From sudhir at cai-asia.org Fri May 1 15:56:51 2009 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 14:56:51 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest Vol. 6 Issue 4 - 1 May 2009 Message-ID: Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest Vol. 6 Issue 4 - 1 May 2009 SUMA News Digest is a free monthly e-mail publication that features news, information, and events related to sustainable urban transportation in Asia. *** VISIT THE SUMA PAGES: http://www.cleanairnet.org/suma *** *SUMA PARTNERS ON THE MOVE! * *EMBARQ aids in Successful Bid for Indore City Buses* The city of Indore secured Rs. 70 crores ($14 million) from the Indian government's stimulus package to purchase 170 new transit buses featuring low-entry platforms and air conditioning. The new fleet could double the city's total bus ridership, which is currently measured at about 110,000 passengers per day in April 2008. Read more: http://www.cstindia.org/node/65 *First National Stakeholders' Consultation on EST Strategy for the Philippines* The National Stakeholders Conference for the Formulation of the National EST Strategy was conducted on April 22, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Ortigas Center. The first draft of the National EST Strategy for the Philippines was discussed among the multi-stakeholders concerned with environmentally sustainable transport issues in the Philippines. Read more on Philippines EST process at http://www.ncts.upd.edu.ph/est/?page_id=2 *Document on "Transportation Demand Management? and "Cycling-inclusive Policy Development?* 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. 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. The publications are also part of Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) initiative. Read more @ http://www.sutp.org/ Cleaning Up 2-Stroke Tricycles in Metro Manila On 2 March 2009, the Mayor of Mandaluyong City, the Partnership for Clean Air (PCA) (the Country Network of the CAI-Asia Center), Envirofit Philippines, the Mandaluyong Federation of Tricycle Associates, and the Rizal Technological University - Kawani Multi-purpose Cooperative signed a memorandum of agreement to retrofit 240 2-stroke tricycles with direct-injection technology this year. With the support of the Philippine Institute of Petroleum (PIP), PCA agreed to subsidize approximately PhP 2.6 M for the retrofitting of the 2-stroke tricycles in Mandaluyong City, while Envirofit will focus on ensuring the success of the project and demonstrate direct injection technology. Read more @ http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-26873.html *NEWSREPORTS * *HEADLINES * ASEAN : ASEAN to set up transport infrastructure fund http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73336.html South Korea : Public Transport for Physically Challenged http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73348.html Singapore: Cleaner air for better health http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73347.html Malaysia : Time to revamp KL transport system http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73346.html Vietnam: Drunk drivers involved in 10% of traffic crashes: experts http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73340.html Vietnam: Dust hazard threatens southern metro: experts http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73339.html Bangladesh : Bluebooks proposed for rickshaws, carts http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73341.html Pakistan : Rapid Mass Transit System: Cabinet committee amends TOR to launch survey http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\05\01\story_1-5-2009_pg11_4 Global : Urban planning: How to deal with too many people in too little space http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73335.html India : A bus to nowhere http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73338.html Asia : The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review http://www.adb.org/Documents/Speeches/2009/ms2009026.asp Indonesia : Paratransit network still stuck at slow lane http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73345.html China : Drive to discard polluting vehicles http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-04/21/content_7697326.htm * * * * *INTERESTING FINDS/SEMINARS * *Future Urban Transport conference* The Future Urban Transport conference took place in G?teborg, Sweden on April 19-21, 2009. It was organized by the City of G?teborg, Volvo and the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations, VREF. The presentations are uploaded @ http://www.fut.se/conferences/fut/conferenceprogramme.4.5e87830d11d3f17e30680007636.html *What Policies are Effective at Reducing Carbon Emissions from Surface Passenger Transport?* This report by the UK Energy Research Centre reviews a set of interventions to encourage behavioural and technological change. The report has the following objectives: ? Review the evidence for CO2 emission reduction potential and cost-effectiveness across policies that target car technology/choice and those that target wider travel choices ? Identify the key issues and problems associated with each policy type ? Identify whether and where policies are complementary or synergistic ? Identify evidence gaps and highlight future research needs ? Draw conclusions relevant to current UK policy Read more @ http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/Downloads/PDF/T/TPA_transport_final.pdf *Urban Passenger Transport: How People Move About in Australian Cities* The Australian Government has released a report that examines passenger transport in Australia's eight capital cities over the period 1977 to 2008.In the sixty years since the end of the Second World War, Australian cities have been transformed from fairly tightly knit core-and-spoke configurations, to sprawling suburban low-density configurations. The implications are huge?. Read more @ http://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/05/Files/IS31.pdf *Trends in older people?s travel patterns* Land Transport New Zealand has released a report that explores trends in older people?s travel patterns using data collected in a 1997-1998 survey and comparing it to data collected from 2004 to 2007. Read more @ http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/research/reports/369.pdf *McKinsey Report - Roads toward a low carbon future (Mar 2009)* The report is based on an 18-month joint effort of McKinsey & Company's Automotive & Assembly Practice and Climate Change Special Initiative. The report finds that meaningful, cost-effective reductions in carbon emissions from passenger vehicles will entail an integrated approach involving a broad range of measures. These measure could include vehicle upgrades for greater fuel efficiency, broad use of biofuels, swift improvements to road and traffic infrastructure, greater use of publci transportation, and driver education to capture the benefits of more fuel-efficient eco-driving. Review it @ http://www.mckinsey .com/clientservice/ccsi/pdf/roads_toward_low_carbon_future.pdf *EU Transport GHG: Routes to 2050?* The first stakeholder event of the *EU Transport GHG: Routes to 2050?* project was held at the Borschette conference centre in Brussels on 27 March, which was attended by around 100 people. The aim of the event was to inform stakeholders about the project, its objectives and timescales. Additionally, there were presentations on the findings of the two aspects of the work that have been undertaken to date, as well as presentations from a number of stakeholders. The documents are uploaded @ http://www.eutransportghg2050.eu/cms/first-stakeholder/ * * * * *MARK YOUR CALENDARS * Sustainable Development 2009, Cyprus, 13 - 15 May 2009 http://www.wessex.ac.uk/09-conferences/sustainable-development-2009.html Transport for a Global Economy -Challenges & Opportunities in the Downturn -Leipzig Congress Centre 26-29 May 2009 http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/2009/Forum2009.html eceee 2009 Summer Study, C?te d'Azur, France, 1-6 June 2009 http://www.eceee.org/summer_study/ Urban Transport 2009, Bologna, Italy, 22-24 June 2009 http://www2.wessex.ac.uk/09-conferences/urban-transport-2009.html ** * * CONTRIBUTE * * * * To contribute articles, news items, or event announcements for the next issue, send an email with the complete details and URL source to suma-news-owner@googlegroups.com with subject "FOR SUMA NEWS". Past issues from March and April 2008 are found at http://groups.google.com/group/suma-news ** * * ABOUT SUMA * * * * The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program is supported by the Asian Development Bank through a grant from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. SUMA is implemented by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), in partnership with 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) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090501/3f7808ec/attachment.html From phaizan at gmail.com Tue May 5 04:48:41 2009 From: phaizan at gmail.com (Faizan Jawed) Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 01:18:41 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Children and traffic safety Message-ID: http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspx?id=43&FeatureId=1110 *Dying to go to School** * [image: Dying to Go to School, Costa Rica] Dying to go to School Film star Michelle Yeoh travels the world to meet young victims, bereaved mothers and surgeons, to ask why there must be increasing young deaths from traffic. Michelle Yeoh...?I think if you look around, this is a community where their homes and their schools are over the other side. A high speed road, cars not stopping, not slowing down. Nothing to tell them and to stop them. And these kids, if you look at them they are going to cross this heavy junction, looking from right, left, behind, with nothing to help them. And they do this every morning. Somewhere around the world at this moment sadly there is a child hurt or killed ? just because they are going to school. For God?s sake, we have to stop this.? ------------------------------ Dying to go to School In recent years Michelle Yeoh has emerged as one of the most highly regarded film actresses in the world. Her international recognition has come from films like, ?Memoirs of a Geisha?, the multi award winning ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? and the James Bond film ?Tomorrow Never Dies?. [image: Michelle Yeoh with Ban Ki Moon] Better known for her action roles, motorcycle stunts and speeding car chases, it's a dramatic turn around to accept the role of road safety global ambassador. Featuring Michael Palin and Michael Schumacher, 'Dying to go to School' travels from Cape Town to Costa Rica, via India, in an effort to understand how more than 11 million lives have been lost on the roads since the year 2000, and why numbers are dramatically climbing. -- 2008 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholar Berkeley Prize 2008 Finalist +91-9820981298 phaizan@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090505/4a21e267/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.eu Tue May 5 07:46:03 2009 From: edelman at greenidea.eu (Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory) Date: Tue, 05 May 2009 00:46:03 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Children and traffic safety In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <49FF702B.50802@greenidea.eu> Hi, Saving one life is a good thing. Saving many is great. But there is nothing "New Mobility" about this programme and related activities of Ms Yeoh with the FIA Foundation and the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation. The sponsors (Besides FIA, also Michelin, BP and the Danish govt. among others) seem to be primarily interested in creating and preserving current and future motorists, rather than creating options. Is Michael Schumacher going to promote BRT, cycling.... going slow? Of course not. He is going to say that if you were only like him, skilled and helmeted, the future is bright. We shouldn't fall for it not should we accept the growing private motorisation of the developing world. Our friends in many fine organisations are promoting alternatives which save lives AND the environment and do lots of other positive things. I don't think that New Mobility or doing mobility differently is a luxury for anyone. See related links: - T Faizan Jawed wrote: > > > http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspx?id=43&FeatureId=1110 > > > *Dying to go to School** > * > > > > Dying to Go to School, Costa Rica > > Dying to go to School > Film star Michelle Yeoh travels the world to meet young victims, > bereaved mothers and surgeons, to ask why there must be increasing > young deaths from traffic. > > > Michelle Yeoh... > > ?I think if you look around, this is a community where their homes and > their schools are over the other side. > > A high speed road, cars not stopping, not slowing down. Nothing to > tell them and to stop them. And these kids, if you look at them they > are going to cross this heavy junction, looking from right, left, > behind, with nothing to help them. > > And they do this every morning. Somewhere around the world at this > moment sadly there is a child hurt or killed ? just because they are > going to school. For God?s sake, we have to stop this.? > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > Dying to go to School > > > In recent years Michelle Yeoh has emerged as one of the most highly > regarded film actresses in the world. Her international recognition > has come from films like, ?Memoirs of a Geisha?, the multi award > winning ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? and the James Bond film > ?Tomorrow Never Dies?. > Michelle Yeoh with Ban Ki Moon > Better known for her action roles, motorcycle stunts and speeding car > chases, it's a dramatic turn around to accept the role of road safety > global ambassador. > > Featuring Michael Palin and Michael Schumacher, 'Dying to go to > School' travels from Cape Town to Costa Rica, via India, in an effort > to understand how more than 11 million lives have been lost on the > roads since the year 2000, and why numbers are dramatically climbing. > > > > > -- > 2008 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholar > Berkeley Prize 2008 Finalist > +91-9820981298 > phaizan@gmail.com > > __._,_.