Editorial: The Seven Simple Truths of Sustainable Mobility (Come argue with me)

Sometimes in life things can be simple. Let’s look at one case. Doubtless the most severe single problem holding us back in the hard up-hill struggle for “sustainable transport” in cities and countries around the world is that so far everyone seems to have a different definition and a different agenda.  Google offered 947,000 entries under this phrase this morning and all it takes is a quick tour of the Google News rubric to  get a quick educatio … Read More

via World Streets (A world changing before our eyes)

Transport, environment and public policy in hard times

On 2 December the managing editor of World Streets, Eric Britton, was invited by the organizers of the National Autumn Conference of ACT TravelWise to present the keynote address, following an opening presentation by Norman Baker, MP and Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Transport of the just-elected UK coalition government. The theme of the conference was “The Right to Travel – Getting more for less” — and Britton was asked to bring in some international perspectives and possibly some less familiar ideas for the largely British audience after the Minister’s presentation.

The World – The Climate – The Strategy. Come argue with me.

Part I: Ten steps to get the job done:
Let me sketch out an easy to understand (or reject) climate/transport strategy that presents some stark contrasts with what seems to be largely accepted as the received wisdom when it comes to targeting, policy and investment in the sector — and which in a first instance is quite likely to earn me more enemies than friends (that goes with the territory). At least until such time that these basic underlying ideas are expressed in a manner which is sufficiently clear and convincing that we put them to work to turn the tide. So here you have my first brief statement of the issues, the basic strategic frame and the key pressure points to which I invite your critical reactions and comments. In a second piece in this series, to follow shortly, I intend to have a look at the candidates who could be ready to do something about it. Or not.

– Eric Britton, Editor, World Streets

The benefits of being Obama

This article published today by associate editor of India Streets, Karthik Rao-Cavale, in his outstanding blog “India lives in her cities too!”, provides a bald example of the kind of  clear thinking and truth-telling that is indispensable to make informed policy decisions in the face of abundant complexities and contradictions that constitute day-to-day life on India’s streets. Would it not be a wonderful thing if President Obama were to be invited to walk the streets and see for himself this aspect of daily life in one of the world’s greatest cities? I am sure that he would understand it entirely and be moved to a far greater degree than sitting down to one more boring and inevitably hypocritical rubber-chicken State Dinner. And he would go back to his crushing work load in Washington a far better friend of India. I can promise you that.  – Eric Britton. Editor, India Streets.

The latest news from Mumbai is that President Obama is about to visit, and all the routes he might possibly take are being beautified. Some of them are even being adorned with date palm trees, despite these trees being completely inappropriate for Mumbai’s humid climate. And alongside, anti-encroachment drives are being carried out to evict “illegal” hawkers squatting on the pavements. This prompted one KRP Gupta to ask why it is that while Obama … Read More

via India lives in her cities too!

Editorial: Profile Guidelines for Contributors

Dear co-editors. Might one of you be interested to adapt this as needed for India Streets? And if so work with the version that you will find here under the top menu (About/Editorial guidelines). Let me know if this might work for you. Thanks.

Preparing a World Streets Profile (Program, Project, Event, Tool) World Streets welcomes well written articles that report in a balanced manner to our international readers on the work and accomplishments, and hopes and plans, of outstanding groups, projects and programs in various corners of the world leading the way in face of the tough challenges in our chosen sector — looking for exemplary approaches and tools that have potential for very br … Read More

via World Streets

Editorial guidelines

This piece is submitted here for comment and finalization. The final version when completed will be found in the top menu under the “About” rubric. Thanks for pitching in and making this a strong and clear set of guidelines for our authors,

Editorial policy, guidelines for contributors:

We want to make sure that India Streets is a good read, and a fast one, for our overloaded colleagues working on these issues in cities and countries around the world, as well for others trying to follow the full range of issues involved. And while the exact organizational mix is still being played with in these early months to determine what combination is going to work best, we start out by providing each week one longer thinkpiece on a specific project, policy, program, or person working to break the old mobility stasis somewhere in the world, and add to that additional articles, items or leads that our readers may find of interest. Quality, not quantity is our mission.

Editorial: Future topics? Thinking out loud

Here as we get ready to start up is one first rough cluster of ideas for proposed topics for future articles, which I share with you here in the hope that some of you will critique, amend and possibly squash as useful, and as well hopefully add to this list with ideas of your own. We can then keep this growing list in sight as we get to work full speed for our launch on November 1st.

Editorial: Start here

30 September 2010: The goal of this site at this early point is to see if we can in the month ahead use what you find here as a dynamic test bench and group working area — and then to  move beyond this initial sketch frame and fashion it in deliberate steps into a first-rate collaborative blog that will perhaps in time develop into a collective force for sustainable mobility and sustainable cities in India — and also possibly through its good example influence discussions and decisions in other parts of the world as well.