Deaths from Urban Air Pollution
Estimates by WHO sub-region for 2000 (WHO World Health Report, 2002).
View a larger a version of the map.

Originally posted on TheCityFix’s sister site, Earthtrends, the article below gives a good overview of outdoor pollution, and also touches on transportation’s links to both the causes of, and solutions to, the problem.

The hazy skies over the 2008 Summer Olympics have placed Beijing’s air quality at the top of news headlines for more than a month. However, outdoor air pollution, whether in the form of visible haze or invisible ozone and carbon monoxide, is a problem in nearly every country in the world.

Outdoor air pollution alone causes an estimated 800,000 deaths each year (an additional 1.6 million premature deaths are attributable to indoor air pollution, the subject of a previous EarthTrends Monthly Update). In many urban areas, especially in the developing world, air pollution is the single greatest environmental threat to human health (WDI, 2007).

However, cities in both the developed and developing worlds that were once heavily polluted have been able to improve air quality to within safe levels, often dramatically. These cities’ success has often come from a combination of stricter standards, sensible regulations, and integrated transit solutions.

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For all of our Spanish-speaking readers, here is a short clip from a recent Mexico City television broadcast that gives a quick overview of some of the ways in which transport policy impacts public health. It describes a Mexico City NGO (and EMBARQ Network partner) that is working with the Mexican capital to improve both traffic conditions and the health of the citizenry.

Importantly, better transport systems can have community-wide effects that go beyond reducing air pollution and the incidence of traffic accidents; they can also help promote physical activity, providing another tool in the fight against chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

In fact, as cities become increasingly congested, the myriad connections between traffic and public health have become more visible and more serious. Forward-thinking cities are beginning to realize that failing to address these links and thereby improve the quality of life in their cities will mean losing their competitive advantage in our increasingly globalized world.

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India Pedestrians at busy intersection in Mumbai. Photo by saibotregeel.

Engineering is often the only factor considered during design and implementation of junction improvements plans at key locations where flyovers are built. But the reality is that these locations are commonly filled with pedestrians and used as transit points, and any plan that overlooks this is doomed from the start.
Originally Published on IndiaTogether.com

How many times have you heard someone say, “Building this flyover has made the traffic situation worse, not better”? If you live in any of the major metropolitan areas, I suspect you’ve been within earshot of that view - or even expressed it yourself - quite often. All sorts of reasons are furnished - lack of land allotment, inadequate enforcement, bad design of the flyover itself, etc. Being a transport planner, I wondered about some of the reasons offered, and came up with two key explanations of my own. I decided to test my hypothesis, by making some observations of my own.

I visited two locations - first, the Silk Board junction in Bangalore (intersection of Hosur road and Outer Ring Road), which is the gateway to Electronic City southeast of the metropolis, and second, the flyover on Western Express Highway in Andheri, Mumbai (formerly known as the Goldspot Junction). At both locations, I found the same two issues that I suspected had never been considered during any stage of the design and construction - high pedestrian traffic, and stops made by outstation and other private buses. These problems are also a common feature, I am sure, of virtually any flyover in the peripheral neighbourhoods of all cities; a singular ‘engineering’ mentality to design and construction has resulted in grand structures, but these don’t appear to have solved the underlying problems that prompted their construction.

The quality of steel and quantity of concrete do matter, of course. But while engineering excellence is necessary, it should be accompanied by an effort to understand, identify and address location-specific constraints and conditions. Without this, we will simply see an endless array of plans gone awry on the street, at great expense to taxpayers.

Read the rest of the story >>

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Lee Schipper, a blogger for TheCityFix, talks about the future of mobility and movement in this podcast by EarthSky.

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TransMilenio started operations in December 2000, and after more than 8 years it is still regarded as the gold standard for Bus Rapid Transit. Cities as diverse as New York, Delhi, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Beijing and Mexico, to name a few, have all drawn inspiration from Bogotá. But still there is no BRT system that matches its performance - at least not yet.

Why is TransMilenio so special? The clues could be in its “rail like” capacity and travel speed – not seen before in bus systems, and its ability to transform traditional bus operations with an interesting public-private partnership model. The most interesting aspect is that it has shown that it was possible to innovate, transform, and improve transport conditions in a very large city with profound transport challenges. It proved that cities can think outside the box, and bring solutions to the people without costing a fortune or taking decades to build. Kudos to Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, who started it from scratch, and the following administrations, which have continued and expanded it.

After 8 years, 76% of users rate the system as being good or very good. While TransMilenio is still far from solving all the mobility problems in Bogota, it has been a turning point that reversed a downward trend of traffic congestion and urban chaos. TransMilenio’s implementation, along with Bogota’s other sustainable transport initiatives, has resulted in a reduction of private automobile use and increase in non motorized transport in the city, while keeping the transit use stable with a 60%+ share (traditional public transport plus TransMilenio). These trends are quite different than similar ones in other developing cities where auto use increases and transit use declines.

For those interested in facts and figures, you can find this information after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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Copenhagen was recently rated the world’s most livable city - due in no small part to its biking and public transit infrastructure. Photo by EDO lounge

According to Monocle Magazine’s recently released global livability survey (subscription required), Copenhagen is the world’s most livable city. While surveys of this type are clearly subjective (and often of questionable utility), Monocle’s approach is interesting for the importance it pays to sustainable transport initiatives and good urban planning and design. While old standby metrics like education, health care, and crime figured prominently in their ranking methodology, Monocle’s team also looked at variables such as: connectivity, cost/quality of public transport and taxi, access to nature, amount of green space, and key environmental initiatives.

