive tree-lined environment. Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford?s Future, the agency overseeing Ashford?s growth programme, said she was delighted that the town had created a blueprint for other towns to follow. ?The scheme has made our town centre more attractive to residents and visitors and it?s playing a vital role in unlocking the commercial development potential of Ashford.? Kent County Council Leader Paul Carter said: ?The scheme looks absolutely fantastic. It's just what Ashford needs. It's very modern and contemporary, and very well designed. This is the first stage. We have got to build other highway schemes when we get the funding from the Government or developer contributions. ?It's a completely different experience. It's a shared space where people change their behaviours - both motorists and pedestrians. The professionals say it does make drivers and pedestrians more cautious and has worked in other countries.? Urban design expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie, who was involved in the shared space project in Ashford, said he was not surprised that so many town planners were waking up to the potential of using the shared space approach to revitalise their public places. ?While it is true that no two schemes or circumstances are ever alike when comparing the needs of different places, planners in town halls across the UK are beginning to realise that designing street projects based on shared space principles is the way forward.? Source: http://www.ashford.gov.uk/news_and_events/latest_news/more_towns_follow_ashford.aspx -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 3/31/2009 01:51:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090401/b0585390/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Thu Apr 2 15:37:59 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:37:59 +0700 Subject: [sustran] GTZ-SUTP Newsletter Jan-Mar'09 Message-ID: <49D45D47.20000@sutp.org> GTZ - Sustainable Urban Transport Project Newsletter **January - March 2009** This is the text version of the newsletter. A PDF of the same can be downloaded from http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/Jan-Mar-09.pdf ************************ In This Edition 1. Joint initiative on transport and climate change 2. New publications 3. News 4. Sustainable transport related events 5. How can Sustainable Urban Transport contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions 6. Further reading *For Your Information: *All the documents mentioned in this newsletter are available for download at no charge from the SUTP website (http://www.sutp.org) any queries can be sent to sutp@sutp.org. ------------------------- 1. Joint Initiative on Transport and Climate Change Transport is recognised as a key contributing factor to GHG emissions. However, compared to other issues like deforestation or energy, transport plays a minor role under the current regime and in the negotiations of the Post-Kyoto process. There is recognition that transport is a significant part of the solution and many transport related organisations are discussing the links between transport and climate change. One of the main barriers to achieving an effective link between transport and climate change, is a clear understanding of the different negotiation streams and how to develop a clear targeted strategy to integrate transport into the current negotiations. The Conference of Parties (COP) 2009 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7 and December 18, 2009. GTZ, TRL, Veolia Transport and UITP are working to facilitate the process in 2009 to improve the link between the transport sector and the climate change negotiations. More information on: http://www.sutp.org/bridging_the_gap/ Bibliography on transport and climate change: http://www.sutp.org/bridging_the_gap/tc_Bibliography.html Urban Transport and Climate Change Action Plans: http://www.sutp.org/bridging_the_gap/downloads/Transport&ClimateChangeActionPlans_SE20032009.pdf ------------------------- 2. New Publications GTZ Compilation of Urban Transport Policy And Planning Documents For the convenience of its visitors and members, GTZ has compiled a list of urban mobility documents from cities across all the continents. The document includes links to various transport white papers, policy documents from city and national governments and also from multilateral organisations. Download: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1386&Itemid=1 GTZ International Fuel Prices - Data Preview Report GTZ released a data preview report of the "GTZ International Fuel Prices" publication. This document provides an overview of retail prices of gasoline and diesel in more than 170 countries based on our survey in mid-November 2008. For more information on the fuel prices initiative please visit http://www.gtz.de/fuelprices Download: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1369&Itemid=1 Module 3c: Bus Regulation and Planning Now In Korean The GTZ sourcebook module on "Bus Regulation and Planning" authored by Mr. Richard Meakin has been translated into Korean. The document was translated by the Kongju National University, under the guidance of Prof. Jin Young Park. Download: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1360&Itemid=1 ------------------------- 3. News January 2009 New York, First U.S. City to Win the Sustainable Urban Transport Award New York City has won the 2009 Sustainable Transport Award over stiff competition from Beijing, Istanbul, Mexico City and Milan, which are receiving honourable mentions. The award presentation for the winner and four honourable mention cities took place at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC as part of the Transportation Research Board Annual Conference, which attracted 10,000 transportation professionals from around the world. Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 Ministerial Declaration On Global Environment And Energy In Transport Signed Transport ministers and representatives from 20 countries* including the European commission signed the "Ministerial declaration on Global Environment and Energy in Transport" on the 16th January 2009, in Tokyo, Japan. Through the declaration the signatories recognise the various issues related to transport and identify possible means for minimising the negative impacts. Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1380&Itemid=1 Signing Of GEF-LAC Grant Agreement for The Regional Sustainable Transport Project And Air Quality Program The GEF-LAC Grant Agreement between the Clean Air Institute and the World Bank for the implementation of the Regional Sustainable Transport Project and Air Quality Program has been signed in Washington on January 15, 2009. GTZ-SUTP, as one of the implementing partners, attended the meeting. GTZ has been providing full assistance in the development of this proposal, specifically on the component of capacity building. Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1377&Itemid=1 --- February 2009 GTZ-SUTP Organised a Training Course on Non-Motorised Transport In Seoul As a pre-event to the 4th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum, GTZ-SUTP organised a training course on "Non-Motorised Transport in Urban Areas, in Seoul, S. Korea. The event was organised on 23rd February 2009 in cooperation with Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-Ce, Netherlands), United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) and Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), Korea. Mr. Jeroen Buis, I-Ce was the lead trainer while Mr. Manfred Breithaupt, GTZ's Senior Transport Advisor and SUTP Project Director, was a co-trainer. Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1412&Itemid=40?=uk 4th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum In Seoul, Korea The Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime Affairs of the Government of Korea, the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), and the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan jointly organised the Fourth Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum from 24 to 26 February 2009 in Seoul, Korea. Mr. Manfred Breithaupt, GTZ Senior Transport Advisor and Project Director of SUTP, participated in the event as an International Expert. Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1378&Itemid=40 ------------------------- 4. Sustainable Transport Related Events Title: XV CLAPTU Location: Buenos Aires, AG Date: 31.03.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=314 Title: Future Urban Transport Location: Gotenburg, SE Date: 19.04.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=252 Title: Velo-city 2009 Location: Brussels, BE Date: 12.05.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=305 Title: 58th World Congress on Mobility Location: Vienna, AT Date: 07.06.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=208 Title: ICLEI World Congress Location: Edmonton, CA Date: 14.06.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=269 Title: CPN China Week 2009 Location: Beijing/Chengdu, CN Date: 15.06.2009 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=315 ------------------------- 5. How Can Sustainable Urban Transport Contribute To The Reduction Of GHG Emissions * this article is based on the module by GTZ titled "Transport and Climate Change" written by Mr. Holger Dalkmann, TRL and Charlotte Brannigan Climate Change is currently a major challenge for most nations. Human activities such as excessive burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and waste generation exacerbate this situation. The effects of these actions can be seen in various forms around the globe. Melting of ice caps, raising sea levels, unpredictable rainfall patterns, heat waves are just a few to name. It has been found that future effects will be more frequent in developing countries. Most of these countries rapidly deplete their natural resources and are increasingly imitating the consumptive attitude of the west. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector also play an important role in the climate change issue. Carbon dioxide (CO2), a GHG, emissions from the transport sector has risen by the fastest rate in the past three decades. From 1990 to 2004, CO2 emissions from the transport sector alone rose by 36.5%. In developing countries esp. China, India, and other Asian countries the change in lifestyles is driving people to increased automobile usage. This has increased the demand for fossil fuels and automobile oriented infrastructure. Tackling the problem Transport is intertwined in nature with social and economic conditions of a city, and is an area that is very difficult to penetrate and solve its emissions problem in isolation. Bypassing old technologies and patterns and fostering innovative methods is the fastest way for developing countries to turn over a new leaf. Three fundamental strategies to reduce GHG's from transport are: * Avoid (travel by motorised means) * Shift (to cleaner and environmentally friendly modes) and * Improve (the efficiency of existing transport systems and technology) In order to achieve the above-mentioned strategies there are instruments available that fall in the following categories and effectively reduce the greenhouse gases if properly implemented. a. Planning Instruments: Proper planning can reduce the need to travel and increase accessibility. It can also enable the implementation of new infrastructure such as improved public transit, or newer mass transit options, non-motorised lanes and encourage walking. E.g.: Integrated land use planning, high density development. b. Regulatory Instruments: Proper implementation of these instruments would control the existing vehicular population and can avoid the use of old vehicles. These instruments also bring a sense of standard among the automobile users. E.g.: Standardising the vehicles, Mandatory air pollution tests c.Fiscal and Economic Instruments: These fiscal and economic instruments can discourage the use of unnecessary vehicle trips and when properly implemented will reduce equity problems in transport users. These instruments could also provide a financial source, for the city government, that could be later used for public transport improvement. E.g.: Road pricing, congestion charging, parking pricing, fuel pricing. d. Information Instruments: These set of instruments provide the stakeholders with the available options for them in their city to travel. This will enable the citizens to increase their awareness and hence trigger a shift from their cars. E.g.: Public awareness campaigns, Travelsmart, public feedback on achievements e. Technological Instruments: These instruments foster the innovative achievements in technology related to transport. Shifting to cleaner fuels, reducing end-of-pipe emissions and eco-driving fall under this category. In unavoidable cases, using these instruments will enable environmentally safe travelling by motorised transport to a certain extent. E.g.: Low friction lubricants, gear shift indicators, Biodiesel, Ethanol, hybrid cars The majority of the instruments cited above can be implemented with medium-to-low costs, moreover some of the instruments can show immediate fiscal benefits for the city government while some provide intangible benefits in the long run such as reduced air pollution and congestion, increased liveability. GTZ-SUTP's Role In Mitigating Climate Change Mitigating transport problems and hence addressing the climate change issue from the transport sector has been one of the major goals for GTZ-SUTP. As steps to achieve the goals, GTZ-SUTP has developed a series of modules collectively called "Sourcebook" which describes current transport issues. Recently, there have been new modules focussing directly on CDM (titled Module 5d: The CDM in the Transport Sector) and Climate Change (titled 5e: Transport and Climate Change). These modules are available for free download from the SUTP website http://www.sutp.org . GTZ-SUTP provides technical assistance on various sustainable transport topics including BRT planning, Non-motorised transportation, Public awareness, Transport Demand