World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews:
An ultra-short progress report on carsharing in Iceland
This series strives
to try to provide a balanced view reporting on how the practice of sharing cars
is progressing in countries and cities around the world. Including in places
that have yet to create their own carshare operations or pubic programs to
investigate or support them. The case of Iceland is one among many, showing how
the roll-up takes time and the importance of convincing of those who have yet
to embrace the broader new mobility approach to transport and environment.
Let's have a look.
This in today from Morten Lange, World Streets Sentinel in
Reykjavík, Iceland.
For the first time in ten years, I came back to the U.S.
about four weeks ago to do some fundraising and now this tragedy
happens. I will be going back Monday or Tuesday. I have been
able to talk to the kids several times on the phone. They have told me
that all four of the little houses we had have been completely destroyed so all
of the kids are sleeping on the streets. The first task when I get back
will be to gather everyone up and locate another house on the edges of town to
get everyone sheltered and safe. Then we'll worry about the food, water
and clothing.
I will attach all the information I have at the moment for you to
see.
The boys have been able to contact me on and off for that last two
days. Bengy, the boy I left in charge of two of the houses did tell me
that all four of the homes were destroyed and they are not able to enter them
any longer. They are mostly sleeping in front of where one of the
safehouses was in an area called Morne Lazarre, and the rest are still in the
slum Solino. He said that the biggest problem they are having is ability
to get water and getting access to electricity to charge the telephone.
He also told me that two of the boys were killed which I wasn't
aware of before. One was a thirteen year old boy named Chelo. The
other I didn't hear the name before the phone discharged. I have
attached the only photo I have of Chelo. In the photo he is sitting
in front of the Morne Lazarre safehouse that was destroyed. He was a very quiet, calm and helpful boy
and we will all miss him very much.
One of the other boys, a thirteen year old named Ziggy, apparently
had his foot amputated when trying to escape the house we have in an area
called Delmas 33. Three of the boys took him everywhere they could think
of trying to get medical help and could not find a hospital that would let them
in. Bengy had a little money that he had stashed for emergencies in case
I was unable to get money to them for food. He gave that money to them
and the three boys took Ziggy by bus to Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep. in
order to try and find medical help for the boy.
I have
attached several things for you to see if you have the time.
Our web site is www.HSKI.org but
there is much more information I can give you if you would like.
Thank you so
much for taking the time to read this and hope to hear from you soon.
Please let as many others know of this problem and mission if you
can.
We need all the help we can get with this and as soon as possible.
(While viewing
these slide shows and little videos, if you click on the "enlarge"
button, the ads won't be as invasive and bothersome)
Short slide
show set to music showing the mission of HSKI - HSKI: The Mission
Slide show. Shows the big home that we recently lost before the
funding crisis – Family Circle Boys Home
Since losing
this big home during the Aristide crisis in 2005, several of the boys seen in
this film have either been killed or imprisoned while back on the
streets.
First part of the documentary filmed in 2001 by HSKI describingrestavek child slavery and the problems of the
street children in Haiti. Haitian Slave Children: Forgotten Angels trailer.
Congress is working on a major jobs bill
that could help struggling transit systems across the
country facing serious layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes, keep our
buses and trains running, bring lasting improvements to our country's
transportation system…and strengthen our economy at the same time.
But only if it's done right.
And that is going to require some leadership.
That's why our team is hoping to meet with
the Obama administration soon to deliver a clear message: Smart
transportation investments equal job growth. You can help us
deliver that message, too!
We'll deliver your letter in
person during a meeting with administration officials!
With your help, we'll urge the President
to make sure the jobs bill includes funding to stop the hemorrhaging in
our transit agencies and prevent layoffs, loss of service and draconian
fare hikes.
We will urge the President to apply three
principles to ensure the funds go to where they are most needed
Prioritize improvements to existing
transit systems, rail lines, roads, and bridges.
Rehabilitating existing transportation systems creates more jobs,
faster than constructing new roadways from scratch, and investing in
transit can create twice as many jobs than
traditional highway spending.
Invest in greener jobs and more
efficient transportation projects. Modern high-speed rail,
rapid rail and bus systems, safe streets that promote walking and
bicycling, will bring our transportation policy into the 21st century
while bringing new green job opportunities to low-income workers.
Keep an eye on long-term
transportation needs. We urge the President to limit any jobs
package for transportation to one year so that Congress can both create
jobs now, and also continue longer-term transformation of our
transportation system in the future.
We need your help to make sure President
Obama gets our message loud and clear. Please don't wait - jobs
legislation is likely to move quickly, so we need you to weigh in
immediately!
Ilana Preuss
National Outreach Director
Transportation for America
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1707 L Street NW #1050 Washington, DC 20036
-- --------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
Urbanstr. 45
D-10967 Berlin
Germany
Skype: toddedelman
Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081
edelman@...www.greenidea.euwww.flickr.com/photos/edelman
CAR* is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Privatautostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification)
* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately, opportunistically or without creativity
How our public transport system compares with the rest of Mama
Africa.
South African travel writer SihleKhumalo knows African public transport intimately, but is
more accustomed to his own private wheels in his home town of Jozi. He took time out recently to explore his own backyard
by public transport, from Soweto to Sandton…
Having travelled by public transport in more than 10 other
African countries, it was only natural that I explore my own backyard using
taxis and the newly launched Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System – better known as
ReaVaya. Amongst other things I wanted to see how our
public transport system compares with the rest of Mama Africa.
The cabinet will abandon its plans to introduce a kilometer tax on
driving if members of the ANWB motoring organisation are opposed to it,
transport minister Camiel Eurlings appeared to tell reporters after
Friday's weekly cabinet meeting.
Last
week,
the ANWB announced plans to poll its four million members on the
introduction of the tax, which will replace road tax and the sales tax
on new cars.
Eurlings said the ANWB's support is extremely important to the
success of his plan, which he says will cut jams and air pollution. 'If
the average motorist is against it, there won't be a tax,' news agency
ANP quoted the minister as saying.
When Eurlings launched the plan late last year, he said the new tax
had the backing of the ANWB. According to ANP, the organisation's
previous and current heads Paul Nouwen and Guido van Woerkom, were
involved in devising the system.
Last November, Van Woerkom apparently demanded Eurlings come clean
about the extra rush-hour charges before the ANWB gives its backing.
Eurlings
claims most motorists will be better off with a kilometer tax
because other motoring-related taxes will be scrapped.
-- --------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
Urbanstr. 45
D-10967 Berlin
Germany
Skype: toddedelman
Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081
edelman@...www.greenidea.euwww.flickr.com/photos/edelman
CAR* is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Privatautostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification)
* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately, opportunistically or without creativity
While the MUTCD is not everyday reading for many livable
streets advocates, its contents largely dictate how America's roadways are
detailed, signed, and controlled, and therefore controls the widespread
application of sustainable transport innovations.
High
Visibility Journalism Focuses on City Innovation Breakthroughs
In the wake of the
troubles and lessons of COP15 we are seeing projects, programs and groups
sprouting up around the world setting out to take the high ground in ideas and
communications on the up-side of the change and innovations necessary if we are
to face the challenges of the planet and our cities. We invite you to have an
advance look at the Citiscope project that will be formally announced this
March at the World
Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro.
On Behalf Of Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory
Sent: Wednesday, 27 January, 2010 02:53
Hi all,
EMBARQ has two "Global Strategic Partners": Shell (Foundation) and
Caterpillar (Foundation).
I did write directly to someone at EMBARQ about their partnership with
Caterpillar (see links below) over a month ago but received no reply.
Greenwashing by the automobile industry and its energy suppliers is a
much of a threat as peer-imagery (i.e. what the neighbours are
driving...), and perhaps even more so in the developing world, which is
of course the main focus of EMBARQ. The involvement of Caterpillar in
oppression of Palestinians is perhaps even worse.
The links following this forwarded and manipulated email will hopefully
shed some more light on this subject.
*/
/*
/*The Obama Administration has given EMBARQ-partner Shell the green
light to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge -- during the Refuge's 50th Anniversary Year no less!
Unless we block EMBARQ-partner Shell's plan, drilling could begin this
summer! Please donate now
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=JIez609PQgD7sCoU4xnlxA..> and help
NRDC fight in court to protect polar bears, whales, and walruses from
EMBARQ-partner Shell's reckless scheme.
Frances */
Block Shell's Arctic drilling and save polar bears from a deadly oil
spill. <http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=CJDslCwg8-QRQlH_E0Cafw..>
Stop EMBARQ-partner Shell's Attack on the Polar Bear's Birthing Ground
Before Drilling Starts This Summer!
