International networking to support Sustainable Penang project

Lyon, France. 1 August 2015. The following is a working draft in progress. We post it at this time to invite our readers’ views, correction and eventual additions. It is part of our ongoing volunteer work to support the Sustainable Penang project.

International networking

Up until the present time virtually all of the networking and exchanges under this project have taken place within Penang and Malaysia more generally. However as of mid-2015, the leader of this mission has concluded that the role and participation of international organizations and various specialized agencies is going to be critical to bringing about a better informed and more coherent transport and land use policy in Penang.

These State and other concerned local organizations have a great deal of catching up to do, and all of this will become much easier if they take advantage of international partners and sources to ensure that their policies take advantage of past experience and leading practices in other places. The problem is not so much one of money, as it is of knowledge, vision, strategy and leadership.

More on Illich, Energy and Equity

Further to our recent posting on “Climate Change 101: Thinking about Illich, Energy and Equity” we have just received he following commentary from Chris Bradshaw (See author note below.)

Eric,

I used your post to re-read — after, I estimate, 25 years — this delightful essay. I own two copies, one which is part of “Towards a History of Needs” published four years later in 1977).

In that volume, there is an introductory note, which might be useful to add (see end, along with the forward for the 1974 publication — Perennial Library — of this essay by itself). Two things come from these two extras: a) this essay first appeared in Le Monde (yes, probably in French), and b) his defined audience included, equally, the under-developed world.

He, of course, missed global warming as an issue that would fit nicely next to “energy crisis.”

I would add that he missed the link between high-speed and high-power and the formalities of control — rules, regulations, resources — that also disenfranchise those with less speed and power.

Peter D. Norton’s recent book, “Fighting Traffic” does a yeoman effort to show how the transition from “transit” to “transport” in North American cities took place 1915-1935.

I will continue to muse over Illich’s brilliant thinking.

From Streetsblog: Uber’s Making Traffic Worse

Uber’s Own Numbers Show It’s Making Traffic Worse

by Stephen Miller, Streetsblog, New York City.  Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Photo: Wikipedia

Uber blasted out an Excel spreadsheet to reporters this morning, accompanied by a story and editorial in the Daily News, with data providing a snapshot of how many Uber vehicles are on Manhattan streets south of 59th Street, New York’s central business district. While Uber claims the data shows its vehicles aren’t responsible for congestion in the city core, transportation analyst Charles Komanoff has crunched Uber’s own numbers and estimates that the service has actually reduced traffic speeds in the central business district by about 8 percent.

– – – >  Full text of original available here. 

Greek Crisis:”Greece must sign a deal now”

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

In the following op-ed, thirteen prominent economists of Greek origin from around the world call on Greece to sign a credible agreement with the Europeans immediately.

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/greece-must-sign-a-credible-agreement-with-the-europeans-now-commentary.html 

What would be crucial elements of a good agreement?

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Climate Change 101: Thinking about Illich, Energy and Equity

In the context of ongoing work on a new book, “Toward a General Theory of Transport in Cities”, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the starting point for policy and political decisions in the field often described as “urban transport” absolutely has to open up with considerations not of vehicles and infrastructure, technology and entrepreneurship, nor even of people and cities, but on the very bottom line our starting place must be climate and GHG emissions. And the other half of the climate coin is energy, and in fact equity.

So may I suggest that this could be  a good time for us to have another look at Illich’s incisive and important 1974 book “Energy and Equity”.  And I ask you, how do you think these remarks and views stand the test of time? We need to bear in mind the political (Vietnam, Cold War, Allende,  voter registration, 1968, etc.) currents of the time, along with the Oil Crisis, Club of Rome, The Limits of Growth,  etc., discussions, concerns and panics of the early seventies.  But none of this detracts from the singular vision that this exceptional observer and finest of men has given us.

So here you have it. The whole thing. Print it out. Mark it up. Share your thoughts. Let me take a single phrase from the book to get the ball rolling: “Participatory democracy postulates low-energy technology. Only participatory democracy creates the conditions for rational technology.” (And this almost two decades before the phrase “sustainable development” first appeared on the radar screen.  So off we go through the looking glass and into the future with Illich as our guide!)