Management, and sustainable funding. To get more information on our activities please visit http://www.sutp.org or http://www.sutp.cn (for users in China) or send an email to sutp[at]sutp.org. ------------------------- 6. Further Reading * Assessing the benefits of public transport http://www.uitp.org/mos/focus/FPBenefits-en.pdf * Integrating public transport & urban planning: a virtuous circle http://www.uitp.org/mos/focus/FPurbanplanning-en.pdf * Urban Transport Leaders Summit 2008 Proceedings http://www.ltaacademy.gov.sg/world_urban1.htm * "50 by 50" - Making Cars 50% More Fuel Efficient by 2050 http://www.fiafoundation.org/50by50/Documents/50BY50_report.pdf * The Fleet Forum Fleet Safety Guide http://www.fleetforum.org/ * Urban Bus Specifications India http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ut/urbanbus_spec.pdf * UNEP, March 2009: Global Green New Deal ? A Policy Brief http://www.unep.org/pdf/A_Global_Green_New_Deal_Policy_Brief.pdf Note: Any further queries regarding this document can be addressed to sutp[at]sutp.org. All the documents mentioned here are available for download from the SUTP website. http://www.sutp.org (This is the text version of the newsletter. A PDF of the same can be downloaded from the http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/Jan-Mar-09.pdf ) ********************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/b62ca171/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Thu Apr 2 18:40:53 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 02:40:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! TransAlt Tasked with Renaming American Autos Message-ID: <1238665252881.fed4894b-0b5f-4e59-a1cd-834168280b56@google.com> [http://transalt.org/newsroom/releases/3152] Release Date April 1, 2009 Press Release Contact WASHINGTON - In a move that stunned industry insiders, President Obama announced that the New York City-based nonprofit Transportation Alternatives would be responsible for renaming hundreds of American-made automobiles. The decision, a last-minute addition to his auto-Industry bailout package, is considered a precursor to the President's larger 'Truth in Advertising' agenda. "I'm sick of all their lies," said President Obama, when asked why he ripped off the Suburban name-plate on his Presidential vehicle and replaced it with a bumper sticker reading "Jerk Mobile." The President has disliked corporate doublespeak for many years. It now appears that he has set his reformer-sites squarely on an industry renowned for misrepresenting its product through ads and branding. "This guy is awesome," said Transportation Alternatives executive director Paul Steely White, as he and President Obama unveiled the Cadillac Bailout XXXL (Obesity Edition). Other names introduced in this first-round of rebrands include the Chevrolet Impaler, the Dodge Stratospheric Ozone Depleter, the Ford Impotenza, the Jeep Mangler, the Chevrolet Asthma, the GMC (Saudi) Envoy and the Pontiac Pen15. ### [Editor's note: I am sure that the TransAlt rename team will appreciate international help for their gigantic task. Send your nominations right here to their fearless leader Mr. Steely White who awaits them with real interst. And you tell tell him that we sent you.] Source: Image courtesy of New York Observer article. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/01/2009 11:21:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/308b9fe6/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Thu Apr 2 20:01:08 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:31:08 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Does a city need the BRT? Message-ID: <86b8a7050904020401y7cfa9fc6ya99c2b088bbdcf7f@mail.gmail.com> http://www.livemint.com/2009/04/01212823/Does-a-city-need-the-BRT.html?h=C Does a city need the BRT? This is the third in an eight-part series on life in our cities. It will appear every alternate Thursday Gautam Bhatia Asiad Village is one of New Delhi?s more upmarket addresses. It?s near where I live, and on many mornings I have seen a car racing along the main road, a man engrossed in a newspaper on the back seat. As it nears a municipal dump (where in any case the garbage is more often than not dumped outside rather than in), the driver tosses a bag of garbage on the road, without even slowing. The plastic rips and spreads the pile of vegetable peels, chicken bones and eggshells on the street. The car races on.[image: Locking horns: The Chirag Dilli stretch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, which has earned the wrath of many and given rise to heated debate over the desirability of such a system. Madhu Kapparath / Mint]Locking horns: The Chirag Dilli stretch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, which has earned the wrath of many and given rise to heated debate over the desirability of such a system. Madhu Kapparath / Mint To say that the Indian middle class is pampered and spoilt is to make a statement of little value. Throughout the world, it is no secret that the middle class determines the quality of urban life. Its ability to buy or rent space, its capacity for consumption, its requirements for offices, schools, parks, recreation, shopping, and indeed, its needs for transportation, all set the tone for the city. Yet there is little in the actions of the Indian middle class that shows concern for citizens that don?t belong to it. It uses the city on its own terms, with a selfish emphasis on convenience, requiring unencumbered access to shopping, insisting on alighting and parking only at doorsteps, waging continual territorial wars over private space, and usurping all that belongs in the public realm. It grabs sidewalks, seizes airspace, cantilevers illegally and reclaims all that belongs to others for its own purposes. However minuscule a minority, the middle class has the power to hold the city to ransom. And it does. *Also Read *City Centre?s earlier articles The Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, system has faced the direct ire of Delhi?s middle class. Connecting the city?s posh southern colonies to the working district around Connaught Place, the experiment cut room for itself on the centre of one of the busiest arteries, leaving little space for private vehicles. Unused to the mismatch of road space between the private car and the public bus, many have raised their voices at the most potent venue for debate: the cocktail party. In upper class drawing rooms, voices are raised in uniform condemnation of the new mode of public transport: ?I spent 2 hours in traffic?; ?I was stuck at the light for 45 minutes, *yaar*, this BRT just doesn?t work. Why don?t they scrap it?? The same people who will spend hours labouring on New York City sidewalks without a squeak, or carrying heavy packages in and out of the London Underground without so much as a groan, will mount a scathing offensive if made to walk on Mumbai?s Cuffe Parade or Bangalore?s Brigade Road. Without a driver waiting with an open car door at the kerb, no trip in the city is possible. Their sharp refrain carries none of the concerns for the larger benefit of any urban idea, which is condemned simply for private inconvenience and the fear of lost status. Why should a bank clerk get to work on time while I, in my Toyota, am delayed at his expense? Transport, like everything else in the city, needs to share the burdens of the class divide. Is the supposed failure of any public project always to be measured from a singular perspective? Is it possible for the few car owners who are inconvenienced to see that the BRT has been greatly beneficial to the multitudes of bus passengers commuting to office every day? For every one of those car owners, seven bus commuters get to work in relative comfort and efficiency. But when less than 20% of all movement in the city is by private transport, is the silent majority?travelling by bus, cycling, or walking?ever going to be heard? Unlikely. The idea of the BRT was adapted for implementation in Delhi by the Indian Institute of Technology, and it is indeed a shame that the project had none of the public support that a new initiative deserves. Of course, there is a reason why the BRT has been successful in Bogota, Colombia, and Jakarta, Indonesia, and not in New Delhi. The original model was planned as a complete system that considered people?s passage through pedestrian paths, tunnel links and bridge access. The system not only worked as an efficient organism but also created the necessary moments of pause? sit-outs, self-contained flower gardens, kiosks, etc?that made movement in the city worth the experience. The BRT?s success or failure is linked intrinsically to our ability to reproduce second-rate clones of foreign ideas. Without underpasses, speed control, or incentives for car owners to use the alternative, the New Delhi attempt was half-hearted and incomplete. It took only the picture of a cow squatting happily in one of the lanes to give an indication of the local conditions within which the foreign copy was set. In its search for ways to accommodate the increasing number of commuters in a growing city, the government needs to seriously rethink transportation possibilities, away from the conventions in other countries?perhaps a radical shift in practice to schemes that allow people to abandon private cars altogether: to develop traffic master plans for a range of metro, A-grade and B-grade cities that effectively integrate all forms of public transport into a comprehensive map. The idea is to come up with individual and imaginative alternatives to private transport which has, as a failed model, thus far consumed almost a third of city space? space that could well be used for parks and recreation. Transport planners know very well that it is possible to link all points in the city through BRTs, metros, three-wheelers, cycle rickshaws and pedestrian sidewalks. With a road system free of private cars, the city will not just breathe easier, but will once again become a place for all its citizens. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/6e1521e6/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri Apr 3 00:20:19 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 17:20:19 +0200 Subject: [sustran] PRT is back again. Message-ID: <02dd01c9b3a6$96c621c0$c4526540$@britton@ecoplan.org> I?ll like to invite comment on this project. It is not the first time around for PRT. Forty years later and they are still hammering at the door. Will it open this time? Share your thoughts on that via the New Mobility Caf? ? posting to NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com. From: Polis [mailto:polis@polis-online.org] Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 5:01 PM To: eric.britton@ecoplan.org Subject: Advanced Transport Systems Conference Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. CityMobil midterm workshop at PRT@LHR - 21-23 April 2009, Heathrow Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. PRT@LHR - A conference to mark the world's first Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. The CityMobil project _____ Towards advanced transport for the urban environment CityMobil is a major five-year, EU co-funded research and development project that is examining the implications of integrating automated transport systems into the urban environment. Three real-life pilot projects are the basis of the investigations which are the ULTra system at Heathrow, the Cybercar at the new Rome Exhibition Centre and the Hi-Tech bus in Castell?n. In addition to the 3 demonstrations, a series of showcases and small-scale demonstrations are being held at different cities aroud Europe. More information on CityMobil at www.citymobil-project.eu Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. The midterm workshop of the CityMobil project will be an integral part of the international conference on personal rapid transit, LHR@PRT, which will provide insight to the ULTra system at London's Heathrow Airport and present developments elsewhere in Europe. Delegates will also learn about other types of automated transport systems during the CityMobil session along with presentations on CityMobil's main research activities. The PRT system at Heathrow This year the world's first Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system will open at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR). The system will comprise some 4 km of track and will link one station in terminal 5 to 2 alternative stations on the business carpark. This simple application will later be expanded to include 30 km of track, 350 vehicles and 50 stations serving terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5 and linking them to office blocks and hotels in the vicinity of the airport. If you are interested in advanced transport systems for the urban environment, come and join us at PRT@LHR Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. For more information about PRT@LHR, visit: www.prtatheathrow.com We apologise for any cross-posting. Suzanne Hoadley Polis - European cities and regions networking for innovative transport solutions _____ email: shoadley@polis-online.org phone: +32 2 500 56 73 web: http://www.polis-online.org Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Image removed by sender. Forward email This email was sent to eric.britton@ecoplan.org by polis@polis-online.org. Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe ? | Privacy Policy . Email Marketing by Polis | Rue du Tr?ne, 98 | Brussels | 1050 | Belgium -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/7f1bdc7c/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 332 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/7f1bdc7c/attachment-0003.jpe -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 332 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/7f1bdc7c/attachment-0004.jpe From editor at worldstreets.org Fri Apr 3 02:01:12 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:01:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] World Streets Correspondents (map in process) Message-ID: <1238691672338.02934eb4-8b88-49b0-a7b7-c15daa7338bf@google.com> [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=115212387619606289505.0004668bbbbe5e0405269&ll=32.249974,16.171875&spn=141.28668,339.257813&t=h&z=2] See left menu for current listings of Streets correspondents. For latest map click here. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/02/2009 06:54:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/ba6b411a/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Apr 3 02:07:24 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 22:37:24 +0530 Subject: [sustran] US Walk to work day tomorrow Message-ID: <86b8a7050904021007g5dcac976rb37a208bd0666f76@mail.gmail.com> EVENTS: National Walk to Work Day (1st Friday of April), National Walk to Work Day 2009 (3rd April), History, Celebrations, Contribution, Goal National Walk to Work Day 2009[image: National Walk to Work Day]About Walk to Work Day: National Walk to Work Day is celebrated on the first Friday of April in USA. It started on the year of 2004. The National Walk to Work Day is endorsed through Prevention magazine and promoted by the American Podiatric Medical Association and the US Department of Health and Human Services. Bike/Walk to Work Day is celebrated in the mid-May in USA, sponsored through the League of American Bicyclists. And Australian Walk to Work Day is apprehended in October. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/660b79e1/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Fri Apr 3 15:24:37 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 23:24:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Removing surplus walkers and bikers Message-ID: <1238739877822.2f6f5e4b-78ab-4aa9-af34-110aaf1532d1@google.com> Just in from Dr. Lee Schipper, the notable Mr. Meter of transport reform. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/03/2009 08:20:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090402/0681ebd9/attachment.html From jmcusset at freesurf.fr Fri Apr 3 16:34:38 2009 From: jmcusset at freesurf.fr (jmcusset at freesurf.fr) Date: Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:34:38 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Change of mail address Message-ID: <2bcd43797a5536f61b203bd6bc74d8f2@freesurf.fr> Please, can you send me the next e-mails to my new mail address : jmcusset1@yahoo.fr I enjoy to receive and read sustran news and discussion Regards Jean Michel Cusset From editor at worldstreets.org Sat Apr 4 01:25:07 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 09:25:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Viral: Street Code strikes again Message-ID: <1238775907761.1808f537-af6c-4da5-a58d-9f107cfd9952@google.com> [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/new-rule-of-the-road.php] Viral: Our piece on this of 25 March (click here) got picked up by Tree Hugger's reporter April Streeter and is getting an interesting range of comments, positive and negative, over there. Click here to check out their article and its comments. Thanks April. Thanks Treehugger. Thanks virus.The Editor. Streetcode Proposes New Rules for the Road - Heaviest Vehicle Bears the Weight of Responsibility by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 04. 3.09 Photo Julia Fullerton-Batton via Foxtongue @ flickr. There is a highway code - a set of expected rules, best practices, and behaviors when manipulating your vehicle on those long ribbons of public road. There isn't, as of yet, much of a corresponding city street code - a set of guidelines that help walkers, bikers, scooter, truck, and car drivers - maneuver the streets of a city in a safe and (as important) polite way. New mobility consultant and WorldStreets editor Eric Britton is proposing the street code start with a fairly simple rule. The biggest vehicle bears the burden of responsibility, and in the case of an accident, also the burden of proving innocence. If streets are for cars, as Britton says, than there isn't much need for this type of street code. But if streets are multiple use vias (and in the U.K. 12 towns are adopting the 'shared space concept' to improve quality of life) where cars are just one player, Britton says: "The idea is...legal responsibility for any accident on street, sidewalk or public space, is automatically assigned to the heavier faster vehicle. This means the driver that hits the cyclist has to prove his innocence." The idea of a street code is not entirely new, but is starting to gain a little more traction as city planners think about designing streets on more of a shared use model. Lest you think this seems utopian and far-fetched, in Belgium the insurance company automatically pays damages in collisions between cyclists or pedestrians and motor vehicles, no matter who?s at fault, according to a document on street codes on Livable Streets. Via: World StreetsNote: Graphic adapted by John Brooks via Livable Streets. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/03/2009 06:24:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090403/5adf4d1a/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Sat Apr 4 01:52:19 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 09:52:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Slowth: The ShLOW! (Show me How Slow) project Message-ID: <1238777539504.6ff416d9-f4da-4066-8c63-1165713c8cef@google.com> [http://www.shlow.eu/] Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;} The ShLOW! (Show me How Slow) project, led by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), is organising a Camp on Speed Management to take place in Brussels from 3 through 9 May. ShLOW! focuses on the work of committed young students who will be encouraged to run a local campaign or concrete action to reduce speeding in road transport with the support of ETSC and its partners. The first stage for the students is participation in a "Camp" in Brussels, which provides a one-week training on speed management. Using the knowledge acquired during the Camp, the students will, on their return home, carry out an individual project on Speed Management at the local level. During their projects, the students will receive the support of consortium partners. At the end of ShLOW!, the most successful student will be invited to Brussels to receive an award. 50 places on the Camp are available. All types of student are eligible - undergraduate, masters and PhD. Further information and application forms for the Camp can be found on the ShLOW! website - http://www.shlow.eu/ . Note that the deadline for applications has been extended, and that they can be accepted until the end of April. Oliver Carsten, o.m.j.carsten@its.leeds.ac.uk Professor of Transport Safety Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK tel +44 (0)113 343 5348 Editor's note: And we thought that our word "slowth" was terrbily ugly. Shlow poses a serious threat. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/03/2009 04:32:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090403/7688de62/attachment.html From chuwasg at yahoo.com Sat Apr 4 18:42:53 2009 From: chuwasg at yahoo.com (chuwa) Date: Sat, 4 Apr 2009 02:42:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] my comment to BW article: Letter To Steve Rattner on Ousting GM's CEO Richard Wagoner Message-ID: <546185.1933.qm@web36904.mail.mud.yahoo.com> April 4, 2009 12:56 AM Bruce, thanks for posting the question. But I believe your suggestion is pointing from one dead end to another. The fundamental issues is: Does automotive make sense? All forms of car are intrinsically too heavy, too fast, too dangerous and demand constant attention from the driver. Even if the hybrid car can achieve 100% energy efficient, the man-car system is only about 5% efficient, consider the driver, the person who need to move from A to B, is 5% of the total weight. In addition, the electric power still need to be generated from somewhere, most likely by burning oil. The amount of pollution into the atmosphere will be more, in somewhere else. The Nano may be a wonderful cost breakthrough. But think of the congestion and pollution in Mambai or many other cities, now add another 20% of cheap cars. What will it like? If the thinking is trap into finding a "car solution", you are not likely to get a real breakthrough. Think bicycle:? It's energy efficient, no pollution, not dangerous, and improve the rider's fitness. Look to the growing list of "pro-bicycle" countries instead; Holland, Denmark, France, UK. Taiwan.. These countries all introduce systems that flavor bicycle as urban transport. A lot has to be done to make bicycle practical in US. Such challenge is a perfect opportunity for big companies like GM. And I am sure such effort will be more worthwhile and meaningful than looking for the best innovation in another car. -------------------------Link to the article:http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/archives/2009/03/letter_to_steve.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090404/1db4a6b8/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Apr 5 14:44:47 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 11:14:47 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: MAKE YOUR STREET SIGN : DEADLINE MAY 17 In-Reply-To: References: <277f58b70904030758h22d28175rdd7ce27535c90f75@mail.gmail.com> <277f58b70904031126t44bb0885n28f96963e3a4e0d2@mail.gmail.com> <277f58b70904031302q527283c0v5da382988a24bba@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <86b8a7050904042244u6dec4c7dgec507ce4cfd2b357@mail.gmail.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jasmeen Patheja Date: Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 1:41 AM Subject: [Reader-list] [Announcements] MAKE YOUR STREET SIGN : DEADLINE MAY 17 To: announcements@sarai.net Hello This one's on behalf of Blank Noise-it's an event to create street signs in the city. (details below). best wishes, Jasmeen ----- *Make a street sign* *///////////////////////////////* It can be in any city , street , lane , neighbourhood you want. You could think of signs in buses, parks, night clubs, movie halls, malls and markets- it is up to you to spell out which kind of place you want your sign in. It could even be in sites where women have experienced street sexual harassment- like here . You are welcome to say anything you want. * Guidelines: * 1. we encourage submissions that are affirmative. 2. your submission should include a brief note about which place you want to insert the sign in and why 3. it could be in any language but an English translation is important. 4. It does not need to have text. It could just be visual. 5. It does not need to have visual. It could just be text. 6. It could have both text and visual. 7. You must send us a web friendly jpg/ png/ file, but remember not to throw away the original vector file in case yours is selected for printing! 8. you may be the recruiter- you could involve your local network to work on this. for example- if you are a teacher- this could be a class assignment. If you are in college- you could organize a community of people to work on this. 9. Some of you might have better writing skills than visualization skills, in that case you are welcome to send text for a street sign. Based on the response to this event we might have the option of someone with visual skills partnering with you to make this sign. 10. keep it simple Your street sign will be put on the Blank Noise blog + flickr. 3 signs will be selected to be tried and tested in public. The selected signs could also be printed on t shirts. Deadline: 17th May. 2009 * Sign UP! Be an Action Hero! ////////////////////////////////////////////////* Confirm your participation by emailing us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com subject titled SIGN. We will add your name to the list here http://blog.blanknoise.org/2009/04/make-sign.html We are always available to chat with you about your idea for the street sign before your submission. ** resources/ reference In the past we have discussed this and thisand this and this< http://blog.blanknoise.org/2008/05/bangalore-metropolitan-transport.html>and this and this *Yours truly Blank Noise Team * * BLANK NOISE* http://blog.blanknoise.org http://blanknoiseactionheroes.blogspot.com http://blanknoisespectators.blogspot.com http://flickr.com/photos/blanknoisethisplace http://flickr.com/photos/blanknoise http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=2703755288 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142739725581&ref=ts _______________________________________________ announcements mailing list announcements@sarai.net https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/announcements _________________________________________ reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. Critiques & Collaborations To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request@sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header. To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090405/3abaa5c1/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Apr 6 12:05:28 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:35:28 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Taking public transit may help you keep fit Message-ID: <86b8a7050904052005h74115f23lbedbf9f6e8079ef1@mail.gmail.com> http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=NLetter&id=ab2dd8cb-9b30-45d3-b178-2bef3d645a7f&Headline=Taking+public+transit+may+help+you+keep+fit Taking public transit may help you keep fit People may help themselves keep fit by taking public transit, if a new study from the University of British Columbia is to be believed. The university researchers found during the study that people who took public transit are three times more likely to meet the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's suggested daily minimum of physical activity, compared to those who did not. Doctoral student Ugo Lachapelle and Associate Professor Lawrence Frank of the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning have revealed that they used 4,156 travel surveys from metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, to examine whether transit and car trips were associated with meeting the recommended levels of physical activity by walking. The researchers say that the fact that transit trips by bus and train often involve walking to and from stops increases the likelihood that people will meet the recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, five days a week. According to them, people who drove the most were the least likely to meet the recommended level of physical activity. "The idea of needing to go to the gym to get your daily dose of exercise is a misperception," says Frank, the J. Armand Bombardier Chairholder in Sustainable Transportation and a researcher at the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. "These short walks throughout our day are historically how we have gotten our activity. Unfortunately, we''ve engineered this activity out of our daily lives," the researcher adds. Based on their observations, the researchers came to the conclusion that making transit incentives more broadly available might produce indirect health benefits by getting people walking, even if it was just in short bouts. "This should be appealing to policy makers because it's easier to promote transit incentives - such as employer-sponsored passes or discount fares - than to restructure existing neighbourhoods," says Frank. Lachapelle believes that the findings of this study may have major implications for urban planning and public transit development. "You don't necessarily have to rebuild communities or make major investments in infrastructure to promote public health. There are things we can do in the interim, such as encourage people to drive less, and adapt their lifestyles which will get people more physically active and generate fewer greenhouse gasses," he says. *The study has been published in the Journal of Public Health Policy.