Archives: The New Mobility Agenda

This posting, taken with minor updating from the original 2008 Wikipedia entry under that title, traces the history of the New Mobility Agenda from its founding as part of an OECD program of the Development Center under the leadership of Eric Britton and Mikoto Usui,.  It charts the history and evolution of this innovative transport planning and policy concept from its beginning in the early seventies through 2008, at which time this international networking role was taken over by the international collaborative “World Streeets: The Politics of Transport in Cities” at https://wordpress.com/worldstreets

TRANSITION STRATEGIES: Selected Wikipedia checklist of key terms, concepts and references

Intended as a handy research aid, checklist and reminder for students, researchers and others digging into the Slow City and related technical and policy challenges. A certain familiarity with these concepts is desirable; more than that I would say essential.

It is particularly important that those responsible for planning and policy be comfortable with these concepts. Anyone prepared to work in the field will already have familiarity with, say,  9 out of 10 of the concepts identified here.  It concerns the stuff of sustainable transport, sustainable mobility and sustainable cities.  (I would draw your attention particularly to those entries that are marked with two  asterisks * * which touch on some of the more subtle and essential components of a sustainable transport policy.)

From the beginning in the late eighties the New Mobility Agenda was conceived as a shared space for communications and didactic tools zeroing in on our chosen topic from a number of angles,  and over the last eight years World Streets has  continued in this tradition. I hope that what follows may be useful to some of you.  As you will see, I think it is an important and powerful tool — which those of us who care can help shape and put to work for the good cause.

How much can you trust Wikipedia — and what you can do about it

Better Choices | Planners Bookshelf . . . An invitation

–  SHARING, when it comes to transport, can work in many ways.

Introduction: I am hard at work on a book under the title Better Choices: Bringing Sustainable Mobility to Smaller Asian Cities, as described in the attached working note. Better Choices aims to inform and support planners, policymakers, civil society and others who must face the challenges of what is in effect a whole new way of thinking about transport in cities.

After numerous interviews and exchanges, it occurred to me that while we now have great search engines such as Google that can bring the world and all its complexity and crushing detail to our doorstep, in situations like this we need something more focused, concise and immediately useful by way of reference materials, particularly in areas and situations in which the local city team may not have deep competence. It’s good of course to have this level of help in print between the covers of a book, but better yet if it can be online, continuously updated, free and carefully made.

Bike-sharing World Map

Paul DeMaio started The Bike-sharing World Map in 2007 to be the one-stop source for information about the global growth of bike-share services. The Bike-sharing World Map now shares information over 500 bike-share services including the services’ website, fleet and station size, and launch date.

A quick prevue: 2016 ended with a world-wide fleet of approximately 2,000,000 public use bicycles in automated and/or information technology controlled systems in approximately 1,175 cities, municipalities or district jurisdictions in 63 countries. The following online map is searchable for details on all indicated cities and operations.

www.bikesharingmap.com

World Streets/Planners Bookshelf on City Cycling

 

Surprising though it may seem to some, the humble bicycle has a turnkey role in 21st century cities, large or small, North or South, rich or poor. Getting city cycling right is a matter of high priority when it comes both to local and planetary environmental impacts, solid economics, affordability, fossil fuel and resource savings, public health, equity, democracy and quality of life. For all of those of our cities around the world who have over the last decades bought into the car plus speed plus distance plus lost time lifestyle without giving it much thought, getting this transition right is a significant technical, social and political challenge.

2017 PLANNERS BOOKSHELF : PARKING

– Paul Barter, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore 

 *  Latest online version at https://goo.gl/SWvxvE.)

PRIMERS:

• Parking Basics (ITDP) at https://www.itdp.org/parking-basics/  Short and to the point. Initially meant for Indian audience but suited to much wider audience.
• On-Street Parking Management (GIZ SUTP). (English, Spanish Chinese) – https://goo.gl/CScQTX
• Parking Reforms: (D. Shoup) http://www.shoupdogg.com/reforms/

(BC) Planners Bookshelf: Putting Wikipedia to work

From the beginning in the late eighties the New Mobility Agenda was conceived as a shared space for communications and didactic tools zeroing in on our chosen topic from a number of angles,  and over the last eight years World Streets has  continued in this tradition. I hope that what follows may be useful to some of you.  As you will see, I think it is an important and powerful tool — which those of us who care can help shape and put to work for the good cause.