___ > Messages in this topic > > (1) Reply (via web post) > > | Start a new topic > > > Messages > > | Links > > | Database > > | Polls > > | Calendar > > > Check in here via the homepage at http://www.newmobility.org > To post message to group: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com > Please think twice before posting to the group as a whole > (It might be that your note is best sent to one person?) > > > > MARKETPLACE > I'm happy I lost my Job. Now I make $12,000/mo online! See how I do > it: WealthResource.org. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > I Got Fired But now make $350/day online!. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Mom Power: Discover the community of moms doing more for their > families, for the world and for each other > > > Yahoo! Groups > > > Change settings via the Web > > (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest > > | Switch format to Traditional > > > Visit Your Group > > | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | > Unsubscribe > Recent Activity > > Visit Your Group > > > Yahoo! Finance > > It's Now Personal > > > Guides, news, > > advice & more. > > Yahoo! Groups > > Stay healthy > > > and discover other > > people who can help. > > Y! Groups blog > > the best source > > > for the latest > > scoop on Groups. > > . > > __,_._,___ -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Green Idea Factory Urbanstr. 45 D-10967 Berlin Germany Skype: toddedelman Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081 Home/Office: ++49 030 7554 0001 edelman@greenidea.eu www.greenidea.eu www.flickr.com/photos/edelman CAR is over. If you want it. "Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090505/c6788f58/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.eu Wed May 6 01:49:00 2009 From: edelman at greenidea.eu (Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory) Date: Tue, 05 May 2009 18:49:00 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: [LotsLessCars] Children and traffic safety In-Reply-To: <4A000108.1020900@greenidea.eu> References: <4A000108.1020900@greenidea.eu> Message-ID: <4A006DFC.5020605@greenidea.eu> Make roads (safe). (Does anyone remember when the HIV AIDS campaigns, at least in the UK - to their credit - started saying "safer" instead of "safe"? This campaign seems completely oblivious....) Some highlights from the Campaign for Global Road Safety, which I hopes makes it clear that it is a pro-driving campaign (or just saying that roads are fine and good, but just make them "safer", or simply a lot of distracting nonsense) What is really sad is how much support it is getting, which could otherwise be promoting real alternatives... Just listen for the rhetoric, e.g. "technical fixes" etc.... *** ?Vaccines? for Roads http://www.makeroadssafe.org/about/Pages/Issues.aspx The ?vaccines? for the road injury epidemic are available. We know how to reduce road deaths, and in most industrialised countries road deaths have been cut by at least half over the past 30 years, even as the number of vehicles has increased dramatically. Improved road design and a focus on pedestrian safety, safer vehicles, motorcycle helmets, seat belts, action on drink driving, driver training and licensing and tackling speed ? this is how road deaths can be reduced. The missing ingredient is political commitment to take action. *** Check this list to see who is missing: *** And if things are not clear yet, look at the absolute junk they allow on their site.... - T Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory wrote: > > > Hi, > > (The following is a response to a message sent to the New Mobility and > Sustran lists... ) > > Saving one life is a good thing. Saving many is great. > > But I am quite dismayed that the sponsors (Besides FIA, also Michelin, > BP and the Danish govt. among others) seem to be primarily interested > in creating and preserving current and future motorists and > motorization, rather than creating mobility options. > > Is Michael Schumacher going to promote BRT, cycling.... going slow? Of > course not. He is going to say that if you were only like him, skilled > and helmeted, the future is bright. > > We shouldn't fall for it not should we accept the growing private > motorisation of the developing world. Our friends in many fine > organisations are promoting alternatives which save lives AND the > environment and do lots of other positive things. I don't think that > New Mobility or doing mobility differently is a luxury for anyone. > > See related links: > > > > > > > - T > > Faizan Jawed wrote: > >> http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspx?id=43&FeatureId=1110 >> >> >> *Dying to go to School** >> * >> >> >> >> Dying to Go to School, Costa Rica >> >> Dying to go to School >> Film star Michelle Yeoh travels the world to meet young victims, >> bereaved mothers and surgeons, to ask why there must be increasing >> young deaths from traffic. >> >> >> Michelle Yeoh... >> >> ?I think if you look around, this is a community where their homes >> and their schools are over the other side. >> >> A high speed road, cars not stopping, not slowing down. Nothing to >> tell them and to stop them. And these kids, if you look at them they >> are going to cross this heavy junction, looking from right, left, >> behind, with nothing to help them. >> >> And they do this every morning. Somewhere around the world at this >> moment sadly there is a child hurt or killed ? just because they are >> going to school. For God?s sake, we have to stop this.? >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> Dying to go to School >> >> >> In recent years Michelle Yeoh has emerged as one of the most highly >> regarded film actresses in the world. Her international recognition >> has come from films like, ?Memoirs of a Geisha?, the multi award >> winning ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? and the James Bond film >> ?Tomorrow Never Dies?. >> Michelle Yeoh with Ban Ki Moon >> Better known for her action roles, motorcycle stunts and speeding car >> chases, it's a dramatic turn around to accept the role of road safety >> global ambassador. >> >> Featuring Michael Palin and Michael Schumacher, 'Dying to go to >> School' travels from Cape Town to Costa Rica, via India, in an effort >> to understand how more than 11 million lives have been lost on the >> roads since the year 2000, and why numbers are dramatically climbing. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> 2008 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholar >> Berkeley Prize 2008 Finalist >> +91-9820981298 >> phaizan@gmail.com >> > > > -- > -------------------------------------------- > > Todd Edelman > Green Idea Factory > > Urbanstr. 45 > D-10967 Berlin > Germany > > Skype: toddedelman > Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081 > Home/Office: ++49 030 7554 0001 > > edelman@greenidea.eu > www.greenidea.eu > www.flickr.com/photos/edelman > > CAR is over. If you want it. > > "Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" > - B. Brecht (with slight modification) > __._,_.___ > Messages in this topic > > (1) Reply (via web post) > > | Start a new topic > > > Messages > > | Files > > | Photos > > | Links > > | Calendar > > > "LotsLessCars in Cities" at http://lotslesscars.org > Organize a Car/Free Day: The nose of the camel. > World Car/Free Days at http://worldcarfreeday.com > To leave list: LotsLessCars-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > To post messages: LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com > Also check out New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org > Need some help? Send an email to Help@newmobility.org > Or call via Skype to "newmobility' > Yahoo! Groups > > > Change settings via the Web > > (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest > > | Switch format to Traditional > > > Visit Your Group > > | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | > Unsubscribe > Recent Activity > > Visit Your Group > > > Give Back > > Yahoo! for Good > > > Get inspired > > by a good cause. > > Y! Toolbar > > Get it Free! > > > easy 1-click access > > to your groups. > > Yahoo! Groups > > Start a group > > > in 3 easy steps. > > Connect with others. > > . > > __,_._,___ -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Green Idea Factory Urbanstr. 45 D-10967 Berlin Germany Skype: toddedelman Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081 Home/Office: ++49 030 7554 0001 edelman@greenidea.eu www.greenidea.eu www.flickr.com/photos/edelman CAR is over. If you want it. "Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090505/97d3c73e/attachment.html From sudhir at cai-asia.org Wed May 6 07:23:05 2009 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Wed, 6 May 2009 06:23:05 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Choose People Over Cars Message-ID: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/article/18929.html *Solo Advised: ?Choose People Over Cars?- *By Candra Malik Solo. Society should prioritize people over cars, said Enrique Penalosa, the visiting former mayor of Bogota, Colombia, on Tuesday. Penalosa, currently a guest lecturer at New York University and an urban development consultant for cities in Australia, Africa, South America, Europe and the United States, said that public health in the urban setting was closely linked to the management of transportation. ?Transportation is an odd sector,? he said. ?The more good schools and hospitals there are, the worse the transportation system gets. The streets are all used up by cars,? he said in a seminar. Penalosa is in Solo, Central Java, at the invitation of Mayor Joko Widodo, who has also expressed concern for urban public health. Penalosa said that gas emission, noise and gridlock were stress-inducing factors undermining physical and psychological health. ?The children are raised in a traumatic atmosphere. No sooner do they step into the street, then someone yells at them, ?Look out, there?s a car!? The children get startled and start screaming in fear,? he said. He said 250,000 children died every year from car accidents that killed pedestrians, not counting children who died as passengers of vehicles in crashes. ?Strangely, this is considered a common thing. When we?re talking about health, why do we often neglect to discuss the psychological safety and happiness of children?? Penalosa asked. A good city is a kid-friendly city that allows them to play outdoors without fear of being run over by a car or motorcycle, he said, adding that a good city has lanes dedicated for buses. The former mayor, who created bus rapid transit system that revolutionized urban transport in Bogota, showed a 25-kilometer long street in the Colombian capital dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists during the seminar. He believes it is better to spend the city budget on parks, pedestrian lanes, houses, schools and hospitals rather than on overpasses and toll roads. Penalosa reminded the audience that civilization has had cities for the past 2,000 years, but cars only made an appearance in the last 80. ?Will we preserve and save our cities or defend the incessant growth of cars? Should we return to walking and cycling, or do we all want to drive?? he asked. ?We need to prioritize and respect the people, not the cars. We have to give equal rights to the bikers and drivers.? Joko said that urban transportation had become a complicated issue, especially with the rapid population growth in the city. ?The higher the residents? mobility, the more they travel,? he said. ?To solve transportation issues, especially traffic and public transport, we need to give it professional attention and management.? -- Sudhir Gota Transport Specialist CAI-Asia Center Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila, Philippines 1605 Tel: +63-2-395-2843 Fax: +63-2-395-2846 http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia Skype : sudhirgota -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090506/53a46d90/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Wed May 6 12:41:07 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Wed, 06 May 2009 09:11:07 +0530 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?Module_Updated=3A_=E2=80=9CTwo_and_Three_Whee?= =?utf-8?B?bGVyc+KAnQ==?