Oil-covered polar bears stand almost NO chance of survival
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=4ksEYkaJ-ndPe8B1thQLGw..>
Even government officials admit that *an oil spill is inevitable* if
full-scale production occurs off the coast of the Arctic Refuge -- the
main birthing ground of Alaska's polar bears.
Help NRDC fight back in court!
Give now to stop Shell
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=chBTVNmdo04EF3_S7-aN1A..>
Dear Todd,
Just when you thought the Arctic Refuge and its polar bears were safe
from the last administration's pro-polluter policies and EMBARQ-partner
Shell's drilling schemes, *the threat of deadly oil spills has reappeared.*
Yes, *I'm sorry to say that EMBARQ-partner Shell is back* with a plan to
drill off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- even after
NRDC sent them packing in a major court victory two years ago.
*I'm even sorrier to tell you that it's the Obama Administration that
has given EMBARQ-partner Shell the go-ahead this time* -- which is
deeply disappointing since the White House has proposed steps that would
strengthen international protections for polar bears.
Now NRDC is going back to court to block EMBARQ-partner Shell's latest
plan, and we need your emergency donation
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=pdb-6WaakM4XjoC_DFiaKg..> to *help
us prevail for the sake of polar bears and other imperilled wildlife.*
The shores of the Arctic Refuge are Alaska's main birthing ground and
denning area for polar bears.
And *government experts have predicted at least one oil spill will occur
if full-scale oil production moves ahead.* What's worse, the oil
industry has no proven method for cleaning up oil in icy water.
When that inevitable oil spill happens, *any polar bears swimming in the
thickly oiled waters will most certainly die* -- since there is almost
no chance of survival for oil-covered polar bears.
*Polar bears that step in oil that washes up on the shore could be
killed as well* -- as they try to lick off the toxic oil to groom
themselves. Mother polar bears and their cubs are especially in danger
during denning season.
But it's not just polar bears that would be imperilled. *Whales would be
suffocated or poisoned* ... hundreds of thousands of birds would be
killed ... and seal populations would be severely impacted.
In short, an oil spill would be an unmitigated catastrophe *--
blanketing the coast of the Refuge with an irremovable layer of thick
toxic oil* for generations to come.
Yet, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has given EMBARQ-partner Shell the
green light to begin exploratory drilling anyway -- *during the 50th
Anniversary of the Refuge no less!*
NRDC needs your immediate financial help to fight in court
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=6jfFSb73yKmCbB0_LcdWHg..> and stop
the drilling -- BEFORE it begins this summer.
Yes, we've defeated EMBARQ-partner Shell before -- and we can do it
again. *But we cannot take on Big Oil and the government without your
immediate help.*
So please, give your most generous gift to help us stop Shell and defend
our environment in the most effective way possible.
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=u5_IH_LsCjDf6CPZEBEsiQ..>
I look forward to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Arctic Refuge
with you -- knowing that together we have kept EMBARQ-partner Shell's
oil rigs out of its coastal waters.
Sincerely,
Frances
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
P.S. Please don't wait for disturbing photos of polar bears covered in
oil before taking action. By then it will be too late. Please give now
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=8qcyUyGs5177kHlUgJfPNw..> and NRDC
will fight to make sure that an oil spill never happens!
NRDC takes pride in our careful stewardship of your contributions. Funds
collected from this solicitation will be used for wildlife and wildlands
protection and for other campaigns that allow NRDC to protect the
environment in the most effective way possible.
We appreciate the opportunity to communicate with you and other NRDC
BioGems Defenders. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will
never sell, exchange or rent your email address.
To update your contact information or manage your subscriptions, go to
your profile editor
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=bDC7endiJo6Brd1w1mZaFQ..>. If you
would prefer not to receive these action alerts and updates, you can
click here
<http://www.nrdconline.org/site/CO?i=EUhWgrfvQoxV3hXo6abkjhfj_8G9vpjV&cid=15
61>
to remove yourself from this list.
*
http://www.embarq.org/en/about/global-strategic-partners
**Related info on Shell in Nigeria: *
*http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/12/nigerians_win_right_to_sue_sh
e.php
In Canada:
http://www.shell.com/home/content/can-en/aboutshell/our_business/oil_sands/http://www.oilsandswatch.org/homehttp://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/tarsands/
on Caterpillar, which makes bulldozers for the Israeli Army:
http://www.shellfoundation.org/pages/core_lines.php?p=corelines_inside_conte
nt&page=embarq&newsID=82
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/950666.htmlhttp://www.icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=683http://wfol.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2196&Itemid=14
EDITED and MANIPULATED by Green Idea Factory and thus should not be
understood to be an official communication by NRDC
*
--
--------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
Urbanstr. 45
D-10967 Berlin
Germany
Skype: toddedelman
Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081
edelman@...
www.greenidea.eu
www.flickr.com/photos/edelman
CAR* is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Privatautostadt und was Neues hingebaut!"
- B. Brecht (with slight modification)
* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately,
opportunistically or without creativity
--------------------------------------------------------
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================================================================
SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South').
April Streeter ponders six (might be) car free cities.
Friend April Streeter, diligent reporter for the busy Treehugger cars+
transportation blog, called in to World Streets on Monday to talk car free(r)
cities. We applauded her decision to try to find a range of very different
kinds of cities, pushed a bit to bring Guadalajara and at least one Chinese
city, in addition to the more usual suspects, and urged her on with all due caution.
Here is what she came up with.
January 2010 eNews
Expand your mobility options. Take the leap. Join CarShareHFX today!
<http://carsharehfx.ca/join.html>
And the finalists for
New Business of the Year are:
* Cafe Aroma Latino Inc
<http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/cafandeacute-aroma-latino-provides-simple-ta
stes/Content?oid=1140502> .
* CarShareHFX
* CEDIF Management Ltd. <http://www.cedifmgmt.com/>
* Parkland Landscaping <http://www.parklandlandscaping.ca/>
* The Hub Space People Innovation Ltd. <http://thehubhalifax.ca/>
Halifax Business Awards Gala Award Ceremony
<http://www.halifaxchamber.com/default.asp?mn=1.65.70>
Thursday, January 28, 2010
World Trade and Convention Centre
CarShareHFX is honoured to have been nominated and short listed for this
award. We're well aware of what it takes to get a new business off the
ground and urge you to show your support to all of those mentioned in the
Halifax Business Awards as "cut above!"
The Magic Musical Mobility Partner
CarShareHFX is a new mobility option for office staff, replacing some cab
trips and car rentals. Symphony NS Business Manager Sandra Chappell told
CarShareHFX General Manager Peter Zimmer that they will also add some of
their volunteers to their Drivers List. "We often use volunteer drivers for
transporting visiting artists and for various other tasks.
With CarShareHFX we'll be able to use volunteer drivers who don't own a
car."
"And since you don't have to have a Nova Scotia license to be a CarShareHFX
driver we are looking at offering visiting artists the option of being on
the SNS Drivers List as an extra perk. Then they'd be able to explore
Halifax and Nova Scotia on their own in their free time very simply."
SNS has looked at the transportation budget implications and sees their
Workplace Membership both directly saving money and simplifying their
operations, leaving more available to realize the artistic objectives of the
Symphony.
CarShareHFX's partnering with Symphony Nova Scotia
<http://carsharehfx.ca/with/symphonyns.html> goes two steps further:
* First, we offer all SNS staff -- office staff and all musicians,
conductors, composers -- a $100 rebate on the cost of joining CarShareHFX.
That 40% saving is a nice perk. Then comes the real savings of a CarShareHFX
Membership <http://carsharehfx.ca/rates_compare.html> , freedom from the
costs and hassles of owning a car (or not needing a second car anymore) - a
real help in stretching household budgets without giving up needed driving.
* Second, our Sponsorship contributes cash to the SNS budget. When
anyone puts the words "Symphony NS" into the CarShareHFX Promo Code on their
Membership application CarShareHFX sends SNS $50. And then SNS sends that
new CarShareHFX member a pair of concert tickets as a "Thank you'. A
three-way Win-Win-Win!
“Next Steps After Copenhagen: Opportunities and Challenges in the
Transport Sector”
For those of you who may have missed this recent brainstorming session
organized at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC and attended
by a number of other important players on the worldwide sustainable transport
scene, here is the next best thing we can offer you, complete with more
comprehensive references and URLs to the main presentations. I am sure that
many or our readers would have liked to be there to observe and contribute in
person. You now have a chance to send your comments to all those who were there
are the time.
