Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 1 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities José Manuel Viegas Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisboa, Portugal Contribution to CiSTUP Workshop on Urban Mobility Bangalore, India, 10 th January 2011

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 2 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 Cities as Complex and Innovative Systems r Large cities are very complex systems, arguably among the most complex man-made systems ever produced r Density of opportunities for contact and exchange provide marketability for a very diverse spectrum of talents and fertility for innovation r A multitude of agents pursuing their own goals  each agent and group of agents counting not only on the availability of particular types of resources, but on that availability at specific times in specific places  A large part of the rules and of exchange of information are informal, and not even uniform across society

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 3 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 Poor sustainability leads to unfairness r Sustainability problems arise because significant parts of those resources are common goods  without strict access and fruition rules r Many of the activities of the agents produce significant externalities, across space and time  affecting the availability of some resources and the wellbeing of other agents r Besides unfairness to future generations (i.e. poor sustainability), there also issues of unfairness within contemporary society

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 4 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Road Safety challenge r High levels of road crashes and fatalities represent a very strong blow to (social and economic) sustainability r Indian roads with especially high levels of indiscipline, aggravated by the great dispersion of masses and speeds of the “objects” present on the road  Even in two-way urban streets, frequent occurrence of vehicles on the wrong lane r Very complex problem, requiring changes of behaviour r Multiple fronts in a coordinated approach  Education & Information about individual cases  Driving training  Strict Enforcement of traffic rules, even if only on a few areas each month

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 5 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Congestion challenge: Basic balances required r Two essential balances are crucial for quality in Urban Mobility  Internal Balance : Capacity for Flow (Circulation) and for Stock (Parking) must be balanced  Metaphor: the Oesophagus and the Stomach  External Balance : Pressure for Mobility from Land Use must be balanced with the ability to serve it (both on flow and stock)  Metaphor: The Appetite and the two former

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 6 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Congestion challenge: Car ownership, Parking Supply, Public Transport Quality r Several factors increase pressure on system  Car ownership increases with economic development  But owning a car should not mean driving it to work  Increasing parking supply (or making it more accessible) induces more traffic  Be especially aware of employer-supplied parking (felt as free by workers), but a bigger stomach always increases the pressure on the oesophagus r Relieving pressure is more difficult  Good public transport may lead to favourable modal shift, but this is far from certain (often, more trips by previous users and pedestrians, but not from car drivers) r Suggestion: Make price of parking higher in areas with good public transport service

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 7 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Congestion Challenge: 2-wheelers vs. Cars r In India, private vehicle ownership is already similar to that of many developed countries  A large parte of those vehicles being two-wheelers  High emissions (but can easily be electrified)  High indiscipline in traffic, high vulnerability  Much higher level of space efficiency than cars r Economic growth naturally leads to replacement of 2-wheelers by cars  much tougher congestion for same number of vehicles  This can be resisted / delayed by policy measures  Taxation of clean 2-wheelers much lower than for cars  Traffic management with priority measures for 2-wheelers  Parking supply oriented for 2-wheelers in design and in price

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 8 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The congestion challenge: Manage space.time r No moral superiority of any transport mode over the others r Allocation of road space by modes based on higher performance and on safety  Ex:Bus lanes or 2-wheel lanes  ICT makes timeshare allocation relatively easy (intermittent status lanes)  Great efficiency (and also safety) gains r More sophisticated space allocation systems require not only technology but also discipline (respect for rules)  Evolution is possible, but takes time and requires multi-pronged approach  Clear strategy, persistent (and adaptive) implementation

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 9 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The “right to mobility” challenge: Access to Public Transport r In spite of high vehicle ownership, Urban Public Transport has strong patronage, largely due to rural migration / urban population growth  Client “refresh” from the (economic) bottom r Attracting (and maintaining) clients with an option (who own and could use their private vehicle) requires a market segmentation approach  Higher quality segment with higher prices  Basic quality segment must be the backbone of the system, providing good accessibility overall (“right to mobility”)  Spot migration between two segments made easy (urgency, experimentation), pay only the “upgrade” r Prices of higher segment Public Transport defined in conjunction with parking prices  Cross-subsidization from parking to PT possible

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 10 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Integration challenge: Key components of any successful approach r Two recommendations towards any effective solution of this very severe problem can be made:  Sustainability has to be pursued in all its three dimensions: economic, environmental and social  None dominates the other two  Policies arising in any Department, Ministry or agency should always (hopefully) be designed but at least be checked for integration with other policies  So as to obtain the maximum benefit without endangering any of the dimensions of sustainability.

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 11 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The Integration challenge: The need for a holistic vision r Not only there are three dimensions of sustainability to consider, there as also four different levels of possible policy intervention r The main challenge is to be consistent across the board  Multi-instrumentality is not only a condition for effectiveness, but also for acceptance Policy Intervention Levels Hard interventionsSoft interventions Technology (inc. infrastructure)RegulationPrices Education / Example / Moral Suasion Dimensions of Sustainability Economic Social Environmental

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 12 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 The integration challenge: Appropriate Institutional Design r An unsolved question : What is the most adequate institutional design to tackle this challenge? r Two different solutions have been adopted in other areas needing the global picture  In monetary issues: previous approval of a Budget (and respect for it) ensures that all departments play in a consistent game  In (purely) environmental issues: all significant projects submitted to Environmental Assessment Study ensures that no serious aggression is possible r First example is uni-dimensional, second is too defensive r Besides complexity of the problem, a bi-dimensional institutional split: by administration level (national / state / local) and by sector  How to promote effective integration? r Innovative solutions needed !

Policy Integration as a condition for Sustainable Cities 13 José M Viegas - Contribution to Workshop on Urban Mobility, CiSTUP, Bangalore – Jan 2011 Thank You for your attention!