* * http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=ab2dd8cb-9b30-45d3-b178-2bef3d645a7f * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/88087a24/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Apr 6 13:04:30 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 09:34:30 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Returning the roads to the people Message-ID: <86b8a7050904052104m7d8e8c86i65906bdf8ed151ec@mail.gmail.com> http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=17555 *Returning the roads to the people* PM News Bureau There is a need to change the mindset and steer away from personalised transport to public transport. This was stated by Union Minster for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy while inaugurating the three-day National Conference on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Mobility India in New Delhi recently. The minster said that the key challenge, for quite some time to come, would be a paradigm shift in the way we viewed urban transport. The twin pillars of this shift would be: u First, keeping the interests of pedestrians and cyclists at the core of all urban infrastructure and transport projects. u Second, aligning land-use and urban planning with the transport requirements of the people. Reddy said, "I am convinced that if we provide attractive options of public transport, which can be a combination of pedestrian walks, cycle paths, metros and above all comfortable and convenient bus services, it will persuade urban commuters to shift voluntarily to public transport systems." Significantly, Reddy mentioned that his government had approved a comprehensive national urban transport policy that focused on "returning the roads to the people" who had been colonised by vehicles. In addition, substantial Central funds were available under JNNURM and other schemes to implement the policy by various states. Reddy pointed out that the Centre was emphasising on setting up an ITS-enabled modern city bus service in all the cities. A new scheme for capacity building in urban transport had been prepared. The government was also urging the states to establish dedicated urban transport funds to exclusively meet investment requirements of urban transportation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/4790ff1d/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Mon Apr 6 17:42:22 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 01:42:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Welcome to World Streets Message-ID: <1239007341964.9fc0a65f-3a30-4bf5-888f-9018a01b34db@google.com> [http://www.strategy.newmobility.org] Eric Britton, Editor, World Streets, Paris, France World Streets is not exactly what you would call a neutral source. We have a very definite view concerning transportation policy and planning, which has itself come out of long experience with working with and observing transport in and around cities in many parts of the world. It would not be true to say that these views are unique for to us; indeed they have been distilled over the years as result of our conversations, contacts, in collaboration with farsighted colleagues and policymakers in many places. It is only appropriate that I clearly state the underlying philosophy of this new sustainability journal in no uncertain terms here at the outset. The New Mobility Agenda in brief The main reference point for all that you will read and commented on in these pages is the long-term program, the New Mobility Agenda, an international collaborative program focusing entirely on transportation in and around cities which has been in operation since 1988 with continuous interactive presence on the Internet as one of the pillars of the collaborative knowledge building process that is behind it. And this is what we have concluded: Virtually all of the necessary preconditions are now in place for far-reaching, rapid, low cost improvements in the ways that people get around in our cites. The needs are there, they are increasingly understood -- and we now know what to do and how to get the job done. The challenge is to find the vision, political will, and leadership to get the job done, step by deliberate step: But we have to have a coherent, ethical, publicly announced, checkable, overarching strategy. Without it we are destined to play at the edges of the problems, and while we may be able to announce a success or improvement here or there, the overall impact that your city needs to break the old patterns will not be there. We really need that clear, consistent, omnipresent strategy. The Agenda provides a free public platform for new thinking and open collaborative group problem solving, bringing together more than a thousand leading thinkers and actors in the field from more than fifty counties world-wide, sharing information and considering together the full range of problems and eventual solution paths that constitute the global challenge of sustainable transport in cities. What is wrong with "Old Mobility" We make a consistent distinction between what we call "old mobility" and "new mobility". The difference between the two is quite simple. And substantial. Old mobility was the form of transportation policy, practice and thinking that took shape starting in the mid twentieth century, at a time when we all lived in a universe that was, or at least seemed to be, free of constraints. It served us well, albeit with expectations, though we were blind to most of them most of the time. It was a very different world. But that world is over. And it will never come back. The planet was enormous, the spaces great and open, energy abundant and cheap, resources endless, the "environment" was not a consideration, "climate" was the weather, technology was able to come up with a constant stream of solutions, builders able to solve the problems that arose from bottlenecks by endlessly expanding capacity at the trouble points, and fast growth and the thrill of continuing innovations masked much of what was not all that good. But this is not the reality of transport in the 21st century, and above all in our cities which are increasingly poorly served by not only our present mobility arrangements, but also the thinking and values that underlie them. Our rural areas are likewise suffering and without a coherent game plan. We now live in an entirely different kind of universe, and the constraints which were never felt before, or ignored, are now emerging as the fundamental building blocks for transportation policy and practice in this new century. It's time for a change. And the change has to start with us. You see, we are the problem. But we can also be the solution. And it must be understood that the shift from old to new mobility is not one that turns its back on the importance of high quality mobility for the economy and for quality of life. It's just that given the technologies that we now have at our fingertips, and in the labs, it is possible for us to redraw our transportation systems so that there is less inefficient movement (the idea of one person sitting in traffic in a big car with the engine idling is one example, an empty bus another) and more high efficiency high quality transportation that offers many more mobility choices than in the past, including the one that environmentalist and many others find most appealing: getting what you want without having to venture out into traffic at all. Now that's an interesting new mobility strategy too. What makes Worldstreets and the New Mobility Agenda tick? Here you have in twelve short summaries the high points of the basic strategic policy frame that we and our colleagues around the world have pieced together over the years of work, observation and close contact with projects and programs in leading cities around the world under the New Mobility Agenda. (And if you click here you can see in a short video (4 minute draft) a synopsis of the basic five-point core strategy that the city of Paris has announced and adhered to over the last seven years. With significant results.) 1. Climate-driven: The on-going climate emergency sets the base timetable for action in our sector, which accounts for some 20% of GHGs. At the same time GHG reduction works as a strong surrogate for just about everything else to which we need to be giving priority attention in our cities, chief among them the need to cut traffic. Fewer vehicles on the road means less energy consumption, less pollution in all forms, fewer accidents, reduced bills for infrastructure construction and maintenance, quieter and safer cities, and the long list goes on And what is so very interesting about the mobility sector is that there is really a great deal we can do in a relatively little time. And at relatively low cost. Beyond this, there is an important joker which also needs to be brought into the picture from the very beginning, and that is that these reductions can be achieved not only without harming the economy or by quality for the vast majority of all people, but even as part of an economic revival which places increased emphasis on services and not products. 2. Tighten time frame for action: Select and gear all actions to achieve visible results within 2-5 year time frame. Spend at least 50%, preferably 80% of all your transportation budget on measure and projects that are going to yield results within this time frame. Set firm targets for all to see and judge the results. No-excuse transport policy. 3. Reduce traffic radically. The critical, incontrovertible policy core of the Agenda - BIG percentage cuts in VMT. If we don't achieve this, we will have a situation where all the key indicators will continue to move in the wrong direction. But we can cut traffic and at the same time improve mobility. And the economy. That's our strategy. 4. Extend the range and quality of new mobility services available to all: A whole range of exciting and practical new service modes are needed if we are to keep our cities viable. And they need to COMBINE to offer better, faster and cheaper mobility than the old car-intensive arrangements or deficit-financed, heavy, old-technology, traditional public transit. We need to open up our minds on this last score and understand that what is more important than being stuck in the past with the 19th century version of how "common people" best get about, and move over to a new paradigm of a great variety of ways of providing shared transport mediated in good part by 21st-century information communications technologies 5. Design for women: Our old mobility system was designed by and ultimately for a certain type of person (think about it). And so too should the new mobility system: but this time around it should be designed to accommodate specifically women, of all ages and conditions. Do that and we will serve everybody far better. And for that to happen we need to have a major leadership shift toward women, and as part of that to move toward full gender parity in all bodies involved in the decision process. It's that simple. 6. Packages of Measures: As distinguished from the old ways of planning and making investments what is required in most places today are carefully interlinked "packages" of numerous small as well as larger projects and initiatives. Involving many more actors and participants. One of the challenges of an effective new mobility policy will be to find ways to see these various measures as interactive synergistic and mutually supporting projects within a unified greater whole. A significant challenge to our planners at all levels 7. The shifting role of the car: State-of-the-art technology can be put to work hand-in-hand with the changing role of the private car in the city in order to create situations in which even car use can be integrated into the overall mobility strategy with a far softer edge. These advantages need to be widely broadcast so as to increase acceptance of the new pattern of urban mobility. The new mobility environment must also be able to accommodate people in cars, since that is an incontrovertible reality which will not go away simply because it would seem like an ideal solution. We are going to have plenty of small and medium-sized four-wheel, rubber tired, driver operated running around on the streets of our cities and the surrounding regions, so the challenge of planners and policymakers is to ensure that this occurs in a way which is increasingly harmonious to the broader social, economic, environmental objectives set out here. 8. Full speed ahead with new technology: New mobility is at its core heavily driven by the aggressive application of state of the art logistics, communications and information technology across the full spectrum of service types. The transport system of the future is above all an interactive information system, with the wheels and the feet at the end of this chain. These are the seven leagues boots of new mobility 9. Play the "infrastructure joker": The transport infrastructures of our cities have been vastly overbuilt. And they are unable to deliver the goods. That's just great, since it means that we can now take over substantial portions of the street network for far more efficient modes. 