E pursimuove. Casual
Carpooling, California, 26 January 2010
One of the keys to sustainable transportation is to gain high quality
mobility for people while reducing overall traffic. One way for doing this is
to figure out how to get more people into
fewer vehicles, efficiently. Fortunately there are many ways of doing this, not
all of which take a lot of time to build and cost a bundle. Here is one
example: casual carsharing. And despite the fact that it may seem a bit odd and
marginal, as Galileo Galilei so famously put it:
"E pursimuove" (roughly, "they certainly seem to be
getting there"). Casual carpooling works. Let's have a look.
We have suffered an embarrassing incident here this week to which I would like to draw your attention this morning in the hope that together we can perhaps learn a few positive lessons from it.
The event:
On the 27th one of our number, in his impatience for his own version of a better world, decided to engage in a pure propaganda maneuver which merits a bit of reflection. In a phrase : this person posted to the forum a communication that he represented as having some from Francis Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC). The communication as he posted it violently denigrated the work and integrity of two important organizations working for the sustainable transportation agenda by associating them directly with the aggressive Arctic Refuge drilling policies of the Shell Oil Company. Thus, in his doctored version each time the original made reference to the Shell Oil Company, he inserted "EMBARQ-partner Shell ". This disinformation was then distributed to several lists including ours.
The consequences:
This is not only dishonorable, something that concerns the perpetrator of this sordid mess alone, but it is also a harmful thing on many levels.
First, because it puts the NRDC in a position which is more than awkward and which indeed is entirely contrary to their principles, given that they in fact collaborate and interact with the groups whose integrity was impugned. I can well imagine the impact this has on them and their staff, they who are working so hard and so vigorously for a better world. Not fair! (You can see more about their work and contributions athttp://www.nrdc.org/about/.)
And not fair either to our colleagues at Embarq, a global network of researchers, engineers and policy specialists created in 2002 under the aegis of the prestigiousWorld Resources Institute specifically to support environmentally and financially sustainable transport solutions to improve quality of life in cities in the developing world. Why should their hard-working staff and supporters be obliged to suffer from this calumny? (More on Embarq athttp://www.embarq.org/en/about/about-embarq)
The third innocent victim was the Shell Foundation, a charity active since 1997 in funding a lot of good work in the field of sustainable transportation and other areas where greater thoughtfulness and more aggressive representation is much needed. Their mandate links them to working with global development and environmental challenges linked to the impact of energy and globalization. (Go tohttp://www.shellfoundation.org/ and see for yourself.)
The fourth victim – and in my view certainly the most important – is all of us who are working so hard for this (I chose my word carefully here) noble cause. There are thousands of us in local environmental and transport groups, public agencies, NGOs, universities, operators ready to take new approaches, consultants ready to join in, reporters, writers, and others who are committed to our common cause. When one of us suffers such calumny, we all are affected.
I will not comment on this person's motivations, which I have difficulty imagining on the part of a mature individual. What I can hope is that he will now reflect in silence on all this, not hopefully lose his obvious enthusiasm for sustainable transport and sustainable lives, and after a couple months of judicious silence and self-examination come back to us with his ethics in order. (Who of us has never made a mistake?)
There was a good piece in yesterday's New York Times on this subject that is worth a look. Entitled "Tacking corrupt research and missing the point", you can read it athttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/science/26tier.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fColumns%2fFindings But if you do not have time to do that, let me take a single point he makes that I believe has significance in our present context. I quote: "Conflict-of-interest accusations have become the simplest strategy for avoiding a substantive debate." Indeed!
Why we need to unite:
One of the reasons all this is so harmful is that those of us who are giving our lives, energy, brains, and resources to addressing the sustainable transportation agenda and all that entails, need all the help and solidarity we can get to pursue and prevail. When it comes to money and influence we are losing the war of sustainable development and social justice. As a group we are heavily outgunned by the lobbies of those people and groups who are doing very well under the present circumstances and whose strategy by and large is either to ignore the gravity of the situation , to deny it, or to prolong action as far into the future as possible. So that their goose can continue to lay their golden eggs.
In this unequal battle, what do we have going for us?
Well, first of all, in terms of all the basic values and fundamentals: we have the fact that we are right. Sustainable transport, sustainable cites, sustainable lives – that is something that we can and should do. It will be the future. We will make it the future.
Our "rightness" however is considerably attenuated by the fact that as with any movement involving a lot of clever people, there are a wide range of views concerning how best to achieve these objectives. That can make things a bit difficult at times. But this diversity is also an important part of our strength. We are not a monoculture, we are eco-diverse with all that entails.
Take us as but one example: Here in our work at the New Mobility Agenda and World Streets for example we have made the strategic decision to concentrate our attention and work on what can be done in the next two to four years to achieve significant progress. That's all we do, and others work in terms of a less defined or longer time horizon. What this aggressive shortening of the time horizon offers, we find, is a big help to ensure the near-term changes which are needed and possible without waiting around for something perhaps bigger and better – but above all later. Not everyone agrees with this approach, but one thing that happens when you have successes in the near-term, and that is that what you learn in the process instructs you and others as to what to do next, and gives you courage in order to be able to execute those important next steps.
We, the international sustainable transport alliance, have one other thing going for us and this is absolutely vital -- and that is our integrity. Without our integrity we cannot prevail -- , so anything, no matter how minor, which undermines that is the true dagger in our heart. It is not just a matter of "reputation Iago". It goes far deeper than that. It is not only what others think of us, but what we think of ourselves -- and if we do not have high thoughts and high ambitions we are going to lose this war.
And now what? Well, what about Haiti?
In closing I would like to suggest that as allies we treat this as a wake-up call for greater solidarity and cooperation. And with that in mind I would like to see if we could now start to discuss how we can gather all of our resources, all of our energy, all of our knowledge, and all of our integrity --- to point it in the direction of one place and one time right now in order to demonstrate that sustainable transportation and social justice can work even in the most challenging circumstances
Specifically, I hope that all of you read this letter will at least consider the possibility of finding ways for us to gather forces to undertake to create a viable sustainable transportation agenda that makes sense for Haiti. Now the time to do this. The fundamental decisions as to directions and values which will underlie what happens next in our sector have yet to be made. Now is the time that we need to show up and make our voices heard. Together!
I hope we will in this manner perhaps turn an embarrassing, regrettable event into an opportunity. The pas this the past, the future is our challenge. Starting today
And of course as always I invite your comments and suggestions.
Sustainable transport survey identifies five types of travellers
A new study from Germany of attitudes towards transport and mobility has
identified five groups of travellers. The groups
differ significantly in their choice of transport, distance travelled and the
impact their transport choices have on the environment in terms of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions.
World Streets goes to the movies - What's playing in
February
A new series being inaugurated on 1 February, presenting a mixed selection
of outstanding videos, to be renewed over the year on a monthly basis. The idea
is to invite our readers to check in from time to time to view some very different
kinds of presentations and topics with the objective of stimulating even
greater variety in their thinking.
Dublin City Council will be introducing a new traffic signalling
system to encourage motorists to obey the new 30km speed limit that
will be enforced from next Monday.
Motorists keeping under 30 km/per hour could meet continuous green
lights on a clear road but those travelling any faster will meet a red
light according to Cllr Andrew Montague (Lab) chairman of the council's
Transport Committee.
The council will be introducing the system on selected routes like
the Quays when the new 24 hour speed limit comes into force.
Cllr Montague said that congested traffic moves slower when there
are stops and starts but will be slightly faster with a smoother
traffic flow.
He also said the new limit will make the city centre a more
attractive place for pedestrians and cyclists.
The new speed limit area will cover an area North to South from
Bolton St to St Stephen's Green and West to East from Church St to
Gardiner St.
But the Automobile Association has claimed the new limit will
'infuriate' motorists.
AA Director of Policy Conor Faughnan responded 'There is just no
sense in this, 30 kph zones work when they are engineered properly, in
traffic calmed areas where they are self policing.
He continued, That's what they are for, applying them en masse on
roads that are engineered for high volumes at flowing speeds is absurd.
He said we have problems enough countrywide trying to end the
scourge of badly set speed limits without the capital city making a
mockery of sensible road design.'
-- --------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
Urbanstr. 45
D-10967 Berlin
Germany
Skype: toddedelman
Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081
edelman@...www.greenidea.euwww.flickr.com/photos/edelman
CAR* is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Privatautostadt und was Neues hingebaut!" - B. Brecht (with slight modification)
* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately, opportunistically or without creativity
January 2010 - Introduction:
We very much doubt that most of our readers have the time to check into
World Streets on a daily basis. For that reason we have from the beginning
offered in addition to the daily edition, a monthly summary which brings
together in one place all postings and comments in a manner in which the
busy reader can review the month's titles in a few lines and make a decision
as to whether or not to call up and read the full article. January 2010 was
no exception to this rule.
* Click titles for full article.
