Urban transport planning in developing cities is nowadays a key political and technical issue, requiring alternative approaches and solutions aimed to effectively face the phenomena of rapid and often unplanned growth of urban areas with high concentration of motor vehicles. Congestion, energy consumption, air pollution, and traffic crashes strongly affect society and environment in such settings, thus lowering quality of life and urban productivity.

The course addresses in particular urban and transportation planners, decision-makers from local governments as well as representatives of service providers (national governments, private sector, NGOs) and international organizations involved in the transport sector worldwide.

It aims to enhance the capacity to formulate and implement appropriate policies that contribute to sustainability in urban transport in developing countries, dealing with issues such as transport demand management, improved public and non-motorized transport, environmental protection, road safety, and gender in transport. It also provides information on economic and financial instruments, institutional improvements, capacity building, regulation of markets and environmental standards.

The course is web-based and it consists of 6 modules. Learning materials will be distributed and all learning activities will be moderated by a high level transportation expert. Participation in collaborative activities for about 2 hours/week as well as a study time of about 3 hours/week are required. A certificate of successful completion will be issued to participants to the course that will achieve a minimum total score of 70% in the assessment activities. The others will receive a certificate of participation.

UNITAR offers reduced fees (US$ 400) for participants from least developed countries/low income economies, lower-middle-income economies, and upper-middle income economies. Full fees (US$ 800) apply to participants from high-income countries.

Further information is available in the web site.

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Founding NuRide, Rick Steele aimed to address the many-sided problem of traffic congestion by encouraging carpooling or greener trips. Face to a decreasing trend in sharing the car to get to work, NuRide has offered since the 2005 discounts and rewards to the members which have registered on line for free and traced their routes travelled by carpool, public transportation, walking or biking. NuRide, at present developing its market, has already achieved great results, counting more than 47,700 members and having reduced 4 million car trips saving 4,763,000 gallons of gas in the past six years.

Jodie Wu conceived the core business idea which is leading Global Cycle Solutions while a student at MIT’s D-Lab. The company aims at improving developing countries technological endowments, by creating small devices such as mobile phone charger or other more curios objetcs – for farmers powered in an inexpensive manner. The particular feature of these tools which are attached to the back of a bicycle is that only the pedalling power is exploited, without need to rely on electricity or fuel. The production was launched in Tanzania and now they intend to address the China or India markets, also creating further bike-powered attachments, including one to grind corn into flour.

The company Mobis Transport has born in 2008 from a long–term non profit company. As a consultancy, it helps clients in conceiving, developing and managing bike stations for favouring multimodal transportation systems. The bike Station are usually build near public transit hubs, offering services for bicycles such as secure parking, repairs, changing rooms, and storage lockers. Mobis by now has helped develop 14 Bikestations in the U.S., mostly located in California, and it intends to install from 15 to 20 this year.

Related websites

• images.businessweek.com
• images.businessweek.nuride
• nuride.com/
• images.businessweek.com.mobisinc
• www.mobisinc.com/
• images.businessweek.com.globalcyclesolutions
• globalcyclesolutions.com/

The SWOMM Side Event at the CSD18 was held at the UN Headquarters in New York on 12th May 2010.

Discussants – Mr Sandei (UNEP), Mr Poretti (Swiss Development Cooperation), Ms Sagevik (International Union of Railways), Mr Dal Fiore (MIT Senseable Cities Lab), Mr Cetara (SWOMM Scientific Secretariat) – were welcomed by Ms Lucarelli, on behalf of the the Italian Ministry for Environment and chaired by Mr McGuire (Mountain Partnership Secretariat - FAO).

Notwithstanding the limited duration of the Side Event, the speakers were able to discuss several points, facing an audience comprising many countries. Starting off with the SWOMM working principles, the panellist then stressed the impact of infrastructure and transports on ecosystems and ecological continuity as well as the key role played by mobility in the promotion of access to markets, education, health services, promoting social and human advancement of mountain areas of developing countries.

They also pointed out some possible interventions to undertake on the way for sustainable development, such as improving freight and passenger’s railway displacements. Another suggestion is that of exploiting advanced technologies to collect data for up-to-date policies formulation.

Moreover, speakers encouraged the implementation of integrated policies approach gathering together different levels of governance and conceiving the mobility as part of a systematic territorial planning, which involves also issues regarding energy, business and public services.

The Side Event, while promoting new sharing initiatives of scientific research and innovative best practices, was also an occasion for institutions from distant mountain regions to network and create future partnerships.

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