= Message-ID: <4A0106D3.9050604@sutp.org> Two and three wheelers are synonymous with the growth of Asia in the past decades ? they are the most preferred personal mode of travel, due to their ease to find a beeline in traffic jams and also due to their lower cost of ownership compared to cars. Managing the growth of these vehicles is essential in keeping Asian cities competitive. This updated version of the module ?Two and Three wheelers?, authored by Mr. N.V. Iyer, focuses on the latest trends in two and three wheelers' growth and various best practices in management of this type of vehicles. This updated version also has a section authored by Dr. Christopher Cherry on the impacts of electric bikes with case studies from China. *Free download:* SUTP users can download the document from http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=17. Unregistered visitors can register (at no cost) on 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. 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/20090506/72b85895/attachment.html From stephenplowden at blueyonder.co.uk Wed May 6 17:01:55 2009 From: stephenplowden at blueyonder.co.uk (Stephen Plowden) Date: Wed, 6 May 2009 09:01:55 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: [LotsLessCars] Children and traffic safety References: <4A000108.1020900@greenidea.eu> <4A006DFC.5020605@greenidea.eu> Message-ID: Some comments on the highlights from the Campaign for Global Road Safety quoted by Tod. 1. An important approach not mentioned by CGRS is to reduce the amount of road traffic as well as crash and casualty rates. There are many other reasons, in addition to safety, for wanting to reduce traffic. 2. Although reducing speed is mentioned, it should be given much more prominence. It is a very important way of reducing both crash and casualty rates and rates of fuel consumption, emissions of CO2 and other gases and noise. It also helps to reduce traffic. 3. Making vehicles safer is important, provided it is interpreted widely enough - more widely, I suspect, than the CGRS intends. Vehicles should be made safer for the other road users with whom they may collide, not only for their own occupants. This means in particular reducing weight and power and fitting vehicles with variable speed limiters . There is good evidence that features such as ABS intended to improve safety can be counter-productive by encouraging riskier behaviour. ----- Original Message ----- From: Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory To: LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com ; Sustran Resource Centre Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 5:49 PM Subject: Re: [LotsLessCars] Children and traffic safety Make roads (safe). (Does anyone remember when the HIV AIDS campaigns, at least in the UK - to their credit - started saying "safer" instead of "safe"? This campaign seems completely oblivious....) Some highlights from the Campaign for Global Road Safety, which I hopes makes it clear that it is a pro-driving campaign (or just saying that roads are fine and good, but just make them "safer", or simply a lot of distracting nonsense) What is really sad is how much support it is getting, which could otherwise be promoting real alternatives... Just listen for the rhetoric, e.g. "technical fixes" etc.... *** ?Vaccines? for Roads http://www.makeroadssafe.org/about/Pages/Issues.aspx The ?vaccines? for the road injury epidemic are available. We know how to reduce road deaths, and in most industrialised countries road deaths have been cut by at least half over the past 30 years, even as the number of vehicles has increased dramatically. Improved road design and a focus on pedestrian safety, safer vehicles, motorcycle helmets, seat belts, action on drink driving, driver training and licensing and tackling speed ? this is how road deaths can be reduced. The missing ingredient is political commitment to take action. *** Check this list to see who is missing: *** And if things are not clear yet, look at the absolute junk they allow on their site.... - T Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory wrote: Hi, (The following is a response to a message sent to the New Mobility and Sustran lists... ) Saving one life is a good thing. Saving many is great. But I am quite dismayed that the sponsors (Besides FIA, also Michelin, BP and the Danish govt. among others) seem to be primarily interested in creating and preserving current and future motorists and motorization, rather than creating mobility options. Is Michael Schumacher going to promote BRT, cycling.... going slow? Of course not. He is going to say that if you were only like him, skilled and helmeted, the future is bright. We shouldn't fall for it not should we accept the growing private motorisation of the developing world. Our friends in many fine organisations are promoting alternatives which save lives AND the environment and do lots of other positive things. I don't think that New Mobility or doing mobility differently is a luxury for anyone. See related links: - T Faizan Jawed wrote: http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspx?id=43&FeatureId=1110 Dying to go to School Dying to go to School Film star Michelle Yeoh travels the world to meet young victims, bereaved mothers and surgeons, to ask why there must be increasing young deaths from traffic. Michelle Yeoh... ?I think if you look around, this is a community where their homes and their schools are over the other side. A high speed road, cars not stopping, not slowing down. Nothing to tell them and to stop them. And these kids, if you look at them they are going to cross this heavy junction, looking from right, left, behind, with nothing to help them. And they do this every morning. Somewhere around the world at this moment sadly there is a child hurt or killed ? just because they are going to school. For God?s sake, we have to stop this.? -------------------------------------------------- Dying to go to School In recent years Michelle Yeoh has emerged as one of the most highly regarded film actresses in the world. Her international recognition has come from films like, ?Memoirs of a Geisha?, the multi award winning ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? and the James Bond film ?Tomorrow Never Dies?. Better known for her action roles, motorcycle stunts and speeding car chases, it's a dramatic turn around to accept the role of road safety global ambassador. Featuring Michael Palin and Michael Schumacher, 'Dying to go to School' travels from Cape Town to Costa Rica, via India, in an effort to understand how more than 11 million lives have been lost on the roads since the year 2000, and why numbers are dramatically climbing. -- 2008 RIBA Norman Foster Traveling Scholar Berkeley Prize 2008 Finalist +91-9820981298 phaizan@gmail.com -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Green Idea Factory Urbanstr. 45 D-10967 Berlin Germany Skype: toddedelman Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081 Home/Office: ++49 030 7554 0001 edelman@greenidea.eu www.greenidea.eu www.flickr.com/photos/edelman CAR is over. If you want it. "Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification) -- -------------------------------------------- Todd Edelman Green Idea Factory Urbanstr. 45 D-10967 Berlin Germany Skype: toddedelman Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081 Home/Office: ++49 030 7554 0001 edelman@greenidea.eu www.greenidea.eu www.flickr.com/photos/edelman CAR is over. If you want it. "Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification) __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (2) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Calendar "LotsLessCars in Cities" at http://lotslesscars.org Organize a Car/Free Day: The nose of the camel. World Car/Free Days at http://worldcarfreeday.com To leave list: LotsLessCars-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com To post messages: LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com Also check out New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org Need some help? Send an email to Help@newmobility.org Or call via Skype to "newmobility' Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity Visit Your Group Give Back Yahoo! for Good Get inspired by a good cause. Y! Toolbar Get it Free! easy 1-click access to your groups. Yahoo! Groups Start a group in 3 easy steps. Connect with others. . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090506/e1971f95/attachment.html From sudhir at cai-asia.org Mon May 11 17:36:21 2009 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 16:36:21 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Emissions from India's Intercity and Intracity Road Transport Message-ID: Dear All, The CAI-Asia Center is finalizing a study entitled, "Emissions from India's Intercity and Intracity Road Transport." . The draft version of research study can be found online @ http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73353.html ) The study aims to stimulate debate on the quantification and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions from transport infrastructure, policies, and projects. It also aims to promote the co-benefits approach in addressing these environmental problems. The study highlights the need to intensify efforts to reduce emissions from both intra- and intercity movement of people and goods. In our view, sustainable transport policies that incorporate air quality and climate change are being developed and implemented at a slow pace, risking irreversible damage to the environment and public welfare. This is further aggravated by the global economic recession, which has led developed countries to adopt economic stimulus packages that includes increasing investments in transport infrastructure, particularly road building and expansion. If developing countries blindly follow this lead by prioritizing vehicles instead of people, it is certain that CO2 emissions, air pollution, congestion, and other transport related problems will worsen. The CAI-Asia Center has analyzed the impact of increased urbanization and motorization on CO2, particulate matter (PM), and NOx emissions, by comparing emission estimates from the transport sector in India at the national and city levels. India is used as a case study because relatively robust national and city information on travel activity and vehicle numbers were available from different sources. If you have any comments, please email them to me or Bert Fabian ( bert.fabian@cai-asia.org) by 20 May 2009. best regards, Sudhir -- Sudhir Gota Transport Specialist CAI-Asia Center Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila, Philippines 1605 Tel: +63-2-395-2843 Fax: +63-2-395-2846 http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia Skype : sudhirgota -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090511/3e3840bc/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Wed May 20 04:47:33 2009 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 01:17:33 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Hot off the presses: GTZ Sourcebook on urban transport for the South Asian Audience Message-ID: <4A130CD5.80007@sutp.org> GTZ SUTP?s flagship publication ?Sustainable Urban Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Countries? has been adapted for the South Asian audience and is available for purchase in its print version. The South Asian version of the sourcebook is titled ?Sustainable Urban Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in South Asian Cities?. The two volumes of this edition contain 12 modules from the set of 26 modules of the Sourcebook, specifically selected and adapted for the South Asian context. Dr. Ramachandran, Secretary to the Government of India (Urban Development), Ministry of Urban Development, underlines in his foreword for the publication: ?It is very timely that the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) is releasing its ?Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in South Asian Cities?. The Sourcebook can serve as a toolkit for policy-makers in the state and city governments and support them in adopting sustainable transport solutions for their respective cities. There are chapters in this sourcebook that emphasise the various issues highlighted in the NUTP and can provide wider understanding for the readers on these issues.? Prof. Shivanand Swamy, Associate Director, CEPT, points out in the preface for the publication: ?GTZ's Sourcebook ? ?Sustainable Urban Transport: a Sourcebook for Policy-makers in South Asian Cities? is a central publication that will provide guidance to the city administrators and planners in a variety of topics from urban transport institutions to details of planning for non-motorized transport, including other important issues such as bus regulation and planning and bus rapid transit.? Both dignitaries agree that the publication would increase the understanding of the readers on various urban transport issues and help policy-makers make sustainable choices for their cities. The sourcebook supports the view of the National Urban Transport Policy-2006 (NUTP)'s recommendation on moving people and not vehicles, among various other principles. Queries about purchasing the print copies can be sent to sutp[at]sutp.org. SUTP Team -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090520/50a64f49/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri May 22 22:33:40 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 15:33:40 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Sustran, World Streets and the Global South Message-ID: <030901c9dae1$edb4b6b0$c91e2410$@britton@ecoplan.org> Dear Sustran Friends, Since life seems to be a bit slow on our wonderful Sustran network these days, I thought to see if I might prime the pump a bit, with selected articles coming from World Streets, to which of course you are all cordially invited. One of the main objectives of Streets, which we share with Sustran, is to create hotter and more effective two way exchanges of information and collaboration North/South both directions. I personally think this is a hugely important task, and I would like to see it getting more attention and use. I hope you will find these pieces of interest and use, and invite you to let me know if you have any ideas for future articles, etc. Today's edition looks at just that. You will be sent it momentarily. With all good wishes, Eric Britton World Streets (Plan B) cid:image001.jpg@01C8DAF3.F7EBC130 Technology transforms time and space . . . and our minds New Mobility Partnerships - http://www.newmobility.org & check out World Streets -- www.Worldstreets.org Europe: 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France T: +331 4326 1323 or +339 7044 4179 Skype: ericbritton USA: 9440 Readcrest Drive Los Angeles, CA 90210 T: +1 310 601-8468 Skype : newmobility -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090522/a5f3e56c/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 12184 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090522/a5f3e56c/attachment.jpe From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri May 22 22:39:11 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 15:39:11 +0200 Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Transport in Cities: Plan A is Not Working (1) Message-ID: <031501c9dae2$b3043030$190c9090$@britton@ecoplan.org> Source: http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2009/05/transport-in-cities-plan-is-no t-working.html The goal of today's column is provide an opening statement and then to invite short contributions (200 words or less) from our international colleagues around the world as to why "Plan A" is not working in the transport sector of our cities worldwide". Why is this? The response almost always given is that there is not enough money for doing it right. For my part I have serious doubts about this. We would like to see if by putting our heads together on this we can together usefully pinpoint and question some of the broadly shared preconditions of policy and practice in the sector, not in order to criticize or cast blame but rather to see if through our collective efforts we can help come up with some positive ideas for near-term improvement. A bit of first background to get us started: Any fair-minded person who looks around the streets of our cities as things stand here halfway through 2009 has to be struck by the fact that our transportation arrangements are in very rough shape in almost all cities worldwide . This is not to say that there are not many people, programs, groups and institutions out there trying very hard to do better. It is just that the bottom line, whether functional, economic, environmental, or social, is highly problematic and actually crumbling in almost all cases. This is highly troubling, especially because there are in fact many things that we can do in order to improve performance in many places and at many levels. What can we do to work our way out of this situation? Well what about starting by taking a few steps back (yes, that is right, back!) in order to see if we can spot some basic patterns here, the idea being that once we have this in view we may be able to put our fingers on a couple of key pressure points that may permit us to reverse some of these downward trends. Primary building blocks of Plan A dysfunctionality: The first is surely the fact that we are so busy trying to put details after detail right that we do not recognize that there is de facto something like "Plan A" going on at all -- which, if we did get this message, would almost automatically lead us to start to think about something else . . . Call it "Plan B". Plan A is in almost all cases a pure example of "in the box" "problem-solving". To the innocent-eyed outsider it appears to be a clear case of surrender to the trends and the conditions which create them. Here are couple things which strike this observer about Plan A: It is overwhelmingly inertial, i.e. in most areas it excepts trends and constraints constraints rather than challenging them directly Focuses largely on infrastructure Treats supply as if that were the key Broadly accepts existing institutional arrangements Consistently ignorant of, or alternatively fails to give full scope to, the critical externalities More concerned with products than services Weak on people in all their varieties of conditionsw and needs Offers abundant excellent explanations as to why anything more far-reaching, radical, and eventually powerful is not possible. In a next article in this series I propose to get these issues in more detail. But for now let me be leave the word to you and invite your comments and suggestions. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/18/2009 11:27:00 AM __._,_.___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090522/567f2c75/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri May 22 22:39:11 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 15:39:11 +0200 Subject: [sustran] [World Streets (Plan B)] Public Transit and Public Health: The Link? Message-ID: <031a01c9dae2$b52673f0$1f735bd0$@britton@ecoplan.org> Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (Canada) reports that a number of recent studies do show that high quality public transit service can improve public health by: * Increasing physical activity (people who use public transit on a particular are about 3 times more likely to achieve the basic amount of walking required for public health as people who drive and do not use public transit) * Reducing per capita traffic fatalities (residents of cities with high quality public transit have about a quarter of the per-capita traffic fatality rates as residents of more automobile-dependent communities) * Increased affordability and therefore less stress and more money left in the household budget for healthy food and other necessities (residents of cities with high quality public transportation spend about 20% small portion of household budgets on transportation, and this effect is probably larger for lower-income households) * Improved accessibility for non-drivers, and therefore less difficulty reaching medical services and healthy food. These factors cannot overcome other demographic and economic factors that reduce poor people's health, but it does suggest that everybody, particularly poor people, are much better off in a transit oriented community than in an automobile-dependent community. Todd Alexander Litman - litman@vtpi.org Victoria Transport Policy Institute - ?Efficiency - Equity - Clarity? Victoria, Canada For information see: Heather Allen (2008), Sit Next To Someone Different Every Day - How Public Transport Contributes To Inclusive Communities, Thredbo Conference ( www.thredbo.itls.usyd.edu.au/downloads/thredbo10_papers/thredbo10-plenary-Allen.pdf). APTA (2003), The Route to Better Personal Health, American Public Transportation Association (www.apta.com); at http://spider.apta.com/lgwf/legtools/better_health.pdf. David Bassett, John Pucher, Ralph Buehler, Dixie L. Thompson, and Scott E. Crouter (2008), Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Vol. 5 ( www.humankinetics.com/jpah/journalAbout.cfm), pp. 795-814. Reid Ewing, et al. (2003), ?Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity,? American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 18, No. 1 ( www.healthpromotionjournal.com), Sept/Oct. 2003, pp. 47-57; at www.smartgrowth.umd.edu/research/pdf/EwingSchmidKillingsworthEtAl_SprawlObesity_DateNA.pdf . Lawrence Frank, Sarah Kavage and Todd Litman (2006), Promoting Public Health Through Smart Growth: Building Healthier Communities Through Transportation And Land Use Policies, Smart Growth BC (www.smartgrowth.bc.ca); at www.vtpi.org/sgbc_health.pdf. Ugo Lachapelle and Lawrence D . Frank (2008), ?Mode Of Transport, Employer-Sponsored Public Transit Pass, And Physical Activity,? Journal Of Public Health Policy ( www.palgrave-journals.com/jphp). Todd Litman (2003), ?Integrating Public Health Objectives in Transportation Decision-Making,? American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 18, No. 1 ( www.healthpromotionjournal.com), Sept./Oct. 2003, pp. 103-108; at www.vtpi.org/AJHP-litman.pdf. Todd Litman (2004), If Health Matters: Integrating Public Health Objectives into Transportation Decision-Making, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/health.pdf . Todd Litman (2007), Community Cohesion As A Transport Planning Objective, VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/cohesion.pdf. Todd Litman (2008), Evaluating Transportation Affordability, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/affordability.pdf. Todd Litman (2008), Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs, VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf . Todd Litman and Steven Fitzroy (2006), Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management Traffic Safety Benefits, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/safetrav.pdf. William H. Lucy (2003), ?Mortality Risk Associated With Leaving Home: Recognizing the Relevance of the Built Environment,? American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 9, September 2003, pp. 1564-1569; at www.ajph.org/cgi/content/full/93/9/1564. Richard E. Wener and Gary W. Evans, (2007), ?A Morning Stroll: Levels of Physical Activity in Car and Mass Transit Commuting,? Environment and Behavior, Vol. 39, No. 1, 62-74 ( http://eab.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/1/62). -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets (Plan B) at 5/20/2009 08:36:00 AM -- Archive: http://www.livablestreets.com/[?]/1242801866304 To unsubscribe send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to worldstreets-discussion@lists.livablestreets.com. Please contact worldstreets-discussion-manager@lists.livablestreets.com for questions. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090522/e86c281f/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Tue May 26 14:47:39 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 22:47:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?=5BWorld_Streets=5D_It=E2=80=99s_all_about_ch?= =?utf-8?Q?oice?= Message-ID: <1243316859120.c1b8d71f-bdb8-4224-ad5e-b47987f8915e@google.com> [http://www.pricetags.ca] - Gordon Price, PriceTags, Vancouver, Canada It has taken a century of building almost exclusively for the car to get us to our current dilemma. It will take some considerable time to achieve long-term solutions. Ultimately, they can only be found in the way we build our cities. We will have to establish virtuous cycles to offset the vicious ones, where success leads to more success. There is no single solution. Top-down planning can never be comprehensive enough or flexible enough. Give people enough transportation options and they can by and large work out their own solutions. That in turn is dependent on the design and integration of land-use and transportation choices. Ideally, people should have at least five choices - feet, bike, transit, taxi/carsharing and personal vehicle - and the ability to mix and match them appropriate to the kind of trip and the circumstances faced. The combinations and the mix make it all work. The trip is only a few blocks? Walking is best. It's raining? Grab a taxi. The trip is around five kilometers? Cycling may be the faster alternative. Going to a town centre in the suburbs? Try transit. Heading out of town? Train, perhaps - or car. Yes, the car is perfectly appropriate for many trips, but not all. Once the car is used less frequently, needs may be met more affordability by a car sharing or the occasional rental, with considerable savings. Of course, the provision of alternatives assumes a city designed around more than the car - and a citizenry comfortable with the choices. In the end, the answers are found in the plans we have to implement. Concentrate growth. Build complete communities. Provide transportation choice. But to do so, we will first have to be aware of the impediments to success, rooted in the unrealistic beliefs and assumptions we have associated with the success of the car. Gordon Price, pricetags@shaw.ca Director of the City Program, Simon Fraser University, http://www.pricetags.ca/ Vancouver, Canada Contribution to World Streets and the collaborative project ?Messages for America: Worldwide experience, ideas, counsel, proposals and good wishes for transportation reform under the Obama administration?. See www.messages.newmobility.org for latest version of this report of the New Mobility Agenda. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/26/2009 07:33:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090525/0c8836ee/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue May 26 15:12:29 2009 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 08:12:29 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Car-free Sundays - Updates Message-ID: <019a01c9ddc8$ff22fad0$fd68f070$@britton@ecoplan.org> Our friends from Walk and Bike for Life are updating their (and our) database on past and present Car Free Sunday Projects worldwide. If you happen to have one in your city or know about one, would you be so kind as to share what you have in hand? We will also be preparing a special feature in World Streets on Car Free Sunday, so your inputs will get broad circulation. Copies of your responses please to editor@worldstreets.org and laura.penalosa@mail.mcgill.ca 1. When did the first Car-free Sunday type event originated in your city? How many days a year does it take place? 2. Approximately how many people participates every Sunday? What have been the increases from when it first started? 3. How was the event funded? (City, private sponsors, others) What was the approximate cost? 4. What made your city's Car-Free Sundays particularly unique from those in other places? What type of entertainment and extra activities did you incorporate in order to encourage people to participate? 5. What benefits were you able to identify as a result of this event? 6. What were the main barriers that you encountered and do you have any suggestion on how to deal with them? 7. How do you see your event in 5 years? 8. Who can people contact if they want information on your program (name, telephone, e-mail). 9. Can you also provide the web site link to your program? Once again, thanks for sharing. Eric Britton World Streets (Plan B) cid:image001.jpg@01C8DAF3.F7EBC130 Technology transforms time and space . . . and our minds New Mobility Partnerships - http://www.newmobility.org & check out World Streets -- www.Worldstreets.org Europe: 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France T: +331 4326 1323 or +339 7044 4179 Skype: ericbritton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090526/0454c4f8/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 12184 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090526/0454c4f8/attachment.jpe From editor at worldstreets.org Wed May 27 00:37:38 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 08:37:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Help April Message-ID: <1243352257944.c3156edc-4f30-4385-9753-ce4a13b0f47b@google.com> Dear Photographers, Artists and Eyes on the Street colleagues worldwide, Our friend April Streeter, an environmental journalist, mother of two young cyclists, and Eyes on the Street Sentinel from Gothenburg Sweden is in the process of preparing a book which is focusing on urban women cyclists in all the very different corners of our often hard-to-cycle-in world. If women of all ages cannot cycle safely and wearing a minimum of Lycra, then we will have failed out to meet our goals of fair mobility, social justice and quality of life. She would like to invite you to submit photographs or drawings that you think may be a great addition to this terrific project, and while she is not in a position to pay for your rights would be pleased to provide full acknowledgment as appropriate. I guess this would work out best if either you send her high-quality digital files, or the URL direct to your Flickr or other photography sites along with a word of permission as is needed and appropriate. Or via Skype. April?s e-mail address is april.streeter@gmail.com. Skype: april2462 And appreciated if you might copy to us here at editor@Worldstreets.org . I look forward to this with real interest. Help April help us all. Eric Britton, Editor -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/26/2009 05:26:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090526/6c1c59fd/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed May 27 15:45:37 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 23:45:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Veronica Moss, lobbyist Message-ID: <1243406737181.2a7b20c7-124b-400d-9bd2-4ee4fe68e7c7@google.com> [http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/meet-veronica-moss-auto-lobbyist/] >From our busy friends over at StreetFilms, two and a half minutes with Miss Veronica Moss, convinced motorist, unbending defender of her right to the road, and apparently lobbyist in the corridors of power in Washington DC. Try it with your morning tea break. StreetFilms intro: Ever wonder what folks working for sustainable transportation at the federal level are up against on K Street? For this Streetfilms exclusive event, we were granted unfettered access to Veronica Moss, lobbyist for Automobile Users Trade Organization (AUTO). Veronica gave us a few precious moments inside her SUV to talk about roads, traffic, cyclists, and big cities. After instructing us on proper honking techniques for "old people" and children, she also offered up some choice bons mots. Here's a sample: "People need to be able to drive their cars - that's an American right!"http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/meet-veronica-moss-auto-lobbyist/ Now kindly click here to listen to Miss Moss make her case. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/27/2009 08:26:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090526/fe99896c/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Wed May 27 20:07:34 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 04:07:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Back from Seoul: Denis Baupin on Cities against Climate Change Message-ID: <1243422454606.6c35226c-ea42-4026-9dec-316d23944859@google.com> We try very hard in World Streets to stick to our topic, which is already broad enough. But from time to time we reach out to give attention to the basic underpinnings of public policy which shape the basic environment of our sector and our ability to do something about it. In this spirit, we are pleased to present here a recent "reflection" made by Denis Baupin, Deputy Mayor of Paris in change of sustainable development policy, upon his return from the second meeting of the C40 Cities against Climate Change conference which just concluded in Seoul. You will find below the French language original, and after that a loose translation which your editor has roughed out into English. Les 19 et 20 mai, Denis Baupin a particip?, au nom de la Ville de Paris, ? la r?union biannuelle du C40, l?alliance des 40 plus grandes villes de la plan?te contre le d?r?glement climatique. Vous trouverez ci-dessous pour information son compte ?rendu ? personnel ?, en ligne sur son blog www.denisbaupin.fr. De retour de S?oul: Les villes contre le d?r?glement climatique - Denis Baupin, le 21 mai 2009 Les 19 et 20 mai, j?ai particip?, au nom de Paris, ? la r?union biannuelle du C40, l?alliance des 40 plus grandes villes de la plan?te contre le d?r?glement climatique. Apr?s New York, il y a deux ans, et avant Sao Paulo en 2011, elle se tenait cette fois ? S?oul. Le moins que je puisse en dire est que j?en reviens avec des sentiments forts, mais contrast?s. Un mouvement en marche? Tout d?abord, et c?est le plus important, cette r?union a fait la preuve que, pas ? pas, quelque chose est en train de se passer : une prise de conscience r?elle et s?rieuse. Prise de conscience des risques consid?rables que le d?r?glement climatique fait peser sur la plan?te et l?humanit?, prise de conscience de l?urgence ? agir, prise de conscience de notre responsabilit?, nous, notre g?n?ration, pour tenter d?enrayer le processus. Entendre les maires de Toronto (Pr?sident du C40), de Londres, de Sao Paulo, de S?oul, de Copenhague, de Sydney, de Rotterdam, le gouverneur de Tokyo, les repr?sentants de Berlin, Milan, Varsovie, Karachi, New Delhi, New York, Los Angeles, Addis Abeba, Johannesburg, Lagos, Stockholm, Melbourne et Paris, mais aussi Bill Clinton (dont la Fondation appuie financi?rement le C40) dire les uns apr?s les autres ? quel point le d?r?glement climatique leur importe, d?cliner leurs projets, rivaliser d?arguments et de volontarisme, a parfois un c?t? un peu lancinant et r?barbatif. Mais cela exprime malgr? tout une ?volution majeure des discours et des priorit?s affich?es. Pour nous ?cologistes, qui avons longtemps ?t? seuls ? pr?cher dans le d?sert sur ces questions, c?est ind?niablement un pas important qui a ?t? franchi. Et ce d?autant plus que, r?union apr?s r?union, une communaut? humaine s?est constitu?e : pour tous ces ?lus, techniciens et associatifs, tous ? la fibre plus ou moins militante, engag?s dans ce combat, chaque rencontre est non seulement l?occasion d??changer sur nos projets, sur la meilleure fa?on d?agir, mais aussi de participer ? une aventure humaine incroyable - quelque chose qui nous d?passe -. De tous les continents viennent des personnes d?origines, de cultures, de religions diff?rentes, mais qui partagent toutes le sentiment de vivre quelque chose d?exceptionnel, face ? un d?fi hors norme : c?est la premi?re fois que l?humanit? doit g?rer une ?preuve qui touche tous les terriens. Au-del? de cette prise de conscience commune, la seconde utilit? majeure de cette rencontre est l??change d?exp?riences. J??tais pour ma part amen? ? plancher, sur la base du travail effectu? ? Paris, sur les politiques de mobilit? d?une part et sur les ?nergies renouvelables en ville d?autre part. Quelle satisfaction de voir combien l?ampleur du travail accompli est reconnu par ses pairs, qui eux-m?mes s?affrontent aux m?mes contraintes politiques et techniques, mais aussi d??changer sur les bonnes id?es, les exp?riences men?es, les innovations (que de questions sur V?lib !)? Quel plaisir aussi ? je ne r?siste pas ? le mentionner ? de voir le vice-gouverneur de Tokyo pr?senter fi?rement une plaquette de prototypes de mini-hydroliennes urbaines et de mini-?oliennes, sur la base des m?mes intuitions que nous avons ? Paris des potentiels ?nerg?tiques sous-exploit?s, d?montrant qu?? Paris comme ? Tokyo, on cherche sur les m?mes pistes. Durant ces deux jours, il n?y avait pas moins de 16 ateliers. Je n?ai ?videmment pas pu assister ? tous, mais de toute part, la qualit? des ?changes ?tait au rendez-vous, les progr?s perceptibles, ann?e apr?s ann?e. Un exemple parmi d?autres de coop?ration entre villes que je trouve particuli?rement embl?matique car portant sur l?une des plus graves menaces ? venir : en octobre 2008 nous avions tenu une rencontre ? Tokyo sur ? l?adaptation ? des villes aux cons?quences du d?r?glement climatique, c'est-?-dire comment faire en sorte que les d?g?ts soient les moins graves possibles puisqu?on sait qu?il y aura de toutes fa?ons un d?but de d?r?glement climatique. Depuis s?est mis en place un r?seau des ? villes-deltas ? anim? par Rotterdam, tant ces villes vont ?tre amen?es en tout ?tat de cause ? r?pondre ? des probl?mes similaires d?une ampleur consid?rable. Le troisi?me point fort de cette rencontre a ?t? la mont?e en puissance d?un v?ritable lobby des villes vis-?-vis des Etats. Pour le C40, comme pour d?autres r?seaux de villes et de territoires aujourd?hui coalis?s, l?objectif est non seulement que la conf?rence des Etats ? Copenhague d?bouche sur un succ?s (c'est-?-dire un accord sur les suites de Kyoto) mais qu?y soit ?galement reconnu la part que les villes auront ? jouer dans l?application de cet accord. Objectif r?sum? par trois mots ? Engage, Empower, Ressource ? : des engagements clairs et chiffr?s avec un calendrier ; des pouvoirs et comp?tences suppl?mentaires confi?s aux villes qui s?engagent pour le climat en mati?re de r?glementation (d?urbanisme, de logement, de transport, etc. permettant de lever des obstacles ? l?action) ; des ressources contribuant ? financer les villes qui agissent pour le climat (fiscalit? sur le CO2, un partage des revenus des ventes aux ench?res des quotas de CO2, etc.). Clairement les villes revendiquent de prendre leur part de l?effort, ? condition que les Etats ? ne se mettent pas dans leur chemin ? et au contraire facilitent leur action. C?est en fait la g?n?ralisation au niveau plan?taire de ce que des Etats et villes am?ricaines ont engag? pendant l??re Bush : agir, ouvrir la voie sans attendre l?Etat f?d?ral et contribuer ainsi ? sa transformation. Cette ? politisation ? des villes sur le terrain des Etats qui n??tait pas gagn?e d?avance, est aujourd?hui un acquis. Et j?aurais l?occasion du 2 au 4 juin prochains d?aggraver encore mon bilan carbone en allant ? Copenhague pour une rencontre des villes pour finaliser leurs revendications quelques jours avant de les porter ? Bonn o? se tiendra l?une des derni?res r?unions des Etats, pr?paratoire au sommet de d?cembre. Surtout, au-del? des revendications, c?est finalement une diplomatie internationale des villes qui est en train de se mettre en place, une sorte de contre-pouvoir des Etats, capable de peser en cas de carence de ces derniers, pour leur forcer la main. Ne serait-ce que parce qu?au niveau des villes, nous sommes bien plac?s pour savoir qu?il ne suffit pas de voter des textes et d??dicter des lois ; le plus souvent, l?essentiel est dans la mise en ?uvre. ? mais aussi de grosses faiblesses Pour autant, malgr? ce bilan tr?s largement positif, je ne peux laisser sous silence des craintes quant aux faiblesses de cette conf?rence. La premi?re faiblesse, - et la plus importante- porte sur le poids des mesures prises. Que p?sent