10. Frugal economics: We are not going to need another round of high cost, low impact investments to make it work. We simply take over 50% of the transport related budgets and use it to address to projects and reforms that are going to make those big differences in the next several years. 11. Partnerships: This approach, because it is new and unfamiliar to most people, is unlike to be understood the first times around. Hence a major education, consultation and outreach effort is needed in each place to make it work. Old mobility was the terrain in which decisions were made by transport experts working within their assigned zones of competence. New mobility is based on wide-based collaborative problem solving, outreach and harnessing the great strengths of the informed and educated populations of our cities. Public/private/citizen partnerships. 12. Pick winners: New approaches demand success. There is no margin of error. So chose policies and services with track records of success and build on their experience. To move ahead in time to save the planet and improve life quality of the majority of the people who live in our cities (no, they are not all happy car owner-drivers: get out there and count them. You'll see.), we need to have a fair, unified, coherent, and memorable strategy. This is the challenge to which World Streets and the New Mobility Agenda are addressed. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/06/2009 10:39:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/8bdccecb/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Mon Apr 6 22:04:52 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 06:04:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Correspondents update: 6 April 2009 Message-ID: <1239023092593.dce3506c-af90-4269-9cbc-02dea3f6b800@google.com> [http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2009/03/world-streets-correspondents.html] We have now entered the second month of World Streets existence, and our almost a week into the construction of our new World Streets Map, so let me take a few minutes of your time to try to update you quickly on where this is heading from this point on. 1. Moving target: if you are a little confused about how all of this is supposed to work here at the beginning, let me assure you that you are not the only one. What we are setting off on here is a collaborative communication learning process, the basic underlying philosophy and broad goals of which are I hope pretty clear (see today's opening editorial), with the rest to evolve as we move ahead and learn. I am comfortable with that and hope that you will be as well. 2. Peer-to-peer: I have always considered that one of the goals of a really successful public interest contribution is that it is wide open ? i.e., that it provides materials, clues and tools which can help enable good things to happen without necessarily the provider of the tools of the initial ideas for ever emerging as the necessary central fulcrum of everything that the initial push might set off. This is definitely one of the objectives of World Streets, and I hope that you will take this as an invitation to run with any of this with your own ideas and initiatives. Of course I have to hope that whatever it is will be consistent with the basic philosophy we so strongly believe in, but in any event I am confident that the quality of the fundamental ideas and philosophic principles is sufficient to guarantee that this will pretty much have. 3. Correspondent contributions: As originally promised this is a no obligation activity, and I propose that in the first months the pattern that will suit you best will be the one that we mutually learn as the project advances. Again the sections Contributor Guidelines and Correspondents are useful as background reading which I can heartily recommend prior to posting or commenting if you will. I might add that we have particular interest in contributions which will fall under the categories including Honk!, the infamous Bad News Department, Toolkit , outstanding new projects or programs, people or groups that are making a difference, and basically anything that might be going on in your city or area of interest which has universal interest and potential application. 4. Eyes on the Street map. This is a pretty good microcosm for the rest. It is intended to illustrate in a striking manner the way in which we are attempting to combine the global and the local. There are a couple of ideas that we are looking at integrating into both this map and the project overall: ? Local identification: Each city symbol needs to link to a specific person and a specific place. When you click a city, take Pune in India as example, this will take you direct to Sujit. I have tried to take him at his exact address in his neighborhood, 383 Narayan Peth, but I am going to need a little help from him in order to pinpoint the exact location of his home. I hope that we will be able to do this for all of our cooperating colleagues. (You will hopefully appreciate in this context why I have so doggedly insisted on the initial identification encompassing both the name of our cooperating colleagues and the city/country affiliation. Also In this regard, kinldy you make sure I have your exact street address so, as close as possible to attaching it to your listing.) ? Green Map: I am also playing around with the concept of linking each city to a Green Map (See www.greenmaps.org). As part of this, have already placed links not only in going but also in Barcelona, Seattle, Cape Town and one or two others. ? Traffic cams: Another possibility that I intend to have a closer look at is that of finding the nearest traffic cam so that the visitor can get some kind of feel for what the streets actually look like at different points in time in that place. 4. Expanding World Streets coverage: We already after less than a week have more than 40 kind colleagues who have indicated that they will be pleased to exercise this item street function in their city and more broadly. I would hope during the course of April, the second month our new journal, to bring this up to ensure coverage of something like 100 world cities, i.e. cooperating colleagues. ? Geographic: More coverage of Africa, the Middle East, the former parts of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, Latin America and Asia are definitely called for as priorities. And I think we should be very ambitious about coverage in both China and India. ? Gender: One of the basic pillars of this project is that we need to engage more women in the process of planning and decision-making. Thus far of the first 40 correspondence coming in, only eight are women. To rectify this, I intend to adjust the outreach in these next ages to give heavy reference to qualified female colleagues, so if you have nominations for me please be sure that they will be immediately activated. Sorry to have tied up so much of your time with this, but I think it is important that we get off to a strong start and a shared understanding of the best way to go about all this. Of course as always your suggestions, corrections, and ideas for doing better are enormously well. Eric Britton Editor, World Streets -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 3/31/2009 02:59:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/e98384f6/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Tue Apr 7 02:57:43 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 10:57:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Ikea flirts with WWF for a nice green world Message-ID: <1239040662422.6654e819-ff8f-48d4-a259-e06a209f9d0e@google.com> [http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/apr/02/greenwash-ikea-diy-earth-hour] v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Ikea ? you can't build a green reputation with a flatpack DIY manual Fred Pearce , guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 April 2009 11.05 BST Huge out-of-town stores that are inaccessible by public transport, illegally logged timber products and half-hearted attempts to join WWF's Earth Hour. Who is Ikea trying to fool with its greenwash? You'll know about Ikea. It's the place you drive to on a Saturday to fill your house with bits of wood from foreign lands. This week, they played a little April Fool's joke, with some viral marketing about launching a new "Leko flatpack car". When unveiled it turned out to be a computerised car-sharing scheme in France. Not a new one, but a special customised service from an established car-sharing service designed to get more customers to Ikea stores. Now, I am in favour of car-sharing. Anything to keep down the number of cars clogging up Ikea car parks must be good. But this story is a bit like the one I did on Disney theme parks a couple of weeks ago. It is green tinsel on a business model that is all about persuading people to make long carbon-intense journeys to buy their products. The telling statistic was at the back end of the company press release: "5.8% of Ikea France's customers already used a shared form of transport to get to their preferred store." So 94.2% don't. Allowing for the odd walker and cyclist, that must mean around 90% drive. That's the problem, Ikea. You build your stores in places out of town that are ill-served by public transport. You slap a big delivery charge on any who don't want to take their own furniture home (?60 in my case, I notice). And then you try and get greenie points for making it slightly less hard to reach them in an environmentally acceptable manner. It won't wash. The car-sharing scheme is part of a rather haphazard greenwash strategy that has been going on at Ikea for a while. Last week its website announced that "Ikea has signed up to WWF's Earth Hour 2009." Earth Hour is an annual event promoted by the environment group WWF in which we are all encouraged to turn off our lights for an hour as an expression of support for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and halting climate change. This year that hour was from 8.30pm on 28 March. Ikea didn't turn all its store lights out. It might have been bad for business. Instead it "turned all lighting in-store to minimum levels consistent while maintaining a safe working environment for co-workers and customers." Shouldn't they do that all the time? Or, since only half of their UK stores stay open that late on a Saturday, they could have shut the rest, allowing all the lights to go out. Just a thought. In any event, I am not quite sure why WWF allowed lights-on Ikea to use its logo to promote how it had "signed up to" (but not obeyed, obviously) the Earth Hour. Nor why it gave Ikea gratuitous publicity on its own site for half-heartedly complying with the Earth Hour. Well, actually I am fairly sure. Ikea and WWF have a long-term "business relationship". Ikea gives cash and a few environmental initiatives, while WWF gives green kudos and some environmental advice. The panda logo is all over the Ikea website. Ikea is all over WWF's website. There have been some hard questions asked about this relationship among other green groups. The Environmental Investigation Agency, for instance, recently pointed out that Ikea has not even managed to stamp out the use of illegally logged timber in its furniture, especially all those flat-packs supplied from China. Worse, the company has been actively opposing US laws set to come into force in July aimed at banning imports of illegally logged timber. Unless the company gets it overturned, every piece of furniture sold in an Ikea store in the US will be required to have a paper trail showing where the wood came from. Even though other companies claim to be able to meet the rules, Ikea told federal regulators that "trying to trace this information to certify compliance all the way through the supply chain to the harvesting of each and every tree is unrealistic." For unrealistic, read expensive. Perhaps WWF should give back that sponsorship money and ask Ikea to spend it checking its supply chains. Or is that "unrealistic" too? Who are the real greenwashers this week? Well, I think WWF should share the accolade with Ikea, for services rendered. ? Do you know of any green claims that deserve closer examination? Email your examples of to greenwash@guardian.co.uk or add your comments below About this article: This article was first published on guardian.co.uk at 11.05 BST on Thursday 2 April 2009. It was last updated at 11.39 BST on Thursday 2 April 2009. guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News and Media Limited 2009 Source and fair use: This article originally appeared in the Gurdian of 2 Pril 2009, by their reporter Fred Pearce. You can view their original article here. And click here to view World Street's policy on Fair Use. Comments welcome. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/06/2009 07:43:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/a117b797/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Tue Apr 7 15:30:50 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 23:30:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Public Bikes: "Cycling on the rise" Message-ID: <1239085850099.56558b4f-bfc0-48a9-8e58-8d4959122922@google.com> [http://spicycles.velo.info/Portals/0/Deliverables/SpicyclesFinal_Booklet_small.pdf] This timely report just in from our Dutch friends SpiCycles. In their words: When the Spicycles project was launched in 2006, cycling was not the "hot" mode of transport that it has become today. As project partners, we wanted to gather experience related to specific areas of cycling policy. We were keen to explore how key elements such as communication and awareness raising, and the building of local partnerships, might increase the modal share of cycling. We had big expectations at the beginning of the project regarding cycling planning, but could not have predicted the explosion in the popularity of public bicycle systems that has taken place during Spicycles. All Spicycles' results can now be seen in the reports and newsletters on the website http://spicycles.velo.info, which also features an innovative interactive map for cycling planning, a benchmarking tool and a pool of consultants. For further information contact: Pascal J.W. van den Noort - operations@velomondial.net Executive Director Velo Mondial http://velomondial.blogspot.com http://spicycles.velo.info -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/07/2009 06:19:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090406/5b79f280/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Apr 7 15:36:50 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 08:36:50 +0200 Subject: [sustran] "Cycling on the rise" - report now available (freely of course) Message-ID: <021501c9b74b$3e6c87a0$bb4596e0$@britton@ecoplan.org> >From our friends at Spicycles: When the Spicycles project was launched in 2006, cycling was not the "hot" mode of transport that it has become today. As project partners, we wanted to gather experience related to specific areas of cycling policy. We were keen to explore how key elements such as communication and awareness raising, and the building of local partnerships, might increase the modal share of cycling. We had big expectations at the beginning of the project regarding cycling planning, but could not have predicted the explosion in the popularity of public bicycle systems that has taken place during Spicycles. All Spicycles' results can now be seen in the reports and newsletters on the website http://spicycles.velo.info, which also features an innovative interactive map for cycling planning, a benchmarking tool and a pool of consultants. By clicking on the picture below you will gain access to 'Cycling on the rise'.. cid:2208an$IN958012386942340@TOSHIBA Pascal J.W. van den Noort - operations@velomondial.net Executive Director Velo Mondial http://velomondial.blogspot.com www.velomondial.net www.velo.info http://spicycles.velo.info -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090407/31a48956/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 72430 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090407/31a48956/attachment.jpe From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 8 03:18:09 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 11:18:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] This Week on the Street Message-ID: <1239128289670.f64809a8-8931-46d7-9bac-70de0b01b10c@google.com> Click below for week: Selections taken from articles and postings appearing on World Streets during the week. (This is very much work in progress. We are still trying to feel our way as to how to do this best. In the meantime, we will be feeding in here the best of what we have to now. But it will get better, be confident.) * This Week. 2-8 March 2009 * This Week. 9-15 March 2009 PDF Week files: 1-9 March 8-15 March -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 3/02/2009 09:16:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090407/ace7f6f6/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 8 18:39:59 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 02:39:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Can Segway do the trick? Message-ID: <1239183599018.e908d335-cfb4-4b60-bcb4-9a3e6ecba114@google.com> [http://www.segway.com/puma] Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} We wish engineers, inventors and anyone else who chooses to get involved, all the good luck in the world when it comes to trying to bring on line new and more emissions/energy effective vehicles and power sources. Indeed, we are convinced that the shift from old to new mobility will in large part be mediated by technology. However we have to be a bit careful with this because at the same time it is important to bear in mind the time window which we believe is the proper focus of policy and practice, and of course of technology ? i.e., the two to four years directly ahead. This is significant and in many discussions of various ways of achieving more sustainable transportation arrangements, we often hear much about the advantages of new vehicle, motive, and fuel technologies, as if they were going to be able to do the job that needs to be done. This of course is impossible, unfortunately, when we bear in mind the realities of the penetration path of these technologies, which are measured in many years and indeed decades by a time they begin to have a significant global impact on greenhouse gas reductions, energy savings, etc.. It is tempting of course for us to look at proposals for this particular class of technologies, all the more so since they often are well supported by institutions and interests behind them. You do not have to look very far to find many such proposals, often wrapped up in very appealing packages and arguments. But we really need to think hard and keep them in perspective. Here is one example that has been brought to our attention today by our "eyes on the street" colleague in Ottawa, Chris Bradshaw, in which he makes the point: ?It seems Segway's announcement today, http://www.segway.com/puma/, is right up your alley.? Well, if we check out that reference here is what the Segway people have to say about their product: ?Think of it as a digital solution to an analog problem. Segway?s P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) prototype represents the shift that?s needed for the future of transportation. It values less over more; taking up less space, using less energy, produced more efficiently with fewer parts, creating fewer emissions during production and operation, all while offering more enjoyment, productivity, and connectivity? Hmm. I invite you to have a look at the Segway product and proposal as outlined here, and to share with us your reflections and reactions to it, perhaps both in general but more specifically within the time and strategic framework that World Streets is working with. Personally I do not see it. True enough, if Segway and other innovators with similar softer technology packages are able to bring to market vehicles which people will buy and use instead of less efficient and more wasteful technologies, this would be useful at that specific micro level. But from the global and time perspective that we are destined to work with, it just doesn't add up. Sorry. To end a more positive note, I would with your permission like to cite the statement made under the heading ?Full speed ahead with new technology? in the welcoming note posted here. ?New mobility is at its core heavily driven by the aggressive application of state of the art logistics, communications and information technology across the full spectrum of service types. The transport system of the future is above all an interactive information system, with the wheels and the feet at the end of this chain. These are the seven leagues boots of new mobility.? Thus it is our view that technology is no less than enormously important in the party moved to sustainability, but the way in which is going to make its difference will be when it is brought in to provide the information and communications infrastructure needed to render our new mobility systems effective and competitive. We will never get there without them Your comments are as always very welcome on this. Eric Britton Editor, World Streets -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/08/2009 07:38:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090408/dee04eec/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed Apr 8 18:56:02 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 02:56:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Editorial: Welcome to World Streets Message-ID: <1239184562274.93d1d8b3-d934-4ce7-a5c7-e0dfae00fa58@google.com> [http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2009/04/welcome-to-world-streets.html] World Streets is not exactly what one would call a neutral source. We have a very definite view concerning transportation policy, planning and priorities, itself the product hard-earned lessons of experience of working with and observing the sector in its daily operation in and around cities in many parts of the world. * Click here for Welcoming Message from the editor. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/08/2009 11:55:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090408/7ac3becc/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Fri Apr 10 18:48:15 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:48:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Livable Streets Promised Land Message-ID: <1239356895305.36afd990-1603-421f-8e38-b532f4b6edb6@google.com> [http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/web/0904/livable-streets.html] This just in from our friends over at Livable Streets and Streetsblog in New York City. We share this with you because we have long been convinced that one of the keys to the kinds of pattern breaks which are needed to make our cities more sustainable and people-friendly are precisely these skills of convincing visualization to show in very concrete terms what the changes are going to bring about. When this is well done, it helps to take the fear of uncertainty out ? most of us after all are not necessarily welcoming of change. Particularly when the future being proposed to us is not all that familiar. If you click here you will be taken to the front door of this entry, which will one click later take you to their ?photosim? interactive graphic. You will also be invited to join their (free) Livable Streets Initiative (very handy and highly recommended) as well as invited to join their contest with a two-step before-and-after picture simulation of a project you would like to see in your own city. And if you do, make sure to share it with us here on World Streets. This kind of change management is of interest to us all. Note: Strongly recommend you have a look at the comments which are coming in on their site. Some of them are very challenging and very sensible. The Editor >From Livable: Here's a nice visual of what cities will look like when the livable streets movement has completely emerged from the wilderness (sorry for the extended metaphor, couldn't help it today). GOOD Magazine ran this photosim done by our very own Carly Clark in their transportation issue, with text by Streetsblog Editor-in-Chief Aaron Naparstek. They've got a whole interactive graphic that walks you through the elements of a livable street, and -- hats off to my coworkers -- it looks great. GOOD is also putting on a photosim contest where readers can submit their own designs for a livable street. If you send something in, don't worry too hard about impressing the jury. Aaron will be the only judge. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/10/2009 11:47:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090410/abe22cdf/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Sat Apr 11 18:36:03 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:36:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?=5BWorld_Streets=5D_Bad_News_Department=3A_?= =?utf-8?Q?=3CBR=3E_=E2=80=9CManual_for_Streets=E2=80=9D_ignored_in_Wales?= =?utf-8?Q?=2E?= Message-ID: <1239442563830.549f6931-612c-4285-bee6-ce394fa3551d@google.com> [http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/] ?Manual for Streets, published March 2007 by the UK Department for Transport, gives new advice for the design of residential streets in England and Wales. It represents a strong Government and Welsh Assembly commitment to the creation of sustainable and inclusive public spaces.? ?The Department?s policy-making process received an award recently, with Traffic Management Division winning a Royal Town Planning Institute prize for its Manual for Streets. The award recognizes that it is radically changing designers' and local authorities' approach to residential street design for the better. It emphasizes that streets should be places in which people want to live and spend time in, and are not just transport corridors. In particular, it aims to reduce the impact of vehicles on residential streets by asking practitioners to plan street design intelligently and proactively, and gives a high priority to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport.? ? From the Dft project website (below). The report is available at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/manforstreets/ Yes but when you get to the street in Wales here is what you see (Ian Perry reporting from Cardiff). . . All Local Authorities in Wales have failed to respond to the offer of training or more information on the Manual for Streets according to one of its authors. The document is based on solid research and has won much praise and many awards and yet Local Authorities continue to design streets as they always have... Only one person out of the 20 people in attendance at a presentation on the Manual for Streets organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, held in the council offices of Cardiff Council, worked for a Local Authority (and not Cardiff), with the remainder working in the private sector as engineers or consultants ? who reported that private developers were interested in applying the findings of the research into Manual for Streets, but wary of Local Authorities refusing to adopt streets. It would seem that the public sector in Wales is not interested in embracing different practices. Thanks to the watchful Eyes on the Street and World Streets Correspondent, Ian Perry, Cardiff, Wales, UK Editor?s note: We strongly invite commentary and if available further information on lessons to be learned from this experience. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/10/2009 10:22:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090411/9fae39d8/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Sat Apr 11 19:37:29 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:37:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Frequency of publication (Reader views) Message-ID: <1239446249643.91570b08-5b8a-4e78-8d01-2b5a60812e3f@google.com> On the day that World Streets opened its doors, 2 March 2009, we asked our new readers to take the time to share with us their views on what they preferred in terms of frequency of ?publication?. In addition to private exchanges and conversation on this, we also opening up a small poll and left it open for the first two weeks, during which time 43 readers took the trouble to share their views with us. What the poll told us lined up quite closely with the emails and other exchanges. More than half, as you can see here, advised that they would prefer a weekly edition for consultation, while close to a third reported that monthly would be just fine for them. Five of the respondees indicated that they thought ad hoc and no fixed schedule will be the way to go, while only 2 voted for World Streets as a daily. Now we asked that question with several things in view. First, our desire to avoid info overload, certainly the direct cause of losing your audience on the net or pretty much anywhere. We had in fact the idea of a daily/weekly in target from the beginning. i.e., something that is sufficiently interesting each day that some if not all of our readers might book mark and have a quick look with their morning coffee. But at the same time, organized in such a way that the faithful though busy reader could drop in at any point and have direct access to the full last week of postings. As to those asking for something monthly, our plan is to do something along those lines, but we have yet to figure out how. Finally, as daily users of the web we appreciate that stuff is happening in our sector in various corners of the world all the time, some of it interesting and to the point here, so we also wish to make Streets a resource readable available at all times. Which is what you have here. Our job is to make this interesting, relevant and efficient for you. We are off to a pretty good start, but stay with us, more and better is ahead. The Editor -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/09/2009 08:25:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090411/c7f19acc/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Sun Apr 12 23:39:16 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:39:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Get to know your neighbors on World Streets Message-ID: <1239547156584.e5d4a078-95b3-4195-b0ca-20964ccce9d8@google.com> Over the last 24 hours more than 200 people have checked in to World Streets from the following countries to have a look: Look at this against the present status of our world Eyes on the Streets map (started only on 5 April and just getting going.) . -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/12/2009 09:09:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090412/e8a30758/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Mon Apr 13 01:10:12 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (Eric Britton (Paris, France)) Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:10:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Polish cyclists can't drink and drive Message-ID: <1239552612374.98d92ca7-b042-4058-b5bc-21e48784c316@google.com> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/7994857.stm] Under a law passed in 2000 in Poland, anyone riding a bike under the influence of alcohol faces a fine or up to two years in prison, depending on the level of their intoxication. This law was engineered (for not to say doctored) before access of Poland to the EU: one of the requirements, imposed by the EU on its candidate members was to increase the detectability of the crimes. The cyclists became a scapegoats... This law, which equals the cyclist after two beers with a drunk driver of 20 ton truck or bus full of people, received a wholehearted welcome by police force officers, especially on the countryside. It is a way easier (and safer) to arrest a local farmer John, returning home by bike after closing of bar, than to stop the car, which might be full of the thugs in track suits or -- even worse -- its driver could be a Member of Parliament (which is quite often phenomenon and means troubles for every policeman)... This law was proceeded to the Constitutional Court, as absurd and draconian and which can drag whole families into poverty -- currently two thousand Poles (mainly fathers of the families) are in prison for riding a bicycle whilst under the influence of alcohol. In spite of this, Poland's Constitutional Court upheld a ruling that drunken cyclists should be tried as criminals, treated like drunken motorists and face prison if caught. The average sentence for riding a bike after booze is 11.5 months imprisonment. There was claim that intoxicated cyclists should be treated like drunken pedestrians, who face a fine rather than jail, as both use their own muscles to achieve motion. The Constitutional Court (lead by the chairwoman, a typical car-bound person), ruled that cyclists use public roads and are considerably more dangerous because of the speed they can travel. Drunken pedestrians use the public roads too and I would not exaggerate the speed of the drunken cyclists. Taking into account that the energy (hence the possible damage) equals mass time velocity [M x V], the mass of the cyclist rarely exceeds 100 kilograms and the speed decreases with the level of alcohol in blood... The whole affair unveils the approach of Polish authorities to the cycling in general. Both the cyclist, as the motorist in Poland could have 0,2 promille of alcohol in blood. In Germany the cyclist could have 1,6 promille of alcohol (and the car driver -- 0,5 promille). In Poland in road accidents with alcohol in background, ca. 86% of them caused drunken car drivers and only in 14% of them have been involved drunken cyclists. In majority of the accidents with drunken drivers casualties or heavy injuries occurred. In accidents with the drunken cyclists the number of injuries and casualties was much more lower, and the victims have been often the cyclists alone. In Polish prisons is jailed ca. 1931 people caught for cycling after booze (some more wait in the custody). Cost of keeping them in prisons equals about EUR 10 to 12 million per year. For those money Poland could build about 250 kilometers of cycle paths along the most busy national roads. Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/7994857.stm This contribution by our vigilant Eyes on the Street reporter in Warsaw, Marek Utkin. As to the photo we have been unable to ascertain if the cyclist pictured is drunk. Or for that matter Polish. Our investigations continue. Your editor. -- Posted By Eric Britton (Paris, France) to World Streets at 4/12/2009 08:47:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090412/6a9b46ef/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Apr 13 04:13:55 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:13:55 +0200 Subject: [sustran] World Streets postings to be redirected. Message-ID: <0d5301c9bba2$d3afce20$7b0f6a60$@britton@ecoplan.org> Dear Sustran Friends, I am afraid that the various posting of our World Streets forum are flooding Sustran to what may to many of you be an annoying extent. So let me cut them off right now, and invite any of you who may be interested to follow Streets to sign in either to the New Mobility Caf? ( NewMobilityCafe-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) or, for World Streets postings only - WorldStreets-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. I hope I have not caused you any great inconvenience. With all good wishes, Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090412/4f98cfef/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Wed Apr 15 12:38:26 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:38:26 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Released: "Cycling-inclusive Policy Development: A Handbook" Message-ID: <49E556B2.7000603@sutp.org> GTZ SUTP and the Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-Ce) have joined efforts in the development of a training document entitled "Cycling-inclusive Policy Development: A Handbook". This handbook provides detailed information on how to develop cycling-friendly policies and facilities. It can help you, as a planner, engineer, community leader of advocate to enrich your own ideas about the future traffic and transport system where you live and work. It has been written by 12 authors who are experts in different fields of cycling-inclusive development. The handbook covers the following issues: * Introduction: learning from others? successes and failures * From car-based to people entered cities * Ideas that shape urban form ? and how urban form shapes us * Getting organized: managing and implementing the policy ?making process * Five main requirements for cycling-inclusive infrastructure * Identifying bicycle networks for better cities * Design: making choices that fit local conditions * Designing for cycling makes residential and central business district streets better ? for all * Designing for cycling along main roads and highways * Bicycle parking: tools for success * Building a multi-modal transport system: integrating cycling and public transportation * Cycling-friendly regulations for sustainable cities * Social marketing and citizens? participation: good relationships build better cycling facilities * Education, awareness building and advocacy * Researching cycling needs and possibilities The publication is also part of Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) initiative, of which GTZ and I-CE are partners. It contains 256 fully illustrated pages, 19 tables, 33 boxes and 214 figures. * Free download: * SUTP users can download the document by visiting http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1462&Itemid=1&lang=uk. Unregistered visitors can register (at no cost) on the SUTP website and then proceed to download. * About SUTP: * The Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) is a global partnership which aims to help developing world cities achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities. SUTP developed the publication ?Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in developing cities? consisting of more than 26 modules. The sourcebook addresses the key areas of a sustainable transport policy framework for a developing city. It is also complemented by a series of training documents and other material. More on www.sutp.org * About SUMA:* The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org), EMBARQ-the World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport (http://embarq.wri.org), GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (www.sutp.org), Interface for Cycling Expertise (www.cycling.nl), Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (www.itdp.org), and United Nations Center for Regional Development (www.uncrd.or.jp/est) is made possible through the generous support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (www.sida.se). SUMA works with Asian countries and cities to strengthen the formulation and implementation of sustainable urban transportation policies, specifically in (i) improving urban air quality by adopting AQM planning in sustainable transport policies, (ii) improving road safety by encouraging non-motorized transport, and (iii) reducing transport's contribution to climate change by adopting a co-benefits approach with urban air quality management. * Comments and feedback are highly appreciated:* sutp@sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090415/7388b413/attachment.html From sudhir at cai-asia.org Tue Apr 21 10:15:50 2009 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:15:50 +0800 Subject: [sustran] A bus to nowhere Message-ID: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Comments--Analysis/A-bus-to-nowhere/articleshow/4424172.cms *A bus to nowhere* 20 Apr 2009, 1242 hrs IST, *K C Sivaramakrishnan * THE largesse from the JNNURM is in good flow. Since January this year, the ministry of urban development has sanctioned Rs 4,726 crore for procurement of 14,240 buses in 59 cities. Out of this 4,494 are standard buses 1,170 are mini-buses and the rest are low-floor and other variations of urban buses. The central assistance is Rs 1,630 crore. This slew of sanctions labelled as Part II of NURM is certainly music for the ears of the automobile industry. Unlike Part I of NURM which is contingent upon many organisational and financial reforms as well as significant changes in the processes of decision-making at the city level, Part II is a more honest and quicker way of reaching funds to the cities. However, no money from the government can be free of strings. In this case also the ministry has issued as many as 30 guidelines. Most of them are universally advocated prescriptions like priority for public transport, passenger-friendly buses, better route administration, dedicated metropolitan transport funds, etc. There is also a set of specifications for urban buses. The norms and costs may need scrutiny but it is good the government recognises that benches and a metal roof stuck on a truck chassis is not to be regarded as a passenger bus. For the past several years urban transport has been nobody?s baby. Though the so-called rules of business allocation conferred this subject on the urban development ministry in 1990, turf questions continued to be agitated between the railways, transport and urban development ministries. Urban transport was interpreted as principally railbased systems which only the ministry of railways would design and build. Buses were dismissed as a state subject and if PSUs were not doing the needful, privatisation was the obvious response. After launching of the Delhi Metro project, the urban development ministry finally emerged as the guardian of