The two publications focus on urban mobility in sensitive natural areas, providing suggestions on innovative means and policies to lower the environmental impact of road traffic. Having ambitious and effective transport projects is one of the key factors which define the urban liveability, says a survey carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2010 for the preparation of Report on urban liveability commissioned by Philips. When asked to nominate the first thing they would address if they were in charge of their city, most of the respondents (61%) picked transport and roads – above healthcare, the environment or any other issue.

The SWOMM 2009 and  the Urban Mobility Report intends to contribute to the debate by investigating the theme of mountain mobility and transport, in particular with reference to alpine cities. The SWOMM 2009 publication is intended to present the main findings of the 2009 session of the Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport (SWOMM), where major experts from private and public sectors addressed in particular the theme of sustainable mobility in mountain towns. The event was organized by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in agreement with the Liguria Region, UNCEM Piemonte, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the Alpine Convention on 11 December 2009 in Genoa (Italy). The volume also includes a final section dedicated to the SWOMM Side Event organized by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (FAO) on 12 May 2010 at the 18^th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).

The Report Alpine Urban Mobility has been prepared by the Sub Group “Alpine Urban Mobility”, that was constituted within the Working Group “Transport” (WTG) of the Alpine Convention. The Report deals with the urban mobility system in alpine towns, and it delves into policies and solutions adopted for the mobility management, such as ITS in public transport . On the basis of the works conducted, the Sub Group “Alpine Urban Mobility” finally suggests a set of recommendations on how to improve the urban mobility in the Alpine towns.

The two publications will be soon available on line and printed copy may be required. In the meantime, in order to approach the issue of Urban liveability and economic growth, we invite you to have a look to the because.philips.com/”>above mentioned Report prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Report was set up to discover the most important elements in urban liveability, and to provide the policymakers  with suggestions on long-term visions and resources for making cities better places to live and work.

• SWOMM 2010 – Transport and Environment in Mountain Areas (swomm.info)
• A. LEUXE – The real costs of transports in Alpine corridors (swomm.info)
• The World’s Least Liveable Cities (huffingtonpost.com)
• World’s Most Liveable Cities: 2011 Economist Intelligence Unit Report (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)

The “Klimamobility” eco-vehicles showroom will be organized at the Bolzano Fair – which is strongly involved since 2005 in building a carbon-alternative energetic culture – with the support of several partners including the Bolzano Province and some local institutes devoted to technological innovation and environmental research.  It will be held in parallel to “Klimaenergy”, the event dedicated to renewable energies for commercial and public use that is taking place for the third year.

“Klimamobility” will host the exposition of two, three and four-wheeled EVs, tools and machineries for charging means, accessories and components for EVs as well as drive systems and everything revolves around the future of sustainable mobility. Furthermore, the event aims at embracing the largest possible number of existing contacts in the sector by providing information to the public on service and repair of eco-vehicles and foresees the presence of universities, consulting firms, research institutes and travel operators by sustainable vehicles.

In that occasion, current issues related to sustainable and electric mobility will be discussed in an international meeting, especially focusing on infrastructures for recharging vehicles. In this context, the Bolzano Fair  - the director Mr. Reinhold Marsoner explains –  “ by combining Klimamobility and Klimaenergy  aims at becoming a 360° platform for renewable energies in integrated systems and for sustainable mobility, where entrepreneurs, public officials and managers, specialized dealers, car rentals but also banks, financial services and R&D institutes shall meet for a prominent update in this field”.        

Related articles:

• http://www.repubblica.it/motori/ecoauto/2010/12/16/news/motori_klimamobility-10232760/
• http://www.ecocaronline.it/20101228/alla-fiera-di-bolzano-klimamobility-il-nuovo-salone-sulla-mobilita-sostenibile/
• http://www.aefi.it/Aefi/site/it/news/dettaglio-news?id=1873

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The information and figures offered by Leuxe were developed both during the works conducted from 2003 to 2007 by the Sub-Group Costs of the Working Group of Transport of the Alpine Convention (see the Report The True Costs of Transport on the Transalpine Corridors) than from those carried out by the French Ministry of Ecology, within the context of the so-called environmental policy framework “Grenelle de l’Environnement”.

Mr. Leuxe highlighted some difficulties on the way for the evaluation of the external costs of transport, as different methodologies are often used by each Alpine country, where also infrastructures and tariffs systems may be much dissimilar.

Following an in-depth economic investigation, Mr. Leuxe stated that the users should be given with the freedom of choosing modes of transportation in the Alps, but the price of externalities have to be assessed and included in the tariff system, which will lead to more suitable individual decisions and, as a consequence, to scenarios which could reveal to be more effective both for the environment and for the society. Economic regulation could also address quantities and typologies of the emissions produced by transport, for example two new measures have been proposed in France: the carbon-tax and the Eco-tax for the heavy vehicles circulating out of the motorways.

Mr. Leuxe also exposed some French works in the field of economic valuation of biodiversity. Ecosystems may have a relevant value that needs to be assessed and preserved. They have a value themselves or as they provide human beings and society with important services. They could be services of supply (nutrition, fresh water, bioenergy, etc.), culture (aesthetics, spiritual, educational, etc.) and regulation (climate, hydrology, illnesses, etc.). Wouldn’t we pay up to 200 Euros for mantaining the pleasure of a walk in the forest or 90 Euros per year for preserving the high quality of fresh water, if we knew that we could lose these goods?

Mr. Leuxe concluded that, on the basis of the above mentioned analysis, making an estimate of the environmental and socio-economic impact of different transport infrastructures is possible, and this should inspire effective policies leading in the long run to more sustainable collective scenarios, which are of considerably important if we want to meet the goal of a 20% cut of emissions, as established by the European Council in 2007.

La tarification est donc en devenir mais les gains à en retirer en termes de lutte contre les externalités sont considérables. (Emile Quinet)

For further information his presentation is available online at the following link:

http://www.swomm.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/SWOMM-2010-A-Leuxe-Co%C3%BBts-transp-Alpes-Co%C3%BBts-externes-Perspectives1.pdf

Traffic Patterns, Ecosystems Services, Policies for Sustainable Development

The SWOMM 2010 workshop was held on 14 December at FAO in Rome.

The Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport (SWOMM) is an initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry for the Environment since 2005. This year the Mountain Partnership Secretariat worked in cooperation with the SWOMM Scientific Secretariat for the organization of the day, within the framework of the AlpCheck 2 Project of the Alpine Space ETC Programme.

As from the title, SWOMM 2010 aimed at striking the balance between two crucial needs for the development of mountain areas: transportation development on one hand, environment preservation on the other. The panel of discussants, who represented several organizations, ranging from Ministries to relevant research centers and international organizations and NGOs, proved to be a diverse and qualified assembly which broached a fair discussion on the issue, delving into the matter considering several points of view and taking care of differing interests.

Experts from Ministries and administrations and research institutions of Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and partners in European Projects on transportation, explained from different perspectives and through their concrete experiences how cutting-edge technologies and well-planned solutions for transportation could enable and foster the socio-economical development of the alpine area, but also of other mountain areas often isolated and deprived of basic infrastructure.

On the other hand, several presentations were expressly dedicated to mountain environments specificities and their richness in biodiversity, with a focus on how to assess the services offered by such ecosystems to mountain inhabitants and also to lowlands population. In this context, the current experiences of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to reward poor highlands areas and measures conducted in the Carpathians were also presented to the public.

The Conference mainly stressed few points. That transportation is responsible for a remarkable share of emissions in the mountains, having an important impact on the regional economy and quality of life, but also on the environment and the functionality of regional ecosystems. That mountain ecosystems are extremely fragile and provide important services to both people living inside and outside the mountains. That the combination of lower emissions and appropriate incentives for valuable services’ provision from the mountains can start an important path to sustainable development of mountain areas worldwide. Some policies already exist on both sides, including more efficient transport systems, PES (Payments for ecosystems services). At the same time a few good experiences have been presented where effective transport services seem to go hand in hand with a high environmental quality of the mountain environment, e.g. in Austria and Switzerland.

More, European projects of regional cooperation presented during the day are supposed to lead to shared data and solutions in the field of transportation, while promoting exchange of know how, harmonization of methods and awareness raising throughout the European countries. The Alps and Carpathians but also other mountain ranges of the world could take benefits from such transborder works. SWOMM will continue in its effort to promote reasoning and information on this topic.

Presentations of the Speakers

The ITN – Infrastructure Telematics & Navigation will be held for the second year on 11-12 November 2010 at Lingotto Fiere in Turin. ITN offers an overall and integrated perspective on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and mobility infrastructures at an European level.

ITN 2010 aims to review the mobility information system operating in Europe and to canvass strategies and effective technological innovations in order to elaborate sustainable policies through the analysis of the supranational context and by involving international players.

The round of conferences and workshops for public operators will start on 11 November with INFOMOBILITY – Second info-mobility operators summit, the protagonists of the info-mobility factory in Italy and Europe, organized in cooperation with Assoknowledge Confindustria SIT, info-mobility factory group. The summit will bring together institutions, administrations and enterprises to introduce a perspective on market, trends, problems and opportunities for developing local, national and international experiences. In this context, it will also be possible to analyze several technologies, platforms, services, applications and experiments in the field of mobility information.

On 12 November, the ITN congress will focus on three issues which are more and more relevant at present for the public administrations: 1) the Geo-location of information; 2) Green mobility; 3) Critical Infrastructures. As SWOMM often highlighted, the evolution of people’s mobility in urban contexts, security and telematics services for the users’ information and traffic management are central themes both to ensure efficient mobility services as well as to improve the environmental impact of transports, as the increasing relevance that they are gaining in public administrators’ agendas may well demonstrate.

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The title aims at pointing out the increased public awareness of that cars have limits and that there is a need need for a re-qualification of the mobility system. It is now clear that a more efficient system should be able of providing road users with a wider public transport offer which would integrate the use of private cars.

Within this context, the general revaluation of the railways within the last decades, as in the cases of Trento-Malè-Marilleva and the Merano-Malles railways, has fostered the idea that the train might represent a solution to the mobility problem and it would result in an improvement of the tourist offer within the Cembra, Fiemme e Fassa Valleys. In this context, during the 2009 Transdolomites has analyzed the feasibility of a railway in the Avisio Valleys, to be linked to the national railway.

The Thursday conference aims at providing the local communities with information on how the existing railways have been optimally integrated with the environment and the landscapes. Speakers from research institutions and private sector will discuss technical solutions and criteria to be used while building a railway in order to reduce its impact on the environment and landscapes, new technologies for saving energy and for controlling the noises emissions of trains will also be presented. Improving services for the customer was recognized as a necessary step in order to have more and more people using the railways.

The programme of the Conference is available in the association website.
For further information, please send an email to the contact person Massimo Girardi (girardi.massimo@brennercom.net).

Associazione Transdolomites
Strada Ruf de Ruacia, 15
I – 38036 Pozza di Fassa (TN)
Tel. +39.0462.763247
Fax +39.0462.764780
info@transdolomites.eu

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A workshop on safe and healthy walking and cycling in urban areas will be held on 30 September – 1 October 2010 in Batumi, Georgia, organized under the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) Staffete in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia and the city of Batumi.

The event will include roundtable discussions aiming at identifying challenges and needs, in order to promote innovative policies for planning, financing, infrastructure development and regulations to support walking and cycling as increasingly viable and attractive modes of urban mobility.

It will be also possible to join a cycling and walking rally together with other governmental officials, sportsmen and activists as well as the launch of the first Walking school Bus in the ciry, which is running thanks to a very sustainable fuel…The Workshop will be conducted in English and Russian with simultaneous translation. More information is available in the website.

THE PEP, established in 2002, and serviced by the joint secretariat of the UNECE and WHO/Europe, offers a platform for countries to share information and know-how and benefit from each other’s experience with regard to transport, health and environment policies. THE PEP contributes to a greener economy, by addressing the following goals: contributing to sustainable economic development and stimulating job creation through investment in environment and health-friendly transport, managing sustainable mobility and promoting a more efficient transport system, reducing emissions of transport-related greenhouse gases, air pollutants and noise, promoting policies and actions conducive to healthy and safe modes of transport.

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An interesting and zero-carbon initiative has recently been planned in Paris: a building close to a Mètro Station will be heated by exploiting the warmth generated by passengers, trains and other machinery.

The temperature in the underground railway stations is in fact consistently higher than it is above ground. In particular, it reaches around 14-20C degrees all year round in nearby Mètro station, near the Pompidou Centre, where the targeted building is located.

The project is based on geothermal technology: heat from subterranean passages will be moved to heat exchangers before supplying heating pipes and consequently warming up the building. Building such a system has turn out to be not prohibitively expensive due to the previous presence of a passageway directly connecting the metro to the subway. The project is expected to heat 17 flats and, according to the building’s owners, Paris Habitat-and OPH, it should slash the carbon dioxide emissions by a third, saving costs and preserving the environment. They will launch a tender for the experimental project before the end of the year, and work is expected to start in 2011.

Paris is not the first city to attempt such a feat. The solution was already experimented in Stockholm, where heat generated by the Central Station is used to warm up an office building. Indeed in Oslo, heat is captured from sewage and used to heat the city.

The Paris Mètro heating system will be hardly spread throughout the European cities due to its costs and normally mountain towns are not equipped with a metro, nevertheless such initiative may give birth to new and sustainable ideas to harness in multiple ways the existing and available sources of energy. As SWOMM we boost Paris Mètro heating as a good example of sustainable use of energy produced by mobility!

Related links

• guardian.co.uk/environment
• inhabitat.com/
• planetark.org/
• guardian.co.uk/environment
• reuters.com/article/idUSN1830885620070419

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• Paris Metro Body Heat to Help Warm Building (cleantechies.com)

The Permanent Secratariat to the Alpine Convention organized for the 4th year a trip through five states (from Monaco, passing through France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Slovenia) of the Alpine Arc for a group of international journalists who is trying the amazing experience of discovering this territor utilising alternative means of transports like bike, train, bus and going on foot in alternative to cars.

In this edition the participants of the spedition will discover the different cultures of the Alpine Arc through the gastronomy and the history of every city.

SuperAlp is a tool of the Permanent Secratariat to promote the sustainable development of the Alpine region.

To learn the complete program of this edition, click here

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