Policy, Planning, Finance: A Framework For Infrastructure Growth Colin K. Hughes Director of National Policy & Project Evaluation @colinkhughes

Background: Policy, Finance, Planning Over the past 2-3 years I’ve lead research at ITDP that has looked at infrastructure provision, financing practices, and policy from the national down to the local level. Many of you are familiar with the reports we’ve put out, where we’ve strived to provide comparable indicators on infrastructure and finance.

Infrastructure (& Services) As a result of that research we could see very clearly that successful growth in infrastructure was not just a result of the amount of funding and ability to leverage financing nor the infrastructure it was spent on – it also came down to institutional capacity - a major facet of which was mobility plans. You can see here that infrastructure growth rates varies.

Key Factors in Mobility Planning Effectiveness Empowered Metropolitan Governance – Fractured urban governance means fractured planning Rule of Law – If cities are not legally bound to follow plans, they won’t. Fiscal Constraint of Plans – If plans are not linked to revenue forecasts, they don’t mean much. Funding & Financing – Funding levels, access to finance, and reliability of revenue Planning Process – Vision development, Stakeholder engagement, update & revision processes Technical Capacity – Required for strong data analysis, scenario planning, modeling, project planning and design Planning Process Planning Process It isn’t just the technical capacity of the plan, it is a number of elements and processes that enable a technically competant plan to be achieved.

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness Empowered Metropolitan Governance Manila - 20+ cities with only loose coordination by metro authority and national DOT Portland - 30 municipalities under 1 Transport Authority

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness The power of law. If cities are not legally bound to follow plans, they will just sit on the shelf. Legally enforceable plans hold cities accountable to plans and benchmarks. Photo on the left is from Vientiane, Laos of various city plans, master plans, mobility plans and project plans. The CMP’s in India have largely suffered this fate. In California now, people can sue cities when they develop transportation plans that don’t meet GHG reduction targets.

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness Fiscal Constraint of Plans Financial planning of revenues and spending for mobility is a key element of any Mobility Plan’s effectiveness and likliehood of successful implementation.

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness Funding & Financing – The nature of a city’s revenue – the amount, the source, and the reliability of the funds, are also an important context in how the city can plan its mobility. We found that you can’t do good planning unless you have a reliable revenue stream to make long-range plans around. See table on left. A major facet of the reliability of funding is its source. Countries are here in order of transit growth from left to right and you see a lot of green, representing funds controlled ultimately by the city on the left side, and you see more consolidated fund sourcing. The countries with the best rapid transit growth were countries where cities had control of significant funds from reliable sources. In some cases the the funds were even collected at the national level but were allocated to cities in a reliable way by a formula (e.g. France). In other cases, the availability of funds is a political question and not reliable.

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness Planning Process – Strong processes that ensure proper review and win the trust and investment of the public is critical to success and can reduce challenges. Open stakeholder engagement is critical to a plan’s acceptance. Standardized processes to update & revise the plan are important. One example is NYC with its bikeshare planning. They took a long time, but they engaged every community group. It made the system better and when they were challenged later it gave them very strong political cover.

Key Elements of Mobility Plan Effectiveness Institutional & Technical Capacity – Plan preparation should source accurate data, engage careful analysis, scenario planning, modeling, and project planning and design. Institutions also must be capable of financial planning, contracting, coordination. I think this is what ITDP focuses on the most. But there are other key elements.

Effective plans need alignment Governa Law Metropolitan Governance Funding + Financial Planning Process Technical Capacity Good Mobility Plan This is a summary of the key factors and the important part is that they are aligned. We’ve seen when one is missing the results are very poor. Best Practice: France Passed a law in 1982 mandating urban mobility plans and strengthened over time Subsequently included benchmarks for pollution, GHG’s, noise, and energy Coordinates land use, parking, transit, car travel, and NMT Prioritizes energy efficiency and modal integration Has legal authority and majority of funds flow through it

Follow-up Questions Does your nation, state, or city require mobility plans? Are they effective? If not, what is not aligned? What is the mobility planning process, funding, and legal environment like? What level of government would be the most effective to bolster mobility planning policies in your country?