this portfolio. In the past few years, it has also broadened its perception that mobility, more than technology choice, is the key. Today in India, city space for mobility has become a highly contested issue. However cogent and well reasoned the case for public transport, in real practice it is the private vehicle that has proliferated, thanks as much to the uncalled for subsidies for automobile production and use as well as consistent lobbying practices of the auto industry, perfected over the years in the US and west. In May 2008, the ministry also sponsored a study on transport policies and strategies, by the well known transport consultants Wilber Smith and Associates. The study predicts, in all city categories, a declining share of public transport from 16% in 2007 to 15% in 2011, 11% in 2021 and 9% in 2031. In the mega cities the decline is even worse from 46% in 2007 to 31% in 2021. The study also concludes that the average journey speed would decline from 17 KMPH to nine over the same period. Congestion will be the order of the day. The question thus arises, will there be space in our cities for these 14,000 additional buses? Given the congestion, will the buses be able to move anywhere? The transport research wing of the ministry of transport informs that as on March 31, 2004, the total number of cars in the 23 metropolitan cities is 35.68 lakh as compared to 33.29 lakh in the previous year. Two-wheelers went up from 140 lakh to 149 lakh. In keeping with its high consumption profile Delhi added 96,241 cars to the previous year?s total of 11.92 lakh and about 1.57 lakh scooters. That translates to about 263 cars and 433 twowheelers per day. These are figures for 2004. While the ministry?s guidelines exhort priority for public transport, no overt action has been suggested for restraining private auto growth, apart from some suggestions on parking. Besides, projects sanctioned under NURM for the road sector till now are mainly for expansion of roads, new roads, flyovers, road over bridges, etc. Mercifully some of the projects, such as those for Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, etc, include support for BRTS schemes. Everyone loves a flyover, the contractors and private car drivers in particular. Unfortunately, the thrill of flying over reality which lasts only for a few seconds, carries a high cost. Logjams at both ends of many flyovers is now a part of the daily scene in Delhi, providing ample proof to a variation of Parkinson?s Law ?private vehicle use will increase to fill all available and additional road space?. Somewhere in the ministry?s guidelines, there is also the exhortation that the state government and urban local bodies should waive or reimburse all its taxes on urban buses. Distortions in motor vehicle taxation abound in the country. In 10 states taxes on private motor vehicles are a one time levy. Mercifully this is life time of the vehicle rather than the owner. The tax rates themselves are absurdly low. After several years, Delhi recently revised its tax rates to 2% for vehicle costing up to Rs 4 lakh and 4% for those above. This is not even an apology for a demand management measure. In Singapore, which incidentally is the Mecca for urban transport planners, but only for visits and not practice, a licence to purchase a vehicle costs nearly as much as the vehicle itself. To add insult to injury, most of the states also levy a tax on passenger buses. Gujarat rates are Rs 840 per year on buses with more than nine passengers, Rs 72 for every additional seat and Rs 36 for every standing passenger. Maharashtra charges Rs 71 per passenger plus 17.5% of the fare collected. Delhi collects Rs 1,915 up to 18 passengers and Rs 280 for every additional passenger. The sum total of revenues realised by all the states through passenger tax is no more than Rs 1,656 crore for the year 2003-04. Compared to the outlays provided by the government for the transport sector this is not much. Yet if the incidence of this taxation is calculated on per passenger per km basis, it is likely that in many cases the incidence on a bus passenger in a city is more than on a private car passenger. There is a little for the states to lose by waiving this tax. It will at least end the travesty of taxing the bus passenger and subsidising the private car user. It remains to be seen whether the various other guidelines suggested by the ministry of urban development will be adopted by the states. If the implementation of the reform agenda of Part I of the NURM is an indication, the chances are the ministry is fast and generous in making the funds available but short and shy in ensuring compliance with what has been agreed. For an outlay of Rs 4,726 crore for 14,000 buses, the average cost of a bus must be about Rs 32 lakh. Is the candle worth the cost? Perhaps it is. With a few thousand buses on many city roads, the citizens will at least have a visual satisfaction. Stuck as we are in the city?s logjam, stuck we shall remain. But we will have a choice of being stuck in our brand new bus on the one hand or on our mobikes, in SUVs, mid-size cars, Marutis or that latest suitor on the block, the Nanos. Very much more will be needed to make our new bus move. Last year?s dispute about the Delhi BRTS was the first serious contestation in the country for a city?s road space between the bus and the car. The present additions to the bus fleet will carry this contest to other cities. Hopefully the majority of the public, dependent on public transport will become more assertive and demand that a city?s road space cannot be pre-empted by the car-using elite. Hopefully again, this may prompt the ministry to give up gradualism and be more assertive. (The author is a former secretary, urban development and chairman, Centre for Policy Research) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090421/34fe591b/attachment.html From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Apr 22 14:27:49 2009 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:57:49 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Nano likely to take congestion to tier II and III towns Message-ID: <86b8a7050904212227w649f4b0bsbba1340f7809d656@mail.gmail.com> http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4431437.cms Nano likely to take congestion to tier II and III towns 21 Apr 2009, 2132 hrs IST, Niranjana Ramesh, ET Bureau CHENNAI: When the 'mini car' was launched earlier this year, credit rating agency Crisil estimated Nano could expand the Indian car market by 65% and increase car sales by 20% over previous year. ?When the difference in the cost of ownership is between Rs.3 lakh and Rs.2 lakh, the affordability does not increase as much compared to the difference is between Rs.2 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh,? Mr.Krishnan said. "The pyramid keeps widening as we proceed towards the bottom, including more and more prospective customers." ?Going by these estimates, Nano is likely to flood tier II and III towns, when it reaches volumes of 2-3 lakhs, which will be in three years,? he said. In other words, Nano will replicate the 215% growth in annual volumes of cars which was seen between 1998 and 2008. Dr. N S Srinivasan, former head of the transport and transportation division of the Central Road Research Institute, estimates the growth of car traffic in central business districts (CBDs) of cities alone was six per cent during that period. ?Whereas, the capacity of roads in CBDs to handle such volume had grown quite negligibly,? he said. ?This is because, it is not possible to widen city roads owing to building constructions, and there is a limitation to construction of flyovers.? This has led to congestion doubling in major cities, and trebling in some metros. Volume capacity ratio, by which congestion is measured, has gone up from 0.5 to 2 in Chennai, to 3 in certain CBDs in Bangalore. Urban transport planners share this apprehension. Chennai transport commissioner S Machendranathan said, ?Within cities, the most that we can do is to create some one way streets, put in more traffic signals to avoid accidents.? The situation in tier II and tier III towns, where roads are often only half the width as in metros, is only worse. Ministry of Urban Development?s Urban Transport Division director Sanjeev K Lohia said, ?Widening of roads in tier II and III towns is permissible under the JNNURM. But, according to the national urban road transport policy, central allocation has to prioritise urban transport facilities over road construction, or facilitation of private transport.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090422/9a6c118e/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Wed Apr 22 15:38:22 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:08:22 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Released: Training document on "Transportation Demand Management" Message-ID: <49EEBB5E.6030809@sutp.org> Cities across the globe need innovative and effective solutions to solve their transportation problems in the short, medium and long term. Increased economic growth, coupled with a resulting increase in motorisation in recent years, has created greater congestion than has ever been seen in the world. Solutions to these problems are possible through improvement of conditions of public transport and conditions for pedestrians and bicycle users, and also in the implementation of measures which promote a rational use of the automobile. In that sense, Transportation Demand Management (TDM) aims to maximize the efficiency of the urban transport system using a wide range of measures, including Congestion Pricing, Public Transport Improvement, Promoting Non-motorised Transport, Fuel Taxation and Parking Management. This document presents an overview on international practices, approaches and supports the design of a TDM strategy. It covers the following key issues: 1. Challenging traffic growth in developing countries 2. Developing a comprehensive TDM strategy 3. Improving mobility options 4. Economic measures 5. Smart growth and land use policies Authored by Andrea Broaddus, Todd Litman and Gopinath Menon, this GTZ training document advocates that a three-pronged approach, utilizing 1) Improve Mobility Options, 2) Economic Measures, and 3) Smart Growth and Land Use Management is the most effective way to manage demand and create a resilient and efficient transport system. The document contains 118 fully illustrated pages, 27 tables, 51 boxes and 92 figures. Please don?t hesitate to forward this message to interested colleagues. * Free download:* SUTP users can download the document from http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=413 . Unregistered visitors can register (at no cost) on the SUTP website and then proceed to download. * About SUTP:* The Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) is a global partnership which aims to help developing world cities achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities. SUTP developed the publication ?Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in developing cities? consisting of more than 26 modules. The sourcebook addresses the key areas of a sustainable transport policy framework for a developing city. It is also complemented by a series of training documents and other material. More on www.sutp.org * Comments and feedback are highly appreciated:* sutp@sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090422/fb5cfc0c/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Wed Apr 29 15:52:32 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:22:32 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Released: "Demystifying Induced Travel Demand" Message-ID: <49F7F930.60504@sutp.org> ?If we build it, they will come?: The question of induced travel demand attracts substantial interest from decision-makers, planners and the wider public alike. This technical document is intended as an introduction to the concept of induced travel demand and the principal arguments and debates surrounding the phenomenon. While it tries to remain neutral in the normative debates about whether induced travel is a ?good? or a ?bad?, it does accept as a fundamental premise, and argues emphatically, that induced travel demand is a real and measurable phenomenon, that it can and does produce environmental and social consequences, and that it should be explicitly accounted for in project evaluation and strategic assessments wherever possible. The various topics in this document focus on what lies beneath the statement ?If we build more, we get more?. It analyses if we build anything, will they come? Or will they come only if we build a particular ?it?? And who are ?they? that will ?come? - people who are not coming at all right now? Or people who are coming, from time-to-time, but would come more often if we build ?it?? Perhaps most importantly, if we don't build ?it?, would they come anyway? This document is part of the new series ?Sustainable Urban Transport Technical Documents" developed by GTZ in an effort to provide greater knowledge to the policy makers on issues related to sustainable urban transport. The document has been authored by Mr. Roger Gorham, an urban transport specialist who is currently a Transport Economist in the World Bank. *Free download*: SUTP users can download the document from http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=393 . Unregistered visitors can register (at no cost) on the SUTP website and then proceed to download. *About SUTP*: The Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) is a global partnership which aims to help developing world cities achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities. SUTP developed the publication ?Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in developing cities? consisting of more than 26 modules. The sourcebook addresses the key areas of a sustainable transport policy framework for a developing city. It is also complemented by a series of training documents and other material. More on www.sutp.org *Comments and feedback are highly appreciated*: sutp@sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090429/55d0ead5/attachment.html