tous ces projets d?isolation thermique, d??co-quartiers, de traitement des d?chets, de transports collectifs, de renouvelables, de mobilit?s douces, d??clairages plus ?conomes, etc. face aux logiques lourdes d?un mode de d?veloppement et de production encore tr?s loin de s?inverser ? Comment ne pas y penser dans une ville comme S?oul o? l?automobile est reine, o? les autoroutes pullulent, les tours grimpent, et les chemin?es d?usines (en banlieue) sont bien plus visibles et nombreuses que les panneaux photovolta?ques ? Derri?re ces discours volontaristes, quels moyens sont r?ellement mis en ?uvre ? Quelles ambigu?t?s se cachent derri?re les termes de ? d?veloppement soutenable ?, ? d??nergie propre ? et de ? croissante verte ? r?p?t?s par les nouveaux convertis, jusqu?? en avoir la naus?e ? Moi-m?me qui repr?sente Paris, et qui d?fends devant mes coll?gues les projets que je porte avec volontarisme, je ne peux m?emp?cher de m?interroger : aurais-je vraiment les moyens de les mettre en ?uvre ? La volont? politique (pas la mienne, mais celle de la municipalit?) sera-t-elle vraiment au rendez-vous ? Comment s?inscrira-t-elle dans le temps, quand on voit comment la politique de mobilit? s?est tout ? coup affadie, quand on voit surgir les projets de tours, d??quipements ?nergivores et peu utiles (stades, etc.) aux d?pens d?investissement plus urgents ? D?autant plus convaincu de l?importance de la volont? politique pour avancer que j?ai pu en mesurer l?efficacit?, je me convaincs qu?un mouvement est malgr? tout engag? et qu?il est in?luctable, ne serait-ce que parce que les contraintes ?cologiques s?imposeront. Les villes ne peuvent agir qu?au rythme des comp?tences et des moyens qu?elles ont. Tout chemin commence par de petits premiers pas qui, certes, peuvent para?tre h?sitants, mais au moins indiquent la direction ? prendre. Mais le probl?me, avec le d?r?glement climatique, comme cela fut fortement soulign? lors des conclusions de ces deux jours, c?est que le temps joue in?luctablement contre nous. Chaque jour qui passe sans changement, c?est autant de tonnes de CO2, de m?thane, etc. parties dans l?atmosph?re de fa?on irr?versible. La lourdeur de nos proc?dures, l?inefficacit? des prises de d?cision, au niveau des Etats mais aussi des villes, nous risquons de les payer durement. La seconde faiblesse touche, pour les villes comme pour les Etats, au profond d?calage entre Nord et Sud. M?me si le C40 comprend 20 villes du nord et 20 du sud, force est de constater que dans les prises de parole, dans l?organisation m?me de la conf?rence (y compris la capacit? ? se rendre ? S?oul). Les plus pauvres sont les plus mal servis, alors qu?ils sont les moins responsables du d?r?glement climatique et probablement les plus importantes victimes. Pauvre parmi les pauvres, le continent africain, certes repr?sent? par certaines de ses grandes villes, a ainsi vu sa parole fortement minor?e. L?enjeu est pourtant crucial : la conf?rence de Copenhague risque bien de buter cette fois brutalement sur le refus du sud de la plan?te (dont l?empreinte ?cologique par habitant est inf?rieure ? 1) de prendre des engagements si le nord ne reconna?t pas sa lourde responsabilit? et n?accepte pas de mieux partager, notamment pour aider les pays du sud ? s?adapter aux cons?quences du d?r?glement climatique. Je suis donc intervenu en ce sens pour que le message que les villes porteront aupr?s des Etats manifeste cette volont? de solidarit? nord-sud. Ce ne fut pas ma plus lourde t?che. Car un troisi?me point m?est apparu tout aussi inqui?tant, portant sur la place du nucl?aire, ?voqu? ? plusieurs reprises par des intervenants, et notamment le gouvernement de S?oul, comme une des ? ?nergies propres ?. Il est toujours p?nible, dans une assembl?e consensuelle, o? chacun tente de mettre en ?vidence les avanc?es communes, d?appara?tre comme le vilain petit canard qui rompt l?unanimisme, m?me s?il est partiellement artificiel. J?avais d?j? d? le faire lors de la r?union de Tokyo quand, pour pr?venir les cons?quences du d?r?glement climatique sur l?agriculture et l?alimentation, des chercheurs japonais pr?conis?s l?utilisation massive d?OGM. J?avais per?u alors dans l?assembl?e des regards soulag?s que la contradiction ait ?t? apport?e. Le sc?nario fut ? peu pr?s le m?me quand j?ai fait part de mon d?saccord pour qu?on puisse classer dans cette enceinte le nucl?aire parmi les ?nergies propres. De la part des quelques Verts pr?sents repr?sentant leurs propres villes, des sourires entendus, ce n??tait pas une surprise. Mais aussi nombre de t?moignages par la suite me remerciant d?avoir fait cette intervention, ajoutant pour l?un d?entre eux ? Surtout venant du seul Fran?ais dans la salle ? ! La chose m?avait jusque-l? ?chapp? : que ce soit le seul repr?sentant du pays le plus nucl?aris? du monde qui fasse cette remarque ne lui donnait que plus de poids. Pour autant, l?alerte est bien pr?sente. Ce n?est pas une d?couverte. Mais y compris dans de tels rassemblements o? les id?es ?cologistes sont de mieux en mieux prises en compte, la vigilance face au ? nucl?aire contre l?effet de serre ? reste de mise. S?appuyer sur les acquis pour continuer d?avancer En guise de conclusion tr?s provisoire, je reste pour autant convaincu que l??volution ? laquelle nous assistons ces derni?res ann?es est historique. L?avenir dira si elle sera suffisante pour avoir un impact r?ellement significatif. Rien ne permet aujourd?hui de rel?cher la vigilance ; surtout pas les rapports des scientifiques qui d?crivent une situation toujours plus alarmante ; ni la menace du retour au gouvernement fran?ais de Claude All?gre, le plus c?l?bre n?gationniste du d?r?glement climatique (apr?s Bush, mais de celui-l? on est d?barrass?). Raison de plus pour poursuivre notre action, ne pas faire la fine bouche sur les acquis, et s?appuyer sur cette prise de conscience plan?taire pour acc?l?rer le mouvement. Les six mois qui viennent seront cruciaux : de la mobilisation des peuples du monde, des corps sociaux, des collectivit?s, de leur pression sur les gouvernements d?pendra le r?sultat de la n?gociation de Copenhague. Si Copenhague est un ?chec, les cons?quences sur l??volution du climat dans les ann?es qui viennent, pourraient ?tre bien dramatiques et se compter en centaines de millions de victimes des catastrophes, personnes d?plac?es et r?fugi?es. Si Copenhague, au contraire, se conclut sur un succ?s, sur une capacit? de l?humanit? ? r?guler ses gaz ? effet de serre, le pire sera peut-?tre ?vit?. Et sur la base de cette capacit? ? adopter des compromis plan?taires, d?autres grandes n?gociations pourront peut-?tre ?tre engag?es sur la biodiversit?, le partage des mati?res premi?res dont les r?serves s??puisent et sur un ?change plus ?quitable. Une utopie ? Peut-?tre. Mais il d?pend de chacun de nous de ne pas rater cette occasion historique. ________________________________________________________ Rough translation follows: (We invite our bilingual readers to help us improve on this. Please copy your proposed revisions to the editor.) On 19/20 May Denis Baupin, Deputy Mayor of the City of Paris for Sustainable Development, participated in the name of his city in the biannual meeting of the C40 group, an alliance of 40 of the great cities of the planet against climate modification. You will find here his personal reflections on his trip and findings. Back from Seoul: Denis Baupin on Cities against Climate Change - Denis Baupin, 21 May 2009 On 19 and 20 May, I represented the City of Paris in the biannual meeting of the C40 alliance of the 40 largest cities of the planet against climate change. After New York two years ago and before Sao Paulo in 2011, this year we met in Seoul. The least I can say is that I come back from the meeting with strong feelings, some of which mixed. A movement in motion... First and most important, the meeting made it clear that, step by step, something important is going on: a growing awareness . Awareness of the risks that climate change poses to the planet and to humanity. Awareness of the urgency to act. Awareness of our responsibility, that we, our generation, must now step forward to try to halt the appalling process that has been engaged. I listened to the mayors of Toronto (Chair of C40), London, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Copenhagen, Sydney, Rotterdam, the governor of Tokyo, representatives of Berlin, Milan, Warsaw, Karachi, New Delhi, New York, Los Angeles, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Lagos, Stockholm, Melbourne and Paris, and also to Bill Clinton (whose Foundation supports the C40) . . . repeat one after another how climate change is important, and then go on to describe their projects, their arguments and their will to succeed ? all this at times a little one-sided and certainly a little daunting. But nevertheless, demonstrating a significant shift in their statements and priorities. For us environmentalists, who have long been the only one preaching in the desert on these issues, it is undeniable that an important step has been taken. And over the two days, meeting after meeting, a human community was formed: for all these elected officials, technicians and associations, more or less militant, engaged in this fight, each session gave us not only the opportunity to discuss our projects, our ideas on how best to act, but also to participate in an incredible human adventure - something that transcends us. Coming together from all continents and people of different origins, cultures, different religions, but all sharing the feeling of living something exceptional, together in the face of an extraordinary challenge, the first time that humanity must somehow manage an event that affects everyone on Earth. Beyond this common awareness, the second major high point of the meeting was the opportunity to exchange experiences. I for my part presented a report telling about our work and accomplishments in Paris, on our policies for sustainable mobility on the one hand and on renewable energy throughout the city on the other. What satisfaction it is to see the extent to which our work is recognized by our peers, who similarly have to face the same political and technical constraints, but also to share news on good ideas, experiments, innovations (many questions on V?lib!) ... What a pleasure, too - I cannot resist to mention it - to see the vice-governor of Tokyo proudly present a plate of mini-prototypes of urban hydroliennes and mini-wind turbines, based on the same intentions that we have in Paris to find and harness underexploited renewable, showing that Paris and Tokyo are on the same tracks. During these two days, there were no fewer than 16 workshops. I was not able to attend all, but everywhere the quality of the exchanges was notable, perceptibly progressing year after year. One example among others of cooperation between cities that I find particularly symbolic, because it addresses one of the most serious threats still to come. In October 2008 we held a meeting in Tokyo on "adaptation" of cities with the consequences of climate disruption, i.e. , what to do to ensure that the damage that will occur is the least grave possible, given that we at least now aware that this sharp change is indeed going to happen. This led to the creation of a network of ?city-deltas "hosted by Rotterdam, in the knowledge that these cities are all going to have to figure out how to respond to similar problems of considerable magnitude. The third striking occurrence of this meeting was the emergence of a true lobby -- of Cities vis-?