A City in Transition: The Future of Transportation in Ho Chi Minh City
With a growing population and economy, Ho Chi Minh City faces important decisions regarding transportation infrastructure. Robert Marshall calls for a contextual approach.
The (Un)walkable City: The Pedestrian Crisis in Kyiv
Street design in Kyiv, Ukraine leaves something to be desired: walkability. Oleksandr Anisimov analyses how it needs to change so that everyone can use public space.
Cape Town, South Africa: Building a Network of Street Enthusiasts
What is the glue holding our cities together? Marcela Guerrero, co-founder and managing director at Open Streets Cape Town, believes that the answer lies in the streets. In an open exchange with others, the initiative is building a network of fellow street enthusiasts in the Global South.
Green Infrastructure in Mexico: A Booster for Healthier Cities
Citizens of Mexico City face serious health issues – due to failures in urban planning, says Auribel Villa. Green infrastructure development significantly supports cities' ways towards becoming healthier and thus more liveable.
Ukraine Towards Cycling
On its way towards becoming more sustainable, the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is making plans to improve its cycling infrastructure. Natalya Tarnavchyk of GIZ Ukraine has talked to Kseniya Semenova of the Kyiv Cyclists' Association about the city's new cycling concept.
Women’s Growing Need for Safe Mobility
Until today, women around the world experience harassment and even assault when moving in public spaces, including on public transport services. In Nairobi, Kenya, the Flone Initiative is combatting gender-based violence by supporting victims, and by training service providers to effectively prevent behaviour that compromises women’s safety and right to mobility.
Paving the way for sustainable urban mobility: TUMI celebrates one-year anniversary
From Cairo to Brasilia to Kaohsiung: the TUMI initiative offers exciting opportunities for international collaboration and learning on sustainable urban mobility. Launched at Habitat III last year, TUMI now celebrates its one-year anniversary. For URBANET, Armin Wagner takes stock of what has been achieved so far.
Curiosity and caution: How should cities approach autonomous driving?
Is autonomous driving the eco-friendly future of urban mobility? Many advocates of this new technology seem to be convinced of it. However, there may be downsides to the use of autonomous vehicles. With the Ecomobility World Festival and Congress 2017 taking place this month in Kaohsiung, URBANET's authors Monika Zimmermann and Michael Glotz-Richter assess the pro and con arguments and call for cities to approach autonomous transport with caution.
Disorder in Public Transportation in Major Cities of Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Like most major cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Abidjan has a traffic problem: Congestion, pollution and extortion amongst public transport providers means that the basic service of mobility can only be provided to citizens on a limited scale. Alexis Gueu analyses the situation.
“Transport as usual is not an option”
More than 80 transport practitioners engaged in TUMI Conference on Urban Mobility Governance at the side of the International Transport Summit 2017. Read Mathias Merforth and Sophia Sünder's report about the event on URBANET.
How sustainable mobility can transform Africa’s cities
Over the next 15 years, African cities will add 300 million new urban residents—fully two-thirds above today’s urban population. This unprecedented demographic shift presents a tremendous opportunity for economic uplift and poverty reduction, but these benefits hinge on the ability of African cities to dramatically improve the delivery of infrastructure and services to drive future growth.
“In terms of speed, there is no one-size-fits-all solution” – Interview with Carlos Pardo from Despacio
In his interview with URBANET, Carlos Pardo talks about urban roads shared equally by cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, that we can save money by slowing down traffic and how we can convince people to act more environmentally friendly.
“Local governments know the reality of their cities” – An Interview with Johana Hernández from the Northern Public Transport Company, Ecuador
Many cities are facing traffic-related problems and are trying to find solutions that take into consideration the local conditions. Sometimes, these solutions clash with problem solving approaches by central governments. In her interview with URBANET, Johana Hernández from the Northern Public Transport Company in Ecuador talks about such challenges and her visions for inclusive mobility.
The challenge of changing travel behaviours
Urban travel requirements are constantly changing, and so are the challenges that cities face in keeping their inhabitants mobile. In an interview with URBANET, Roger Behrens (University of Cape Town) talks about the importance of accessibility, the challenges for local governments and the changing travel dynamics in South Africa.
Towards a Global Transition in Urban Transport Concepts
Rapid urbanisation comes with growing volumes of traffic and air pollution, which creates an urgent need for sustainable and integrated urban mobility solutions. To find such solutions is one of the key goals that the German Development Cooperation wants to achieve in the Habitat III process. A newly published brochure lays out the ideas of how to get there.