You will also find a shelf in the Better Choices Planners Bookshelf – at https://goo.gl/fv3Giv — which provides a first set of references from WP’s vast collection.

Book: Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies (2)

For additional exerpts and materials from the pre-publicatoin version of this excellent and timely reference , click https://goo.gl/XJCMDm

Protected: Book review: Urban Transport Crisis in Emerging Economies

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Sustainable Transport Planners Bookshelf (ver. 1.2)

After two weeks of work,  discussions and a first round of postings, it looks like this today.

•  Check it out at — https://goo.gl/SyOCf5

Sustainable Transport Planners Bookshelf (ver. 1.0)

In support of our on-going Better Choices book project – “Bringing Sustainable Transportation to Smaller Asian Cities” – we are in the process of developing an open library with key references on sources intended to be useful on our topic to planners, local government, decision makers,  operators, the media, students,  and concerned elements of civil society. These documents are being selected with the counsel of leading authorities in our field.

Smart Phone Applications Primer: Transforming Mobility

Smartphone apps are transforming mobility by improving access to transportation services, increasing mobility, and enhancing traveler engagement. These apps are spawning new businesses, services, and mobility models. For example, within a short period, app-based innovations leapfrogged the livery industry with services, such as Uber, Lyft, and Flywheel. Using smartphones to facilitate mobility is becoming the new norm. Smartphone apps have transformed the way that many travelers arrange for-hire vehicle services, plan for trips, or get real-time transportation information.

This primer, sponsored by the US Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations and carried out by theUniversity of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center, is intended to demonstrate how vital smartphones are becoming to the transportation network and provide public agencies, transportation managers, and elected officials with a perspective and understanding the role of smartphones in identifying services and choices for individuals and influencing travel behavior.

SHARED MOBILITY: A Primer on US Policies, Practices & Principles

World Streets is pleased to introduce to our 4419 international readers signed in from 149 countries from all continents, a valuable reference source for transportation and city planners, public agencies, researchers, environmentalists, students, NGOs, companies, transporters and others who are looking for new ways to get around in our daily lives, hopefully with more and better choices. The Shared Mobility Primer from the University of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center offers a practical guide with resources, information, and tools for local governments and public agencies seeking to implement emerging services or to manage existing shared mobility services.

The Mobility Complex: John Whitelegg lights a fire.

Important announcement: Mobility has been priced to  move. Available in both paper and eBook form for less than USD 10.00. See http://tinyurl.com/zxclcz4
(Thank you John for thinking about students, fund-strapped NGOs and readers in developing, smaller cities with tight budgets.)

John Whitelegg, Professor John Whitelegg, is a remarkable man. He has spent his entire professional life as a scholar, teacher, critic, publisher, activist and politician, trying to make sense out of our curious world and the contradictions of transport and mobility. And in a successful attempt to bring all the threads together, what he has learned about our topic in three decades of international work spanning all continents, he has just produced for our reading and instruction a remarkable and, I truly believe, much-needed book.  His title gives away the game – Mobility: Transport Planning Philosophy for a Sustainable Future.

 

Reference: ITDP Bike-Share Planning Guide

More than 600 cities around the globe have bike-share systems, and new systems are starting every year. The largest and most successful systems, in places such as China, Paris, London, and Washington, D.C., have helped to promote cycling as a viable and valued transport option.

The Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) studied 25 bike-share systems throughout the world, analyzing which ones perform the best and why. That informed ITDP’s Bike Share Planning Guide, which has copious data and fascinating charts to pore over, helping cities create bike-share systems that will thrive

This guide evaluates international best practice in bike-share, helps to bridge the divide between developing and developed countries’ experiences to provide guidance on planning and implementing a successful bike-share system regardless of the location, size, or density of your city. For more information on the growth of bike-share systems, watch this Streetfilms video, Riding the Bike Share Boom.

Book report: Sustainable Transportation Planning

Michael Alba reports from Boston on this new guide for transport planners:

Sustainable Transportation Planning seeks to tackle the greatest social and environmental concerns of the 21st century, focusing on the role of transportation in creating more sustainable communities. It is a how-to guide for anyone interested in the economic, social and ecological health of cities.