* To be taken directly to full January edition, click here:
http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/02/january-2010-this-month-on-world.h\
tml
Summaries:
World Streets goes to the movies What's playing in February 2010
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-goes-to-movies-what\
s.html>
A new series inaugurated on 1 February, presenting a selection of
outstanding videos, to be renewed over the year on a monthly basis. The idea
is to invite our readers to check in from time to time to view some very
different kinds of presentations and topics, with the objective of
stimulating even greater variety in their thinking and problem-solving
approaches. You can find the small gadget
Sustainable transport survey identifies five types of travellers
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/sustainable-transport-survey-iden\
tifies.html>
A new study from Germany of attitudes towards transport and mobility
has identified five groups of travellers. The groups differ significantly in
their choice of transport, distance travelled and the impact their transport
choices have on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.-
by ClickGreen staff. Published Sat 30 Jan 2010 16:50
http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/research/trends/
E pur si muove Casual Carpooling on the streets of America
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/casual-carpooling-california-28-j\
anuary.html>
One of the keys to sustainable transportation is to gain high
quality mobility for people while reducing overall traffic. One way for
doing this is to figure out how to get more people into fewer vehicles,
efficiently. Fortunately there are many ways of doing this, not all of which
take a lot of time to build and cost a bundle. Here is one example: casual
carsharing. And despite the fact that
Next Steps After Copenhagen: Opportunities and Challenges in the Transport
Sector
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/next-steps-after-copenhagen.html>
For those of you who may have missed this recent brainstorming
session organized at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC
and attended by a number of other important players on the worldwide
sustainable transport scene, here is the next best thing we can offer you,
complete with more comprehensive references and URLs to the main
presentations. I am sure that many or our readers
April Streeter ponders six (might be) car free cities.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/april-streeter-ponders-six-might-\
be-car.html>
Friend April Streeter, diligent reporter for the busy Treehugger
cars+ transportation blog, called in to World Streets on Monday to talk car
free(r) cities. We applauded her decision to try to find a range of very
different kinds of cities, pushed a bit to bring Guadalajara and at least
one Chinese city, in addition to the more usual suspects, and urged her on
with all due caution. Here is what
Citiscope: Reporting on Worldwide City Innovation
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/citiscope-reporting-on-worldwide-\
city.html>
In the wake of the troubles and lessons of COP15 we are seeing
projects, programs and groups sprouting up around the world setting out to
take the high ground in ideas and communications on the up-side of the
change and innovations necessary if we are to face the challenges of the
planet and our cities. We invite you to have an advance look at the
Citiscope project that will be formally announced
World Streets / Haitian Streets. Part II. To Heal Haiti, Look to History,
Not Nature
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-haitian-streets-par\
t-ii.html>
This special series sets out to tap the considerable competence of
people and groups working the leading edge of the field of sustainable
transport worldwide, to invite them to provide their best independent
strategic counsel for the decision- makers who eventually are going to have
to figure out what to do to provide and improve mobility arrangements of
Haitians in their daily lives. But
America, it's time to meet the Sharrow. (Be brave)
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/america-its-time-to-meet-sharrow.\
html>
After five years of sanctioned experimentation in American
cities-large and small--the Federal Highway Administration has officially
adopted Shared Use Lane Markings, or "Sharrows," into the latest version of
the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). America Codifies
Shared Use Lane Markings (Sharrows)While the MUTCD is not everyday reading
for many livable streets advocates, its
Message from South Africa: How our public transport system compares with the
rest of Mama Africa.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/message-from-south-africa-how-our\
.html>
South African travel writer Sihle Khumalo knows African public
transport intimately, but is more accustomed to his own private wheels in
his home town of Jozi. He took time out recently to explore his own backyard
by public transport, from Soweto to Sandton...Having travelled by public
transport in more than 10 other African countries, it was only natural that
I explore my own backyard using
World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews: An ultra-short progress
report on carsharing in Iceland
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-annual-new-mobility\
_19.html>
This series strives to try to provide a balanced view reporting on
how the practice of sharing cars is progressing in countries and cities
around the world. Including in places that have yet to create their own
carshare operations or pubic programs to investigate or support them. The
case of Iceland is one among many, showing how the roll-up takes time and
the importance of convincing of those
World Streets / Haitian Streets: Part I. What to do once the emergency has
been met.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/we-support-medecins-sans-frontier\
es-in.html>
No city, no place in the world can hope for a fair future if it does
not have safe streets that work for people in their day to day lives.
Streets are the circulatory systems of our towns and cities, They are not
"roads" which tend to be treated as more or less isolated conduits down
which we try to channel as many vehicles as fast as possible. No, streets
are rather highly idiosyncratic, hugely
Children, Transport and Mobility in Africa Sharing experiences from Ghana,
Malawi and South Africa
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/children-transport-and-mobility-i\
n.html>
2010 is the Year of Africa on World Streets, and here you have the
first of what we intend will develop into a engaging series of articles,
ideas and information on problems, attitudes, responses, barriers and the
ingenious work-arounds that African children and adults are so often obliged
to find on their own. This publication was funded by The Africa Community
Access Programme (AFCAP) to help
A major sustainability challenge of 2010: Building a World-Wide
Learning Community
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/major-sustainabilty-challenge-of-\
2010.html>
Is there a requirement, a potentially useful role for a more
creative and powerful system of linkage, dynamic multi-level interaction,
information exchange and eventually collaboration between the many and fast
growing number of outstanding programs and their considerable knowledge and
competence bases, with specific reference to the issues, roles and
possibilities of the new mobility transport
World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews: A 2010 update on
carsharing in Canada
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-annual-new-mobility\
_13.html>
Kevin McLaughlin, one of the key figures in advancing the carshare
agenda not only in his city (Toronto) but also across Canada and more
broadly in North America as a whole, has taken time out from his busy
schedule to tell our readers about the state of carsharing in Canada as we
head into 2010.# # # An update on Car Sharing in Canada in 2009 (with the
important proviso that I am writing from
Want to know more on carsharing around the world? All you have to do is push
here.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-annual-new-mobility\
_12.html>
In addition to the country review that are appearing in these pages
in the weeks ahead, you may be interested to know that we have developed
some tools that permit you to dig deeper and faster. Here are four you may
wish to check out for your own research purposes. No problem. Get
comfortable, pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a bit of time to
investigate . . . 1. All World Streets articles
World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews: A 2010 update on
carsharing (Car Clubs) in the UK
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-annual-new-mobility\
_11.html>
Carsharing has been a slow starter in the UK, lagging considerably
behind the leaders. However in the last half dozen years the operators have
gained considerable momentum and are now entering into the mainstream of
practical transport innovation and day to day practice. Carsharing is really
hitting the road in Britain in 2010. One has to ask why the great delay?
Might it be because the British
World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews: A 2010 update on
carsharing in the United States
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-streets-annual-new-mobility\
.html>
If not such a great moment for the US car industry, 2009 was quite a
year for carsharing in the States! Dave Brooks of www.Carsharing.us out of
Portland Oregon reports for World Streets on carshare developments in the
United States over 2009, with some reflections on where things might be
heading in the year ahead. # # # Best wishes to World Streets readers for
2010. Here are some thoughts
How to read World Streets . . . until we are ready for 2010
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-read-world-streets-until-w\
e-are.html>
During the weeks directly ahead we have to concentrate our limited
resources on the search for financial and other support so that World
Streets can continue publication in 2010. Thus, during this period we shall
not be maintaining our usual 5/7 publication schedule. For that reason you
will over the coming weeks find in this top section only those postings and
articles that relate to laying the
World Streets Annual New Mobility Country Reviews: Carsharing: The
last nail in the coffin of old mobility.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/ws-state-of-nation-new-mobility-2\
009.html>
At the beginning of each new year the New Mobility Agenda invites
the approximately two thousand individuals and groups from more than seventy
nations on all continents who log into our dozen-plus focus sites to share
overviews of the "state of the nation" in their particular area of interest
and activity. This year we start with carsharing. The following update note
and invitation sent on
It's time you too rolled up your sleeves and got involved.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-world-streets-is-to-continue.h\
tml>
World Streets, it says right at the top of the page, is a
collaborative, sharing effort. After a first year of proving its worth
edition after edition, five days a week, bringing hundreds of carefully
selected news items, expert views, questions, comments, inspirations, and
leads to the desks of more than one hundred thousand visitors from more than
seventy countries on all continents
Year 2010 started in Copenhagen on Friday, 18 Dec 2009 And now World Streets
gears up for 2010 (Special edition)
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-started-in-copenhagen-on-fri\
day-18.html>
The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has given us ample
reason to reflect not only on the climate/ governance and the
climate/transport links - the latter which we have taken as a pillar of
transport policy for some years now - but also on our own contribution here
at World Streets to the strategic re-thinking and institutional re-tooling
process that must now be engaged. A challenge
Is World Streets worth continuing in 2010? We asked 100 experts for their
views - - and 101 responded.
<http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/01/4-january-2009-is-world-streets-w\
orth.html>
Dateline Paris. 4 January 2010. We have just completed our first
year of publication of World Streets. The results are there for all to see
and judge. And we now know that we are going to need financial and other
forms of support if we are to continue this international sustainability
adventure. Is what we are doing useful and worthy of support? 101 of our
readers picked up their pens and
Read World Streets Today at http://www.worldstreets.org/
New Mobility Partnerships - http://www.newmobility.org
<http://www.newmobility.org/>
8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France, Europe
+331 7550 3788 eric.britton(at)newmobility.org Skype: newmobility
[Sorry but I do not have time to
close down this list today as planned. In any event this will give a bit more
time for those of you who find some value in this to consider whether or not
you are ready to be part of the solution. Sorry about the deal, but do
not fear. It will take place.]
This is a very a handy review even for those of us who have been
following them for years. Thanks once again Mobility.
Eric Britton
PS. Get behind
the World Carshare Consortium and World Streets. Two good friends of the planet
and our cites who are not sitting on their hands and wringing them in despair (try
to visualize that).
Paris, Monday, 01 February, 2010
Mob Carsharing <http://www.mobcarsharing.pt/pt/> in Lisbon is the only
known carshare operation in Portugal today (This note is thanks to our
friend and colleague Robert Stussi.)
* The Portuguese language site is at http://www.mobcarsharing.pt/pt/
* A serviceable machine translation into English at
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&e
otf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mobcarsharing.pt%2Fpt%2F&sl=pt&tl=en (which of
course does not pick up the graphics text.)
We are hoping that Robert or some other of our Portuguese colleagues will
take some time to put the Portuguese carshare scene into the same broader
perspective that we are aiming for in our other 2010 country reports. It
would be interesting to know why they lag, what they intend to do, and what
is needed to put carsharing into every larger city in the country. Now that
would be interesting.
Eric Britton
Read World Streets Today at http://www.worldstreets.org/
New Mobility Partnerships - http://www.newmobility.org
<http://www.newmobility.org/>
8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France, Europe
+331 7550 3788 eric.britton(at)newmobility.org Skype: newmobility
#1: Climate change mitigation efforts need to address
emissions from the transport sector in developing countries in order to limit global temperature rise to 2
degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2050, a target
suggested by the IPCC and referred to by the Copenhagen Accord.
#2: Decision making in the transport sector should
consider multiple policy objectives in support of sustainable
development, including adaptation to climate change, greenhouse
gas emissions mitigation, economic and social development, congestion
relief, road safety, air quality and health.
CONGRATULATIONS! Ahmedabad,
India Wins 2010 Sustainable Transport Award
The city of Ahmedabad, India received the 2010
Sustainable Transport Award for the Janmarg bus rapid transit (BRT)
system -- a mass transit system designed to reduce carbon emissions
and improve accessibility for urban residents.
Dario Hidalgo, EMBARQ's Senior Transport Engineer, sits on the
selection committee. For the first time in the award's six-year
history all of the nominees were from developing countries.
"This announcement is really a game-changer for cities that are
trying to improve transportation, environment and quality of
life," Hidalgo said.
NEW VIDEO! Transit Agencies
Need to Invest in Marketing
Los Angeles' Metro is doing something that no transit
agency in the country has ever done: it's marketing its products and
services as if it were a private company bent on turning a profit.
But for Metro marketing isn't about increasing the bottom line. It's
about reducing traffic, cleaning the air and making people's commutes
in this auto-clogged city a bit less stressful.
Matt Raymond, the Chief Communications Officer for Metro, is the
brainchild behind Metro's marketing push. During a trip out to Los Angeles
I had the chance to talk with Mr. Raymond. "The key to putting
together the group," Mr Raymond said, referring to the in-house
ad agency known as Creative Services, "was that we wanted to
make public transportation cool."
MOVING FORWARD: CTS-Brasil Hosts
Workshop to Move Forward on "Portais da Cidade" BRT Project
CTS-Brasil conducted a two-day workshop on January
27-28 to help Porto Alegre city officials and technical consultants
identify all the steps needed to launch Portais da Cidade, the city's
bus rapid transit project, by a target date of November 2012.
The workshop was organized by Daniela Facchini and Toni Lindau from
CTS-Brasil, with support from the Andean Development Corporation
(CAF), which has agreed to partially finance the project.
Participants included Porto Alegre's Secretary of Mobility Luiz
Afonso Senna, along with the technical team from City Hall, BRT
consultants contracted for the project, and bus operators.
This year marks the fourth international Active Cities,
Healthy Cities
contest and campaign, which recognizes projects initiated by
municipal authorities, civil society, and the private sector in Latin
American cities that promote healthier, more active lifestyles.
People will be able to nominate projects under one of the following
three categories:
1) sustainable transport and the environment
2) physical activity and recreation, or
3) public space, security, and civic culture
More than 100 people attended Day One at the World
Resources Institute. And 180 people joined us for Day Two, hosted at
the Inter-American Development Bank. Together, we learned about three
important themes related to sustainable transport:
Communications and Public Involvement
Transport, Health and Safety
Next Steps After Copenhagen
To see Powerpoint presentations, speaker bios, videos
and more click here.
EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport
catalyzes environmentally and financially sustainable transport solutions
to improve quality of life in cities.
Since 2002, the network has grown to include five Centers for Sustainable
Transport, located in Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey and the Andean
Region, that work together with local transport authorities to reduce
pollution, improve public health, and create safe, accessible and
attractive urban public spaces. The network employs more than 60 experts
in fields ranging from architecture to air quality management; geography
to journalism; and sociology to civil and transport engineering.
Announcements were made recently that Chengdu will pilot a free, short-term bicycle-rental program in its southern new
area. Concrete details for the program's implementation are to be released as
early as next week.
A bike-collection station in Beijing.
Centered around the subway stations in a hexagonal "honeycomb"
arrangement, the bicycle-rental stations will be positioned near popular public
areas, shopping and commercial centers, and important administrative areas and
traffic junctures. The honeycomb layout allows any point to be equidistant from
the center.
Residents wishing to borrow a bicycle to ride between a subway station and
home, doing shopping, etc. can use their own ID card or other electronic
identification cards to borrow bicycles all around the urban district. Bicycles
can be returned to any of the rental stations.
Sichuan Provincial
standing committee spokesperson Chen Yi stated that "low
carbon" is a major theme of future economic development, and that Sichuan
should firmly grasp the opportunity to exert its development in such a manner.
And that Chengdu, as a major city and the provincial capital, should serve as a
role model, and take the opportunity presented by the impending opening of the
subway to implement a "low carbon Chengdu."
"The city of Chengdu
has already announced that its intention to become a low-carbon city;
this is a good start," said Chen Yi.
"In 2010, the opening of Metro Line 1 is one of the city residents' most
closely followed issues, and building a 'low-carbon Chengdu' is closely related
to this." Chen Yi says that Chengdu should learn from the experience of
Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, which implemented a low-cost
bicycle-rental program along its major corridors in 2008.
Beijing also launched a small-scale program in 2008, as did Shanghai's Minhang District. In Shanghai the program, which
is sponsored by the city's iconic Forever Bicycle Company, became so popular
that late last year city officials decided to expand it.
Various cities in Europe, most notably Paris, as well as elsewhere across the
globe, have launched successful bike-sharing
programs in recent years as part of a push for intermodal transportation
systems.
But there was no word of
how the bicycles are safeguarded against theft, a rampant problem in China's
urban areas.
Sent: Tuesday, 02 February, 2010 04:54
Subject: [sustran] Re: monorails and other low capacity systems
There is an old technology which has been further developed by Practical
Action Nepal called "Gravity Ropeways". This is a 100% emission free
technology using gravity to slide down a trolley on a steel cable with a
load of farm produce of poor communities living up in the mountains in rural
Nepal.
There is a barking system that was developed to control the movements of the
two trolleys (Heavier one comes down and the lighter one goes up). In one of
the sites, this device has been able to reduce 2 hours of travel time by
foot to 3 minutes to transport vegetables/goods. However, this device is
used only for goods (freight) transportation but passengers due to safety
factors.
The wheel that is fixed to the brake system also turns very fast during the
short operation of the ropeway/cable way. I think the energy generated by it
can also be used as a dynamo to charge a battery (for lighting??)