-vis States/Nations. For the C40, as with other networks of cities and other political units today, the aim is not only that the conference of States in Copenhagen will succeed in its goals (i.e., an agreement to follow up on Kyoto) but that it is also recognized the cities will play a major role in the implementation of this Agreement. An objective summed up in three words by "Engage, Empower, Resource": Clear commitments and targets with a timetable, with additional powers and responsibilities to be entrusted to the cities who are committed to the climate in terms of policies and regulations (planning, housing, transport, etc.. to remove obstacles to action). As well as the importance of contributing resources to finance the city in its actions on climate (CO2 tax, a revenue sharing auctions of CO2 allowances, etc.). Clearly cities will have a major role to play, provided that the Nation States "do not get in their way" but rather come in to facilitate their work. What we are now seeing is the global generalization of what a growing number of cities committed to during the Bush era: that is, acting, both individually and collectively and thus showing the way, without waiting for the federal state to decide. This "politicization" of the cities on the ground previously held at the national level was not won in advance. It is a real achievement. And I will now have the opportunity from 2 to 4 June to further exacerbate my carbon footprint by going to Copenhagen for a meeting of cities to stake their claims, a few days before taking them to Bonn for one of the last national meetings, preparatory to the December Summit. Above all, it is important that this new role of the city of international diplomacy is put in place, providing a sort of counterweight to national governments, capable of weighing in the balance and, if necessary to force their hand. If only because at the city level, we are well placed to know that it is not enough to pass legislation and enact laws, most often the key is in implementation. ... But also great weaknesses However, despite this largely positive review, I cannot leave you in silence concerning the some of the weak points of the conference. The first weakness - and the most important ? is the reality of the net impact of the measures taken up to now. What really is the weight of all these projects of thermal insulation, eco-areas, waste treatment, sustainable transport, renewables, of mobility, more efficient lighting, etc. ? in the face of the enormous inertial weight of an established pattern of living and development far from being turned around, or even modulated.? What really to think when face in a city like Seoul where the automobile clearly reigns supreme, where highways abound, towers and factory chimneys climb (including in suburbs) ? all of which much more visible and numerous than their photovoltaic panels? Behind all our fine speeches, how are the financial and other resources actually being implemented? What ambiguities behind the terms "sustainable development", "clean energy" and "growing greener" repeated endlessly by bright new converts to the point of nausea? In my role representing Paris, together with my colleagues defending the projects that I try to carry out with determination, I cannot help but wonder: will we really have the means to implement them? The political will (not mine, but that of the municipality), will it really be there? How indeed is this going to work out over time, when we see how our sustainable mobility policy is suddenly fading, when we are witnessing proposals for building more towers, more energy devouring projects of little real usefulness (stadiums, etc.). -- at the expense of far more urgent investments? All the more convinced of the importance of political will to move forward as I could gauge their effectiveness, I am convinced that a movement is still engaged and that it is inevitable, if only because ecological constraints are going to impose it. Cities can move ahead only on the base of the skills and resources they have at their disposal. Every path starts with one small first step which, admittedly, may seem hesitant, but at least it can show the direction to take. But the problem with climate change, as was strongly emphasized in the conclusions of these two days, is that time is against us, inevitably. Each day that passes without fundamental change on our part, will see many more tons of CO2, methane, etc.. entering the atmosphere with irreversible impacts. And given the cumbersome procedures, inefficient decision-making at the state level but also the cities, we risk to pay a very high price. The second crucial weakness for the cities as in the States, is the deep gap that exists between North and South. Although the C40 includes 20 cities in the North and 20 from the South, it is clear that in taking the floor, in the organization of the conference (including the ability to travel to Seoul)., that the poorest are the most poorly served -- and while they are least responsible for climate change they are probably the most hard hit victims. The poorest of the poor, the African continent, certainly represented by some of its major cities, has seen their influence greatly reduced. The issue is crucial: the Copenhagen conference may well face this time the refusal of the South of the planet (including where the ecological footprint per capita is less than 1) to make commitments if the North does not recognize its heavy responsibility and accepts to do its full share, especially to help the southern countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change. I intervened with the message that the Cities must make clear to the States the high importance of North-South solidarity. But that was not my most difficult task. As a third point and no less worrying series of statement favoring nuclear energy, mentioned several times by speakers, including the government of Seoul, as a "clean energy". It is always painful in a consensus meeting, where everyone tries to highlight the common progress, to appear as the ugly duckling that breaks the unanimity, even if it is partly artificial. I had already done as much at the meeting in Tokyo when, to prevent the consequences of climate change on agriculture and food, Japanese researchers recommended widespread use of GMOs. I had seen in the assembly looks of relief that the contradiction has been publicly stated. The scenario was roughly the same this time when I expressed my disagreement about policies favoring nuclear energy. From the few Greens present representing their own cities, this was met with smiles and came as no surprise to them. But also a number of other representatives came up later to thank me for making this point, one person adding that "It was especially striking coming from the only Frenchman in the room"! Actually this point had escaped me: that coming from the mouth of the only representative of the most ?nuclearized? county in the world lends this statement even more weight. However, the warning is there. This is no new discovery. But the truth is that even in such gatherings as this where the ideas of environmentalists are increasingly taken into account, continuing vigilance against the "nuclear against the greenhouse effect" polemic is still required. Building on the gains to continue to advance As a provisional conclusion, I remain convinced that the trend we have been witnessing in recent years is historic. Time will tell if it will be enough to have a meaningful impact. Nothing should get in the way of our continued vigilance, neither the reports of scientists who describe a situation increasing ever more alarming, nor the threat of return to the French government by one Dr. Claude All?gre, the most famous Holocaust denier of climate change (after Bush that is, but at least we are now free of him). All the more reason to continue our action, to recognize the achievements and to build on this growing awareness to accelerate the global movement. The six months ahead will be crucial: the mobilization of the peoples of the world, social bodies, communities, pressure their governments depend on the outcome of the negotiations in Copenhagen. If Copenhagen is a failure, the impact on climate change in coming years will be dramatic and be counted in hundreds of millions of disaster victims, displaced persons and refugees. If Copenhagen, by contrast, ends with a success on the ability of mankind to control its greenhouse gas emissions, the worst may be avoided. And on the basis of this ability to adopt global compromise, other major negotiations may then be initiated on matters such as biodiversity, the sharing of raw material reserves are depleted and a more equitable exchange. Utopia? Perhaps. But it depends on each of us not miss this historic opportunity. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/27/2009 01:06:00 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090527/12692ab8/attachment.html From eschlaikjer at wri.org Wed May 27 22:40:56 2009 From: eschlaikjer at wri.org (Erica Schlaikjer) Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 09:40:56 -0400 Subject: [sustran] TheCityFix.com hiring summer interns to blog about sustainable transport in D.C. and Latin America Message-ID: Hello, On behalf of the Information & Innovation team at EMBARQ ? The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport (www.embarq.org), I wanted to let you know about two summer blogging positions (12 weeks, $2000 stipend) at TheCityFix.com: About TheCityFix.com Launched in 2007, TheCityFix.com has become a go-to site for sustainable transport news. It has been cited by media such as The New York Times, The Economist and Salon. The Times of London named it one of the Top 50 Eco Blogs. TheCityFix.com boasts a network of writers and transport and urban planning specialists from around the world. TheCityFix DC Internship EMBARQ is looking for an full-time, 12-week intern to write for a new version of its flagship blog, TheCityFix.com, which will be focusing on sustainable transportation in the Washington, DC Metro Area. For more info on responsibilities, compensation and how to apply, click here: http://www.embarq.org/en/thecityfix-dc-internship TheCityFix Latin America Internship EMBARQ is looking for an full-time, 12-week intern to write Spanish and English language posts for a new version of its flagship blog, TheCityFix.com, which will be focusing on sustainable transportation in cities in Latin America. For more info on responsibilities, compensation and how to apply, click here: http://www.embarq.org/en/thecityfix-latin-america-intern Please feel free to circulate these to other listservs and groups. Thank you for helping us to spread the word, Erica -- Erica Schlaikjer Information & Innovation Coordinator EMBARQ ? The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport World Resources Institute Mail: 10 G Street NE, Suite 800, Washington, DC, 20002 Phone: (202) 729-7722 Fax: (202) 729-7775 Email: eschlaikjer@wri.org Website: www.EMBARQ.org Blog: www.TheCityFix.com Follow me: www.twitter.com/EMBARQNetwork www.twitter.com/TheCityFix -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090527/a563302d/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Thu May 28 14:49:00 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:49:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Honk! Swine flu increases traffic fatalities in Mexico City Message-ID: <1243489740069.af8725bf-2677-4595-8409-4b8ff54f6577@google.com> [http://www.reforma.com/justicia/articulo/496/991926/default.asp] This is a very short note, but I thought folks on the World Streets blog might appreciate this traffic factoid from here in Mexico. Apparently the swine flu in Mexico City caused few real deaths but many traffic deaths. The large drop in the volume of cars increased velocities and also increased traffic fatalities. There were 12 traffic fatalities in the 6 days before the government issued their swine flu alert and 75 traffic fatalities in the 6 days after. Here is the kicker: the increase in traffic deaths (63) dwarfs the number of swine flu deaths (8) during those six days. SOURCE: http://www.reforma.com/justicia/articulo/496/991926/default.asp Thought that might be of interest. Kind regards, Tom Bertulis ITDP, Mexico City -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/28/2009 07:37:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090527/8d236a97/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Thu May 28 17:52:50 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 01:52:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Brainfood: Canned video interviews via Skype Message-ID: <1243500769992.c8e5d439-8bfe-4304-b979-85c502e95927@google.com> [http://blip.tv/file/2137943] If you have a minute you may want to have a quick look at this. You may find some use in it. A few weeks ago some friends from The Movement Design Bureau in London (Eyes on the Street), called over to suggest that we might spend a few minutes together to demo a Skype video link they are working with in a program they call Re*Move (forgive them, they're English). To give our video some content they invited me to wing it on the subject of a kind of "layered conference" that I have been giving some thought to for the last months, namely to investigate in some depth and from different angles the concept of and potential for sharing (as opposed to old-time ownership) in this strange new world of ours. . . including various aspects of sharing in transportation. I thought you might possibly want to have a quick look and cogitate a bit about how you might in time want to put this approach to work in some of your own projects? Remember. They are just getting underway with this. It's still brainfood. >From Re*Move, The Movement Design Bureau Eric Britton's shared vision for future transportation Eric Britton has a plan. The man behind worldstreets.org, thinks a lot about the future of transport, and its connection to the overheating nature of the planet. His 'Plan B' vision is a radical twelve point blueprint that he thinks needs to be gone through to stop us cooking the planet - and is an interesting read. In the green transport field right now, alongside electric cars, high-speed rail, and all the usual stuff that gets tossed around, perhaps the most intriguing idea concerns not the development of new products, but the networking together, and sharing of existing ones. Our cars, bicylces, space - how do we 'use' them more effectively? Take cars. Right now, we're fast-forwarding to a world of hybrids and EVs - but what's the point when we've still got single vehicle occupancy, one-person-to-one-car ownership, and one hour in every 24 utilisation rates? The problem is that at the very heart of the notion of today's car is a concept built around ownership, freedom and the ability to cut yourself off in a little glass and steel box. Your car is a space that, right now, you probably only choose to 'share' with your friends and family. Sharing a car with a complete stranger (even if you're not both in it at the same time) is a relatively big leap to make, but it's something worth thinking about. That's what Eric wants to look into in more depth. So in the video chat (above) we had with him a few weeks back, he described the idea of a conference - for want of a better word - to draw people together to talk about sharing within the bounds of future transportation. On the first day, Eric suggests transportation-related talk should be banned. Instead, the attendees - linked together with experts and interested parties across the world via video and Internet, would seek to understand the human psychology behind sharing things. Then on the next days, this would be developed into the field of transportation applications. The big news? Eric doesn't think it will work without a woman at the helm... Can we make this happen? Can you help? Watch the video, let us know what you think, and check out World Streets for more. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/28/2009 10:47:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090528/0fe0f36e/attachment.html From editor at worldstreets.org Fri May 29 14:05:10 2009 From: editor at worldstreets.org (The Editor) Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 22:05:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] [World Streets] Op-Ed: The choice challenge (Try nudging) Message-ID: <1243573510372.be3d72da-cf25-44bb-a614-ad9446e72f90@google.com> [http://www.publicservice.co.uk] ?Nudging? travel behaviour change through the design of information systems? - Erel Avineri, University of the West of England Today?s travellers have a wealth of information at their disposal to help plan and execute their journeys. The availability of travel information to the public has changed dramatically in recent years with the increasing use of the internet and mobile communications. Millions of portable satellite navigation systems are sold every year in the UK and Europe. The number of people using web-based journey planners to inform their journeys is increasing. The rapid technological developments in the field of Advanced Traveller Information Services (ATIS) demand a greater understanding of what part this technology is now playing in relation to travel behaviour, and how such systems can be designed to benefit both individuals and transport systems as a whole. It has been generally argued that when making choices between alternative transport options, travellers behave in a reasonably rational way, and can be approximated to act according to their interests, as long as they are provided with complete and accurate information on each of the alternatives ? they try to minimise money and other costs, and maximise their utilities from the journeys they are making. Due to the size and complexity of the transport system, choosing between alternative routes, alternative modes of transport (car, bus, train, cycling, etc.) or the timing of their journeys is not always an easy task for travellers. Providing travellers with reliable and updated information on travel options is therefore acknowledged as having the potential to improve travellers? choices in ways that are beneficial for individuals and society. Stemming from its 1998 Transport White Paper, the Department for Transport has given, and continues to give, notable attention to traveller information systems as part of its approach to transport policy. Individual travellers are commonly seen as rational human beings who, through choice making, maximise their utilities. However, insights and (theoretical) understandings from psychology and behavioural economics are now emerging through the literature to paint a more complex picture of decision-making processes. Empirical studies provide much evidence that in real life, the behaviour of travellers is typified by bounded rationality. Travellers? limited cognitive resources have a strong effect on their use of information. Recent evidence showed that even when provided with explicit information on their travel choices, travellers turn out to interpret and value this information in a way that systematically violates the assumptions of rational behaviour. But it is not just the content of information that influences our choices. Inspired by the work of cognitive psychologists, researchers at UWE Bristol found that travellers are heavily influenced by context, ie. the manner in which travel information is being presented. Thaler and Sunstein ( from the University of Chicago) argue in favour of the so-called Libertarian Paternalism approach, as a way to help people make the ?right? choices without restricting their freedom of choice. In their recent book (?Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness?), they suggest the incorporation of small features in the environment to attract people?s attention and highlight the ?right? choices for them and alter their behaviour. The art and science of ?nudges? could inspire the further design of ATIS, to help travellers make better choices. The following are a few (out of many) examples that illustrate such nudges. Defaults: a default is the option that individuals receive if they do not explicitly request something different. Defaults have strong influence on behaviour ? and they tend to become a habit. Some journey planners provide travel information on more than one mode of transport. In the design of a journey planner, travellers could be provided by default with information about car transport, even if they are planning to use public transport ? this default might increase the attractiveness of car transport. On the other hand, setting public transport as the default mode could nudge people to consider this as the first option. No matter how defaults are set, it is important not to restrict the choices available for the traveller ? making information on all alternatives available. Framing and ?loss aversion?: People tend to feel and behave differently when information about their choices is presented (or ?framed?) as gains or losses. The following illustrates three possible ways of presenting the same information on two commuting choices. Under the rational choice model, the format of the information should not matter. However, since people are more sensitive to losses, they might find the cycling option specifically attractive in the third alternative. This is a rather simple example of how the designers of travel information systems can help people to make more sustainable travel choices simply by choosing a specific format to present information about time (and other attributes) of the alternative choices. Salience: A specific challenge ATIS designers are faced with is how to provide travellers with information on the environmental costs of their journeys. A growing number of travellers are already aware of, and have concerns about, the greenhouse emissions they generate. When informed about environmental impacts, they might make sustainable choices. However, many of the negative impacts of our travel choices are not salient. For example, it is difficult to the driver to easily imagine the air pollution and climate change caused by carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are invisible to travellers; it is therefore difficult for them to associate their travel behaviour with environmental costs. Without feedback, a behavioural change is less likely. Providing drivers with daily information on their carbon emissions might make them ?visible?, and could make it easier for them to do the right thing. Recent research reports on the effect of in-vehicle data recorders on drivers? behaviour; this on-board technology collects and records information on the movement, control and performance of the vehicle. It was found that drivers, through the provision of daily feedback on their performance, tend to improve their safety behaviour. Using the same technology to provide drivers with environmental costs, against some targets or against previous performance, could provide them with a psychological incentive to change their behaviour. The effectiveness of travel information systems may be enhanced if more consideration and emphasis is given to the design of the information context. The libertarian paternalism approach is not offered as an alternative to other measures to influence travel choices. In some cases, synergy between the pricing and the soft intervention by nudges could be an effective policy. ?Getting the prices right? by taxes and subsidies could be the first step of a transport policy; however, the effect of pricing policies on behavioural change is limited ? partly because of individuals? bounded rationality. Travellers do not always associate their behaviour with the relevant costs and this slows down the process of behavioural change. Nudges can help individuals to overcome cognitive biases, highlight the better choices, and increase the size and the speed of behavioural change ? without restricting choices or limiting travellers? freedom of choice. In liberal democratic regimes, where the public and political acceptability of regulation and enforcement are low, the libertarian paternalism approach, through the nudging of travellers, could be one of the most promising approaches to deal with the need for a radical and urgent behavioural change. The last 10 years have seen a rapid evolution of the field of travel information provision. The technological level of today?s systems, the widespread availability of travel information services, together with the insights from behavioural sciences, makes the incorporation of nudges into travel information systems more easy and cost-effective than ever. This could be the trigger to achieve the behavioural change we urgently need. Dr Erel Avineri, Erel.Avineri@uwe.ac.uk Reader in Travel Behaviour, Centre for Transport Society, University of the West of England, Bristol This article appears in the current edition of The Science & Technology Review, issue 2, pp. 133-134. Published by PSCA International. www.publicservice.co.uk. World Streets thanks them for permission to reproduce the full text of the article here. -- Posted By The Editor to World Streets at 5/29/2009 06:32:00 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090528/9d6d8aee/attachment.html From sudhir at cai-asia.org Sat May 30 17:52:37 2009 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Sat, 30 May 2009 16:52:37 +0800 Subject: [sustran] News from Manila... - Bellagio Declaration on Transportation and Climate Change and Prof Madhav Badami - Brownbag Message-ID: 1. ADB Signs Declaration Calling on Transport Sector to Curb Emissions - See http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2009/12901-asian-climates-changes/ 2. Prof Madhav Badami was in Manila to talk on pedestrian accessibility ? Access his presentation @ http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-73426.html and a Blog on his presentation @ http://cai-asia.blogspot.com/2009/05/use-light-colored-clothes-at-night-you.html ADB Press release on curbing emissions- MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Without immediate action, the transport sectors of developing countries will account for the overwhelming share of increased carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, according to a new declaration signed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). While developed countries are still responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector, emissions from developing countries ? particularly in Asia ? are growing rapidly. Transport-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase 57% from 2005 to 2030, with transport sectors in developing countries expected to contribute about 80% of this increase. Most GHG emissions in the transport sector and virtually all the expected growth in emissions come from private cars and trucks. The *Bellagio Declaration on Transportation and Climate Change* outlines how the transport sectors in developing countries can reduce future GHG emissions. The declaration is the result of a three-day conference in Bellagio, Italy, attended by climate change and transportation experts. The declaration calls on governments and the transport industry to embrace a range of key principles. These include reducing the need for travel through better integration of land use and transport; more effective use of carbon finance mechanisms to fund sustainable transport policies; and recognition of the benefits of low-carbon transport in reducing the local air pollution, noise, congestion and road accidents that define many urban areas. ?The Bellagio Meeting will greatly help ADB to develop its Sustainable Transport Initiative, which aims to help Asian countries change their transport investment patterns and secure a low-carbon, sustainable transport future,? said WooChong Um, Director of ADB's Energy, Transport and Water Division. The 12-16 May Bellagio meeting, organized by ADB and the Clean Air Institute, and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, also helped build consensus on how transport sector policies must be reflected in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change discussions in Copenhagen in December. -- Sudhir Gota Transport Specialist CAI-Asia Center Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila, Philippines 1605 Tel: +63-2-395-2843 Fax: +63-2-395-2846 http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia Skype : sudhirgota -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20090530/9d92e098/attachment.html