Sometimes sleeps for years

summers pass the days cool

friendship sometimes sleeps for years

but does not forget

Op-Ed: Critiquing the Penang Transport Master Plan

The following  strategic commentary appeared in the form of a long letter responding to an invitation by the chief transport planner of Penang with the State Government Office to comment on a strategic presentation and commentary he was about to make at end year in Kuala Lumpur reflecting back on the  Penang Transport Master Plan (2013-2030) carried out for the State by Halcrow and AKC Planning   and published in a final version in October 2-12. Mr. Lim’s commentary. Cross Roads, Game Changers & Bulls’ Horns, is available here. 

Update. My quick six-point “Summer 2015 Executive Summary” follows:

Greek Crisis: Selected international media coverage

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

The following listing provides links to selected references from international  sources of high quality and with quite different points of view. Access to these sources are, as might be expected, quite uneven.  About half of them require that you pay or subscribe to access full text of particles.  But over these last weeks we have done fairly well with these addresses, offering as they do some quite different perspectives on these unfolding events.

* The Guardian on Greece – http://www.theguardian.com/world/greece

* Der Spiegel on Greece – http://goo.gl/PgxiPs

* Le Monde on Grèce – http://www.lemonde.fr/crise-grecque/

* Financial Times on Greece – https://goo.gl/2lGPNu

* Krugman on Greece –  http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/?s=Greece

* The Economist on Greece –  http://goo.gl/LjGsf7

Other SDED coverage here: 

*  SDED on the Greek Crisis – here.

*  SDED Facebook Coverage:  – here.

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Greek government-debt crisis timeline *

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

Essential reading from Wikipedia on this subject:

This article contains the timeline of events for the Greek government-debt crisis which began in 2009 and is ongoing. During this period many changes have occurred in Greece. The income of many Greeks has declined, levels of unemployment have increased, elections and resignations of politicians have altered the country’s political landscape radically, the Greek parliament has passed many austerity bills, and protests have become common sights throughout the country. A brief summary follows highlighting some key events since the Greek elections of October 2009.

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The Financial Attack on Greece: Where Do We Go From Here?

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

– by Michael Hudson,.Counterepunch.org. July 8, 2015

The major financial problem tearing economies apart over the past century has stemmed more from official inter-governmental debt than with private-sector debt. That is why the global economy today faces a similar breakdown to the Depression years of 1929-31, when it became apparent that the volume of official inter-government debts could not be paid. The Versailles Treaty had imposed impossibly high reparations demands on Germany, and the United States imposed equally destructive requirements on the Allies to use their reparations receipts to pay back World War I arms debts to the U.S. Government.[1]

Legal procedures are well established to cope with corporate and personal bankruptcy. Courts write down personal and business debts either under “debtor in control” procedures or foreclosure, and creditors take a loss on loans that go bad. Personal bankruptcy permits individuals to make a fresh start with a Clean Slate.

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Greek Crisis: Jean Tirole on Europe’s Future Is Federal

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

– By Jean Tirol,Extracts from  Social Europe. 8 July 2015. – http://www.socialeurope.eu/2015/07/europes-future-federal/

Numerous Europeans view Europe as a one-way street: they appreciate its advantages but are little inclined to accept common rules. An increasing number throughout the Union are handing their vote to populist parties – Front National, Syriza, Podemos – that surf on this Eurosceptic wave and rise up against “foreign”- imported constraints.

Embroiled with the Greek crisis, European policymakers will soon have to step back and reflect on the broader issue of the Eurozone’s future. Before envisaging an exit or, on the contrary, more sustained integration, it’s right to reflect upon the consequences of each option.

Oversimplifying, there are three strategies for the Eurozone: (a) a minimalist approach that would see a return to national currencies, while keeping Europe perhaps as a free trade area and retaining a few institutions that have made a real difference such…

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Greek Crisis: Killing the European Project

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

Killing the European Project

By Paul Krugman. New York Times. JULY 12, 2015

Suppose you consider Tsipras an incompetent twerp. Suppose you dearly want to see Syriza out of power. Suppose, even, that you welcome the prospect of pushing those annoying Greeks out of the euro.

Even if all of that is true, this Eurogroup list of demands is madness. The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right. This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief. It is, presumably, meant to be an offer Greece can’t accept; but even so, it’s a grotesque betrayal of everything the European project was supposed to stand for.