For more information please visit URL:
http://practicalaction.org/transport/gravity_ropeways and/or technical brief
http://practicalaction.org/transport/docs/region_nepal/gravity_ropeways_nepa
l.pdf
Thanks.
Ranjith
Ranjith de Silva
Regional Coordinator for Asia & the Pacific
International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD)
C/o. 319/10 Ramanayaka Mawatha
Erawwala
Pannipitiya 10230
Sri Lanka
-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Ramon Munoz-Raskin
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 6:01 PM
Briefly: The Medellin aerial cable car is part of an integrated
transportation system approach. The system was created to provide
accessibility enhancements to deprived communities that had informally
developed in geographically constrainted locations (e.g. sides of a steep
valley) where higher capacity systems such as large, ferquent pattern bus
services would either not fit (narrow curvy streets) or would not be able to
climb up there (to steep slopes), among other reasons. In my several visits
to Medellin during the last few years I have understood well how this system
is succesful there for daily regular commuting of these low-income
communities. Capacities are competitive with bus services. Something worth
mentioning as well is the "democratization" and urban renovation that is
associated with an aerial cable car stop- these areas flourish. Tourism is
marginal, but the city is very proud about it and, therefore, it is
definitely promoted as a tourist attraction.
Ramon Munoz-Raskin
Editorial: The
only good monorail, is an old monorail.
Part I.
Building knowledge and consensus via the internet
Let me be very
clear as to my motives here just so there is no ambiguity on my position. I
would like no less than to drive a sharp stake through the dark heart of this
egregiously unsustainable transport concept once and for all, so that we can
concentrate our limited resources on approaches that are capable of doing the
job and meeting the sustainability challenge head on. Which is exactly not the
case with monorails. Let's have a look.
In the world of transport, sustainable and otherwise,
there are some bad ideas that die hard, no matter how absurd. One of the more
resistant of these is monorails. Once again we are starting to hear the drum
beat of monorails being touted as a "genuine, bona fide, electrified"
solution to the problems of transport in our cites. For example just the other
day it was announced in the press that Mumbai was about to receive the first
prototype vehicle for a new monorail project in fairly advanced planning and
testing stages. Oops. Let's see if we can put this one to rest.
[This article builds on an excellent series of discussions that
you can reference in the excellent Sustran Global South collaborative forum on
sustainable transport in the developing countries -- which you can visit at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sustran-discuss
It is our intention to follow this up with several more independent commentaries
from expert sources.]
WORLD STREETS: Insights and contributions from
leading thinkers & practitioners around the world
Paris, Thursday, 04
February, 2010
Dear World Friends and Colleagues,
If you have been enjoying the steady flow of articles,
tools, op-ed pieces, and lively discussions which have been appearing daily on
the pages of World Streets over the last eleven months, I would like to ask you
to take ten minutes of your valuable time this morning to have a close look at
today's lead article, which sets out our strategy for continuing
publication. This is a critical moment for us and we need our allies and
their counsel and support. (Click
here to go to article.)
Our goal from the beginning of this great
adventure in the closing months of 2008 has been to make sure that an
independent, informed, principled, always readable and at times maverick voice
for sustainability is widely and freely available to all. Indeed more than a
hundred of you have recently written in to state publicly that we are
succeeding in this quite admirably. That is very satisfying.
But now we face a real moment of truth, and I am
hoping that you will take the time to have a good look at today's featured
piece and share with us your reactions, best thoughts and leads. Our main
challenge at this point is to find ways to link and collaborate more creatively
with the leading national and international organizations working in the field,
the innovating cities, operators, entrepreneurs, universities, suppliers and
other people, groups and institutions who share our common objectives. All this
is set out in today's lead article.
The struggle for sustainable transportation,
sustainable cities, and sustainable lives is an uphill battle, and we are going
to win it and change things only to the extent to which we decide to do it
together. For now, those of us who care deeply about these matters are
still very much in a minority position trying to bring change what is still in
many ways an all-but dysfunctional"old mobility" culture ("problem solving" through
more cars, more roads, higher speeds and all that goes with it). But we
are rapidly moving up our learning curve and we need at this point to start to
unite our voices and energies to establish a common agenda, and in this way to
become a real force in policy and investment decisions. It is my sincere
belief that World Streets has a role to play in this process.
So please have a look and if you have any ideas let us hear from you. E. editor@...• T. +331 7550 3788
• Skype newmobility. We answer the phone.
With all good wishes,
Eric Britton
PS. If you have questions here is a quick click-list of some of
the keystones that you may wish to check out. But above all Exhibit A is World
Streets itself.
Enter the government of Geneva, Switzerland and a tri-partisan 2-1
City Council vote to close 200 streets to cars. Or as Geneva’s
council member Fabienne Fischer states, “It’s not really to
close 200 roads or streets in the center of Geneva, but to open 200 streets to
improved life in the neighborhood.“
We’re not talking about the closing of a street or two here and there,
this is 200 street blocks that pretty much scale up to an entire downtown. If
the proposal is officially enacted (it hasn’t yet, as larger businesses
may be opposing it), you can place the City of Geneva on par with the economic
progressiveness of Google, Amazon and eBay. In fact, the city government is
already there, it’s a question of whether the private sector can match
it.
Fabienne adds, “200 places for pedestrian life or relationships
corresponds to 200 schools, kindergartens, or even every type of people at
home. The idea is to concentrate these pedestrian zones near these places in
order to protect the more fragile people, older people younger people. The
small shops also need to have a real social life in order to have people
coming.“
You can listen to a brief interview with her here.
Last Thursday was“Día sin carro” (Car
Free Day) in Bogotá. A really big day, the tenth anniversary of the original
which I had the honor to work on in close collaboration with the then mayor,
Enrique Penalosa and his assistant Oscar Edmundo Diaz. Planning it was a huge
challenge, and making it actually work an even larger one. And if I feel
somewhat ambivalent about all the Car Free Days out there that are not able to
make a dent in the transport policy and habits of their cities – that
being the original idea – there are a much smaller number of
them that really do manage to pass this acid text. And of course Bogotá right
up at the top of the lot.
I was in a way sad not to be there for this important
anniversary, but it would have been a long way to go (and lots of CO2 ) just to
watch a huge number of cars no moving for those hours. Still, I wrote a note to
my collaborators on it, and one wrote back inviting me to have a look at an
article by Dr. Fabio Arévalo Rosero a very active and ingenious soft transport
innovator (and medical doctor - he worries about obesity, respiratory
infections, and injuries as a result of traffic, hence his interest)), which
appeared in a Colombia weekly Semana at http://comunidades.semana.com/noticias/tutores-del-dia-carro/4116.aspx
which I copy below along with a quick machine translation that follows.
Thanks very much Fabio. A very nice present from Colombia on
this cold wet morning in Paris. (PS. And for those of you who do not know
it, teams of doctors and medical personal from Colombia arrived in Haiti very
quickly after the disaster and are still there working under very
tough conditions.)
If you ever want to see what the original idea was back
in 1994 – the title was "Thursday: A Breakthrough Strategy for
Reducing Car Dependence in Cities"-- you can find
the original paper referred to in the article (in English) at www.thursday.worldcarfreedays.com
. Not so bad and here it is 16 years later and still going strong.
Eric Britton
- - -
Los tutores del
"Día sin carro"
Autor: Fabio Arévalo Rosero MD
Eric Britton, el "Papá" del Día
sin carro en el mundo
Si el 80 por ciento de los bogotanos
pueden vivir sin auto propio todo el año, ¿por qué ese 20 por ciento, o
quizá menos, no pueden prescindir de esa comodidad si quiera por un día? Lo
que menos puede significar esta jornada es solidaridad, democracia,
integración, etc. Una propuesta innovadora que se le debe originalmente al
señor Francis Eric Britton.
El Carfree Day o “Día sin
carro” DSC, nace en la Conferencia Ciudades Accesibles realizada en
Toledo el año 1994 gracias a la idea y presentación del activista franco-norteamericano
Eric Britton. Originalmente el DSC estaba pensado para ser implementado en
una ciudad, en un barrio o para ser organizado por cualquier grupo de
personas. Sin embargo, luego del año 2000 cuando la Comunidad Europea se
suma a la iniciativa, la propuesta se convierte en un llamado planetario a
realizar un día libre de automóviles por acuerdo de todos los habitantes de
las distintas ciudades adherentes.
Hoy la ciudad con la mejor experiencia
en el mundo es Bogotá. Una iniciativa que nació hace 10 años con Enrique
Peñalosa, quien para ello invitó a Colombia al “padre” del DSC,
Eric Britton. Así quedó instaurado de manera obligatoria, por norma y acto
democrático, el primer jueves de Febrero. Hoy se celebra la jornada número
11 como una manera de imaginar una ciudad sin automóviles, o al menos
motivar su empleo racional.
El DSC es una acción colectiva y
concertada entre ciudadanos y autoridades para hacer un gran experimento.
Es la oportunidad de probar nuevas formas de movilizarnos, de buscar maneras
más sustentables de resolver nuestros viajes diarios, de difundir
masivamente las externalidades negativas del uso indiscriminado del
automóvil, de relacionar calentamiento global, contaminación acústica y
deterioro del aire con el incremento del parque automotriz.
Es un espacio para invitar a combatir
la epidemia del sedentarismo y la obesidad con el uso del transporte
activo, de comenzar a comprender la integración de la bicicleta y de la
tracción humana como imperativos éticos de equidad, democracia, ampliación
del acceso de todos a los bienes de la ciudad. Es una intervención en la
salud pública para reflexionar sobre los males de la mecanización excesiva
y una invitación a explorar mejores posibilidades de salud mental y social.
Britton es uno de los expertos
internacionales más reconocidos en el campo de las políticas urbanas, con
una gran experiencia tanto en el campo económico y empresarial como en el
de las administraciones públicas. Es uno de los miembros fundadores de
EcoPlan, prestigioso organismo internacional de consultoría, con sede en
París, que desde 1966 lleva ayudando a la toma de decisiones estratégicas a
gobiernos e instituciones de medio mundo.
Como consultor internacional, Eric
Britton ha servido como consejero a más de treinta agencias nacionales a
través de los contactos mantenidos con la OCDE y la Comisión Europea. Ha
realizado cientos de documentos y ha publicado más de doscientos artículos,
informes y libros, algunos de importancia capital en el campo del
transporte. Eric Britton fue, precisamente, miembro del consejo de
redacción del informe World Ttransport Policy & Practice, referencia
obligada sobre la política y la práctica del transporte en el mundo.
En Junio del 2000 Eric Britton, junto a Enrique Peñalosa,
recibió el prestigioso premio "Stockholm Prize" por su trabajo
para reestructurar el sistema de transporte de la ciudad de Bogotá conforme
a intereses sostenibles y de justicia social. Si Britton gestó la
iniciativa DSC en Toledo hace 16 años, Enrique Peñalosa la acogió y la
modernizó. Hoy Bogotá es el referente para el mundo.
Google machine translate – untouched by human hands
The Guardians of the Car Free Day
Eric
Britton, "Papa" of the World Car Free Day
If 80 percent
of Bogotá itself can live without a car all year, why this 20 percent, or even
less, can not do without this comfort if you want for a day? What this
may mean less time is solidarity, democracy, integration, etc.. An innovative
proposal that was originally owed to Mr Francis Eric Britton.
The Carfree Day or "Day without a car" CFD, was born in the
Accessible Cities Conference held in Toledo in 1994 thanks to the idea and
presentation of the Franco-American activist Eric Britton. CFD was originally
intended to be implemented in a city, in a neighborhood or to be organized by
any group of people.
However,
after 2000 when the European Community endorsed the initiative, the proposal
becomes a global call to make a car-free day by agreement of all the inhabitants
of various cities adherents.
Today the city with the best experience in the world is Bogota. An initiative
that was born 10 years ago with Enrique Penalosa, who called on Colombia to do
the "father" of the CFD, Eric Britton. This was introduced on a
compulsory basis for democratic rule and act, on the first Thursday of
February. Today is the day number 11 as a way to imagine a city without cars,
or at least encourage its rational use.
The DSC is a collective and concerted action between citizens and authorities
to make a great experiment. It is an opportunity to try new ways to mobilize
them to seek more sustainable ways to solve our daily trips to spread the
negative externalities of mass indiscriminate use of cars, to link global
warming, noise pollution and deterioration of air with increased car park .
It is an inviting space to combat the epidemic
of inactivity and obesity with the use of active transport to begin to
understand the integration of cycling and the human drive as ethical imperatives
of equity, democracy, expanding access for all to property of the city. It is a public health intervention to reflect on the
evils of excessive mechanization and an invitation to explore a better chance
of social and mental health.
Britton is one of the most recognized international experts in the field of
urban policies, with extensive experience in both the economic and business
field as in the general government. It is one of the founding members of
EcoPlan, a prestigious international consulting agency, based in Paris, which
since 1966 has been helping to make strategic decisions for governments and
institutions of half the world.
As an international consultant, Eric Britton has served as advisor to over
thirty national agencies through contacts with the OECD and the European
Commission. He has made hundreds of documents and has published over two
hundred articles, reports, books, some of importance in the field of
transportation. Eric Britton was, precisely, a member of the editorial board of
the World Transport Policy & Practice a benchmark policy and practice
of transport in the world.
In June 2000 Eric Britton, along with Enrique Penalosa, received the
prestigious Stockholm Prize "for his work to restructure the transport
system of Bogotá under sustainable interests and social justice". If Britton gestated in Toledo CFD initiative 16 years ago, Enrique Penalosa
welcomed it and put it to work. Today Bogotá provides the benchmark for the world.
On this your first Car Free Day in Mumbai I suppose the most
useful thing that I can advise based on my experience is for you and all
involved to keep your eyes open, wide open, to determine what the real lessons
are of your first Big Day.
This may seem self-evident, however I have to say that one of
the most notable things I have observed in the thousands of car free days that
had been organized since that fatal day in October 1994 is that (a) the
organizers more often than not tend to be generally pleased with what they have
accomplished after their day, but (b) not very neutral and analytic in
determining what they have done and learned. Hence in all too many cases the
second car free day more often than not ends up looking like the first one, and
on and on.
If you go to http://tinyurl.com/ws-cfds
you will be taken to a handful of the articles we have published in World Streets
on this topic over the last year. Then too there is the information that
you will find on the World Car Free Days site at www.worldcarfreedays.com ("Every day is a great
day to take a few cars off the street and think about it"). And if I
were to propose a single piece that summarizes my best counsel, it would be the
original Thursday piece, www.thursday.worldcarfreedays.com, the subtitle of which tells the story I wanted
to tell at the time (and since): " A Breakthrough Strategy for Reducing
Car Dependence in Cities".
There
you have it. I wish that I could be there to join you and who knows if we
can work out a collection of projects in Mumbai in a couple of other nearby
cities in time for your car free day run in 2011, we might have a look at this
together.
With all good wishes for your much deserved success,
From: Seema Tiwari
[mailto:seemat29@...] Sent: Monday, 08 February, 2010 16:13 To: eric.britton@...; admin@...;
editor@... Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Mumbai Car Free Day - please spread the word
Hi Eric,
Inspired by all your work on world car free day and
following the lead of several cities around the world, esp Bogota and NYC,
Mumbai is observing its first car free day
When: Feb 21st, 2010, 8 AM - 10 PM
Where: Carter Rd, Bandra
The ' Mumbai Car Free Day' aims to:
1. Raise awareness for environment and quality of life
2. Provide citizens with an opportunity to experience the absence of exhaust
gases, traffic jams, traffic accidents and traffic noise
3. Lower pollution levels
4. Encourage healthy living
5. Promote improvement and use of public transport, cycling and walking
The event is organized by Khar Bandra Santacruz
(KBS) Foundation, a local NGO, that has embarked on a mission to motivate
people to take up cycling as a way of life and improving the environment
and quality of life.
CarSharing, like
Rome, is not built in a day. At least formal CarSharing as we are seeing it
develop in many countries now at, in places, rapid and highly satisfying rate.
Here you have a submittal as part of this year's W/S 2010 country reports on
carsharing from colleagues who are involved in an attempted laying the
groundwork for the first formal carsharing project in Greece, today in the
early planning stages in Athens. This is one of the EU "momo Car-Sharing"
projects to encourage carshare development throughout Europe. We invite you to
have a look and to share your thoughts and comments with the authors or with
our readers more generally.
Car-Sharing in Greece
- E. Tritopoulou and M. Zarkadoula. CRES. Department of
Environment and Transport.
WORLD CARFREE NEWS >>>
____________________________________
Edition 75 January/February 2010 English version
____________________________________
Contents:
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Carbusters #41
- Follow Carbusters on Twitter
- 3E Youth exchange in York (June 23-June 26, 2010)
- Towards Carfree Cities IX, York, UK (June 28-July 2, 2010)
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Cities for Mobility World Congress 2010
- Universal critical mass in Paris
- From Copenhagen to Toronto
IN THE NEWS
- Campaign to boost cycling in Beijing
- Pedestrians forced to the road
- New bicycle plan for Portland
- Brewers on bikes
- A question of balance
- Millionaire got record speeding fine
- Sharing service for students
- More cars sold in India
REPORTS
- Study about walkability
- Bikes on transit
- Report on the U.S. bike-ped behavior
MEDIA & NETWORKING
- Carfree visions
- Helmet or not?
- Cycling for stomach
CURIOS
- I got a bicycle
- Bicycle jerseys with printed traffic messages
- And the winners are...
SUPPORT WORLD CARFREE NETWORK
_________________________________
QUOTATION OF THE MONTH >>
____________________________________
"When I started driving 10 years ago, it was something special because not many
people had cars then, but now everyone has one and the traffic is terrible."
Chen Ying, language teacher in Beijing
___________________________________
WORLD CARFREE NETWORK ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
____________________________________
- Carbusters #41
The editors collective in Prague are proud to announce the next issue of
Carbusters Magazine. The theme is greenwashing, green capitalism and the "green
new deal". Deadline for contributors is 15th of February!
http://carbusters.org
- Follow Carbusters on Twitter
For those of you who prefer Twitter over RSS as the source of updates for
http://carbusters.org: The news for you are here!
http://twitter.com/carbusters
- 3E Youth exchange in York (June 23-June 26, 2010) Experts from across Europe
will give a range of inspiring workshops on active citizenship with regard to
youth, mobility and urban environmental issues.
Specific themes include capacity building, online outreach, actions such as
organising carfree days, project management for NGOs, engaging with the media
and fundraising.
http://www.salto-youth.net/find-a-training/1700.html
- Towards Carfree Cities IX, York, UK (June 28-July 2, 2010) Carfree UK is the
host organisation for the 2010 Towards Carfree Cities IX taking place in York,
UK, from June 28 and AGM on July 2. The theme is "How Do We Get There?" focusing
on bringing carfree communities to life. The conference will include lectures
and workshops, study tours and active street conversion exercises, as well as
active discussion on building a sustainable future.
Contact Randall Ghent at york@... and visit
http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference/
____________________________________
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
____________________________________
- Cities for Mobility World Congress 2010 Next CfM World Congress will take
place on 4-6 July 2010 in the city of Stuttgart. The event will be focused on
economy-promoting mobility in cities addressing municipal decision makers,
transport practitioners, researchers and civil society.
http://www.cities-for-mobility.org
- Universal critical mass in Paris
If you are in Paris July 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2010 the universal critical mass
is a highly recommended event. This webpage will keep you updated:
http://velorutionuniverselle.org/articles/spip.php?rubrique6
- From Copenhagen to Toronto
From the 25th to the 27th of June, 2010 the Group of 8 Leaders and the Group of
20 Leaders are meeting in Ontario to discuss the global economy, development and
climate change based on the disastrous UN meeting COP15 that took place in
Copenhagen last year. The Toronto Community Mobilization Network of various
grassroot organizations are arranging protests and alternative meetings.
Contact them at
community.mobilize@...
____________________________________
IN THE NEWS >>
____________________________________
- Campaign to boost cycling in Beijing
The politicians of Beijing has promised to regain the city's reputation as the
"Kingdom of Bicycles". Twenty years ago, four out of five residents in the
Chinese capital pedalled to work through one of the world's best systems of
bicycle lanes. But those were the days, today the traffic situation in Beijing
is characterized by congestion and pollution problems...
http://tinyurl.com/ydg67uo
- Pedestrians forced to the road
The winter phenomena snow shoveling (or the lack of it) illustrates the
hierarchy of traffic. Highways and roads are always higher priority than
sidewalks and bike lines with the result that pedestrians are forced to walk in
the middle of the dangerous roads.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=30&sid=1848358
- New bicycle plan for Portland
Portland, Oregon has just released the final draft of its Bicycle Master Plan,
intended to establish the city's direction on cycling until 2030. Sounds clever,
doesn't it?
"Bicycling creates safer streets, reduces the causes of global climate change,
promotes a healthy environment, and limits the effects and health care costs
related to inactivity. It provides equity and access to viable, affordable
transportation options and creates fun, vibrant, and livable neighborhoods. It
supports Portland s economy and is a sound investment. For all these reasons,
the City of Portland is on the verge of adopting a new plan for bicycling, the
Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030."
http://tinyurl.com/y9zkdxt
- Brewers on bikes
The New Belgium Brewing Company has invested in the bicycle organication One
Street's international social bike program to create jobs through locally
manufactured transportation bicycles for disadvantaged people. This means that
the program now is underway in Los Angeles, Prague and Budapest.
http://www.onestreet.org/
- A question of balance
Which type of transportation that should be promoted shouldn't be a question
these days. We need to drive less cars and focus on sustainable transport such
as public transportation and bikes. But still we keep getting reports like
this: Professor Peter Furth was ousted from his seat on Brookline's
Transportation Board because he was "too focused on bicycles".
http://brooklineperspective.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-balanced-transportation\
.html
- Millionaire got record speeding fine
A swiss man who obviously thought that he owned the world was reportedly caught
driving a Ferrari at 137km/h (85mph) through a village. And it wasn't the first
time. The fine landed on $290,000 ( 180,000) which is a new record in
Switzerland.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8446545.stm
- Sharing service for students
Zipcar, the world's largest car sharing provider and Zimride, the largest
social online ride sharing community, are getting even bigger! An integrated
car and ride sharing application was recently launched on five campuses in the
U.S: UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Maryland
and George Mason University.
http://www.zipcar.com
- More cars sold in India
The sales growth in the commercial vehicle and the passenger car segments in
November 2009 was among the strongest in recent history. One explanation to the
strong numbers is the extremely low base of last year.
http://tinyurl.com/ycom7rs
_________________________________
REPORTS >>
____________________________________
- Study about walkability
The CEO for Cities report Walking the walk, How walkability raises home values
in U.S. cities shows by ranking locations on a 100-point "Walk Score scale" how
walkability and accessibility are getting more valuable in the car-oriented U.S.
http://tinyurl.com/l546rk
- Bikes on transit
This new report by Livable City researcher Tony Vi presents the opinions and
ideas of over 500 bicyclists and compiling and analyzing those results as well
as recommending actions for improvement. Contents lots of gratifying and
inspiring numbers and facts!
http://tinyurl.com/yacbx6h
- Report on the U.S. bike-ped behavior
This study found that biking and walking account for 9.6 percent of all U.S.
trips but just 1.2 percent of federal transport spending goes to this sectors.
Nothing surprising in a world ruled by automobility.
http://tinyurl.com/y8uee2k
____________________________________
MEDIA & NETWORKING >>
____________________________________
- Carfree visions
The Smart Growth Manual is a small how-to guide co-written by the Miami
architect Andr s Duany, famous as a pioneering anti-sprawl combatant. He
presents, hardly surprising, an urban planning model completely without cars!
http://tinyurl.com/yfr3slf
- Helmet or not?
European Cyclists Federation campaigning about what they call "the helmet issue"
to stop the dangerization of cycling and increase the number of cyclists.
Including a Bicycle Safety Quiz!
http://www.onestreet.org/resources-for-increasing-bicycling/136-bicycle-helmets
- Cycling for stomach
This video shows people whose lives are totally dependent on their bikes. This
isn't about sports, fun or even passion, it's about surviving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHIfg3_ljd8
____________________________________
CURIOS >>
____________________________________
- I got a bicycle
Bicycle video accompanied by the sweet and funny song "I Got A Bicycle" by Coco
Love Alcorn & Matt Epp "I ride around/I'm like super girl/I never touch the
ground/Hey, hey, some days I'm goin' super fast/Hey, hey, n' there's cars stuck
in a mass/Hey, hey, n' I feel super kick ass"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxtlKIdOxzc
- Bicycle jerseys with printed traffic messages Tired of rude and scary drivers
when you're riding your bike in traffic? So was Phil Gaimon, the man behind
Share The Damn Road. So he came up with this simple but still genius solution:
bicycle jerseys with printed traffic messages.
https://www.sharethedamnroad.com/
- And the winners are...
LOTS Design (Gothenburg, Sweden), Koucky & Partners (Gothenburg, Sweden) and
Green Idea Factory (Berlin, Germany) who teamed up to design an innovative
bicycle sharing system for the City of Copenhagen, Denmark. Watch their winning
design here:
http://www.cphbikeshare.com/winners.aspx
____________________________________
SUPPORT WORLD CARFREE NETWORK >>
____________________________________
Our joint carfree vision is only as strong as the people who support us. By
donating to WCN you'll strengthen the voice of the movement that's committed to
defending our right to a sound, sustainable future. For donating and joining as
a member, please visit: http://www.worldcarfree.net/join/ Your support will make
a huge difference!
__________________________________
Bulletin #75 by Anna Nyg rd
World Carfree News - Monthly Newsletter
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