In a recent Op-Ed released along with the new survey, Monocle’s Editor said that city dwellers the world over want the same basic living experience, with the following attributes:

“a mix of shops and services within walking distance, a good transport interchange within close proximity, green space as part of their residence, a good park with a body of water for a refreshing plunge nearby, independent businesses as a key feature of the community, a sense of security, (…) excellent coffee (…) and finally a little bit of grit and surprise.”

…sounds just about right to me. Below is a list of the other cities in the top 25, straight from the Monocle’s most recent issue.

Monocle’s Top 25 Most Livable Cities:
1. Copenhagen: out in front by virtue of its scale, a good airport, all those bike paths and handsome locals.
2. Munich: almost a winner, but it should have committed to building the Transrapid airport rail link.
3. Tokyo: the world’s best big city by far. Unfortunately, last week’s stabbing spree hasn’t done much for its public safety record.
4. Zurich: more relaxed neighbours would put it in first place.
5. Helsinki: a European capital with a foot firmly in Asia.
6. Vienna: one of Europe’s greenest cities.
7. Stockholm: the city wants to go vertical — a tricky mission.
8. Vancouver: the best of North America in a beautiful frame.
9. Melbourne: the best neighbourhoods in the southern hemisphere.
10. Paris: its visionary mayor has made the old dame internationally relevant again.
11. Sydney
12. Honolulu
13. Madrid
14. Berlin
15. Barcelona
16. Montreal
17. Fukuoka
18. Amsterdam
19. Minneapolis
20. Kyoto
21. Hamburg
22. Singapore
23. Geneva
24. Lisbon
25. Portland.
Finally, these may not tick all the normal boxes but there’s something truly refreshing and more than a little fun about urban living in:
1. Genoa — the next Barcelona?
2. Buenos Aires — it’s all there and then it’s not.
3. Istanbul — all of the ingredients to move into the top 25 next year.
4. Beirut — if chequebook diplomacy Qatar-style put a temporary lid on things, then Beirut deserves more of it for a proper bounce-back.
5. Phnom Penh — regime issues aside, love moves at a perfect pace.

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That’s the number of miles American’s have shaved off their driving total between November 2007 and May 2008.

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Referring to high-end BRT systems as ‘Quickways’ could clear up confusion regarding what is — and what is not – a true BRT system.

Bus Rapid Transit (a.k.a BRT) is a hot topic in sustainable transport. In Latin America alone, dozens of new BRT systems have recently come online or are under development, and numerous transport experts are hailing BRT as a cost-effective means for improving mass transit and fostering socially and environmentally sustainable transportation systems.

In the broadest sense, BRT refers to the systematic combination of infrastructure (e.g. busways, stations, terminals) and vehicles, with well-organized operations and ‘intelligent transportation’ technologies. By combining these various elements, BRT is able to provide better service and greater efficiency than is possible with traditional bus operations.

While accurate, this general definition encompasses an extremely diverse set of applications. Thus, BRT as it is currently defined can refer to anything from simple improvements in bus technologies and user information systems, to so-called ‘high-end’ applications replete with features such as: exclusive bus lanes; frequent bus services; advanced bus ‘stations’ with electronic prepayment and level access to the buses; centralized control centers for efficiently managing routes and pick-up times; and a distinctive branding image for the system.

As a result of this ambiguous BRT taxonomy, wildly different systems, such Delhi’s controversial new Busway and Sao Paulo’s Expresso Tiradentes, are both referred to as BRTs. But Delhi’s new system does not have stations that allow level boarding (i.e. the station floor height matches the floor of the vehicle, and passengers are not required to take a step up or down to board the vehicle). These stations also lack a prepayment system, which forces users to spend time purchasing tickets on the bus. Furthermore, Delhi’s exclusive lanes are open to all types of public transport vehicles, not just specially designed, high-capacity buses like in a true BRT. Finally, a good BRT system must have an organized, centrally planned and supervised bus dispatch and control system, as well as clear and consistent signage and user information systems - all things that are conspicuously absent in Delhi.

Sao Paulo’s new BRT, however, is quite comprehensive, with fully segregated lanes, plied exclusively by advanced, high-capacity hybrid buses, and advanced, high-capacity stations.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The Eierlegendewollmilchsau is a most unique creature. In addition to having a very long German name, it is capable of providing an amazing amount of bounty for one animal. It can lay eggs, grow wool, provide milk, and even bacon - all from one animal. Literally translated, Eierlegendewollmilchsau means “Egg Laying Wool Milk Sow”.

But there is a catch. Sadly, the Eierlegendewollmilchsau doesn’t really exist. It is a mythical creature that has come to symbolize the concept of “all-in-one” and is mythical because nothing exists that can combine so many useful and beneficial features in one place. There is, however, a city in northwestern Germany that has come close.

Bremen, Germany has succeeded in creating a completely integrated transportation network that is entirely accessible with a single card called - you guessed it - the Eierlegendewollmilchsau. A passenger can easily ride their bike on one of Bremen’s well maintained bike lanes, catch a light rail train, take a bus across town, rent a car from a convenient car-sharing kiosk, and even do some banking at an ATM, all with this one card. It’s a great example of planning a system that puts a priority on user convenience and treats many different types of transportation as seamless, purposefully linked and overlapping. By keeping the ease of use of the passenger in mind more people are more inclined to use it, ultimately making for a healthier environment and higher quality of life.

For more info on Bremen’s integrated transport system check out:
- this city profile,
- this case study,
- this tour,
- and the video below.

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