Can anything pull Europe back from the brink?

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Greek Crisis: Do German economists think like the German government?

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

The present discussions in the media more often than not give us the sense that within the various countries concerned the thinking and positions are basically uniform and widely shared. (See our posting that looks into this,”Why all the Bitter Accusations from the North” – https://goo.gl/wD6Ct6. ) But the truth is that in country after country there is considerable division of views on these topics, and particularly among economists who are in most cases deeply divided on the issues. Here you have an example of how one German economist reports on “How German Economists Really Think”. (The following article is reprinted here in its entirety. The original was published yesterday by the Institute of New Economic Thinking, and below you will find full references, links and credits.)

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Greek Crisis: Hans Werner-Sinn on Fixing the Eurozone

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

Hans Werner-Sinn, a noted German economist and Professor of Economics and Public Finance at the University of Munich. He is also President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and serves on the German economy ministry’s advisory council. In this interview he talks about a disciplined but also radical and flexible pro-Europe path out of the present impasse, for Greece and for Europe as an idea worth cherishing and taking into the future.

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Wikipedia coverage of Greek bailout referendum

Sustainable Development, Economy and Democracy

There is a remarkable information source on this brand new, fast breaking topic which was first put on line on 26 June by Wikipedia collaborator Dimboukas

Here is how it looked on the morning of the 27th of June when the official announcement was made by Prime Mister Alexis Tsipras calling for the referendum:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greek_bailout_referendum,_2015&oldid=668827545  (92 words, no references, two external links)

And here is how it looks today (with ca.5000+ words, 50 references, 10 external links):

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_bailout_referendum,_2015 

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GREEK CRISIS: Our media coverage on Facebook: 27 June – today

For a more complete view of our discussions and coverage of these improtant events, you are invited to click to https://goo.gl/P4oWJw

6 July Greek Crisis Endgame: The abyss stares back

If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.  – F. Nietzsche

On the early morning of 27 June when reading that the leader of the Greek coalition government, Alexis Tsipras, called for a national referendum to get the views of Greece’s population on the bitter on-going disputes with Europe and the IMF, and in particular whether or not  to accept the Troika’s uncompromising  bailout conditions to settle the country’s government-debt crisis, I decided to see if we might do our bit by providing selective daily summary and international commentary on this unfolding  the topic – and, more importantly, the uncertain evolving process behind it.

This quickly took the form of a series of daily summaries of a certain number of what I regard as the key points, issues, ideas, attitudes and players shaping this debate.  You will find just below the dozen-plus articles that were posted in the pages of World Streets since the 27th. They appear here in the order written, and each is hot-linked to facilitate your access.

The core of this story is the huge gap between the level of understanding of leading members of the economics and policy community and that of the troika members. The ever combatative Paul Krugman put it like this in a 5 July article in the New York Times.

Greek Crisis: Paul Krugman on Ending Greece’s Bleeding

Ending Greece’s Bleeding

 –  By Paul Krugman, NYT JULY 5, 2015. Full text here.

Europe dodged a bullet on Sunday. Confounding many predictions, Greek voters strongly supported their government’s rejection of creditor demands. And even the most ardent supporters of European union should be breathing a sigh of relief.

Of course, that’s not the way the creditors would have you see it. Their story, echoed by many in the business press, is that the failure of their attempt to bully Greece into acquiescence was a triumph of irrationality and irresponsibility over sound technocratic advice.

Greek Crisis: As the polls close . . .

18:00, Sunday 5 July 2015 in Greece and the polls have just closed on this momentous day for democracy. The outcome of the unexpected but oh so important referendum will not be known for several hours yet.  So what better time to pour a glass of cool retsina white, sit down with some friends, and sort through the accumulated evidence of these last ten days in which the eyes of the world have turned to Greece.

Here are a few observations and thoughts about the future which come most immediately to mind to this ever-curious observer:

Crisis Armistice : Greece and Germany take the duel to a higher level

It has been hard slogging over the last two weeks of what we hope has been balanced discussions about the economic and political crisis that is currently racking Greece, Europe and in fact the world, so before we move into our final stage of closing comment with the urns now open but before the votes are counted in Greece, what about taking a step back and seeing what would happen if we take this conflict to another, higher level? Check it out here: