• Number 14

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Fall 2002 Number 14

Institute for Transportation

&Development Policy

Nowa HutaCan the M odel City

be Rebuilt? p.16

Also inside: African Transit Renaissance p.8

China Rocks Global Bicycle Industry p.20

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Over the last year, working with the Energy Foun-dation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, ITDPtraveled to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu,

Xian, Beijing, Xiamen and Wuhan. We gave presen-tations to government officials, the press, business peo-ple and ordinary citizens on the advantages of Non-

Motorized Transport, Bus Rapid Transit and the dangersof becoming as auto-dependent as the U.S. We spoke tothe China Bicycle Association, to the largest bicyclecompanies, to major bus manufacturers, to experts. Wespoke plainly about our concerns that bicyclists are beingpushed off the road or onto sidewalks, or banned alltogether; about the doubling of road accident fatalities inthe past five years; about worsening traffic congestion anddeteriorating quality of life in Chinas cities. The presscovered our comments sympathetically. And peopleraised good questions.

First of all, its a strange message to be sending, asAmericans. The U.S., with 5% of the worlds population,

consumes 26% of global oil production, and has been con-suming oil on a massive scale since the 1920s. Some 90% ofour commuting trips are by private car. If the average per-son in China used as much oil as the average American,China would consume virtually all of current global oil pro-duction. Many Chinese officials assume we dont wantthem driving cars because if they do, it will drive up globalenergy prices. While intelligent people disagree as towhether the worlds oil supplies will begin to run out in tenor in thirty years, one thing is clear: If China motorizes, itwill be sooner rather than later. As for global warming,China agreed to sign the Kyoto Protocol, whereas the U.S.

walked out of the negotiations.While U.S.-dominated institutions like the World Bank

and the IMF preach laissez-faire economics, free trade and

getting the state out of the economy, China has ignoredmuch of this advice, and the result has been the mostimpressive rate of economic growth anywhere in the world:over 10% per year, sustained for more than two decades.

Back in 1994, Chinas government decided to make autoproduction one of its four pillar industries, believing it wascritical to economic growth. Today, China is producingabout 800,000 cars a year; auto manufacturing is a nearly$8 billion industry, and it accounts for some 20% of the grossregional product in Shanghai and other cities with motor-vehicle manufacturing. Alone among the Asian tigers,China barely felt the Asian economic meltdown of 1997.

There is no question that if China succeeds in developing

a powerful automobile export industry, the economic divi-dends will be large. When China joined the WTO, it wasclearly eyeing the motor-vehicle export market. As part ofthe agreement, China agreed to reduce its tariff protectionfor automobiles (currently as high as 80% on some vehi-cles) by at least 10% per year until 2006, when all tariffsmust be reduced to 25%. Do you think the smart moneybelieves China will be flooded with U.S. cars in five yearswhen these tariffs come down, or will the U.S. be floodedwith Chinese cars?

Does It Make Sense

for China to

Letter From the Executive Director, Walter Hook

2 SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002

Photo:WalterHook

continued on p. 19

Does It Make Sense

for China to Motorize?

A bove: California dreaming in Guangzhou, China

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Fa ll 2 0 0 2 N um be r 1 4 is a publication of:

The Institute for

Transportation and Development Policy

115 W.30th St., Suite 1205New York, NY 10001

Tel. (212) 629-8001Fax (212) 629-8033

[email protected] www.itdp.orgEditors: Walter Hook, Paul S.White,Nina HmmerlingArt Direction: Cliff Harris

Board of Directors:

Michael Replogle, President*Environmental Defense

Matteo Martignoni, Vice PresidentInternational Human PoweredVehicle Association

Karen Overton, TreasurerRecycle-A-Bicycle

Ariadne Delon Scott, SecretaryStanford University Bicycle Program

Greg Guenther

Paul GuitinkTransport Specialist

David GurinUniversity of Toronto

Walter HookExecutive Director, ITDP

John HoweTransport Consultant

Gerhard MenckhoffWorld Bank, retired

V. Setty PendakurChairman, Global Committee on

International Planning and NMTTransportation Research Board

Enrique PealosaResearch Fellow, NYUFormer Mayor, Bogot, Colombia

Geetam TiwariIIT Delhi

Jay TownleyJay Town ley & Associates, LLCThe Bike Shop List

*Acting

All views expressed in the articles in this publicationare the views of the authors and not necessarily

the views of ITDP. Sustainable Transport w elcomessubmissions of articles about non-motorized trans-portation and information about sustainable trans-portation activities worldwide.

ITDP is a non-profi t advocacy, research andpro ject- implement ing agency which seeks topromote the use of non-motorized vehicles (NMVs)and the broader implementation of sustainabletransportation policies w orldwide. ITDP is registeredin the United States as a charitable agency eligiblefor tax-deductible contributions under the InternalRevenue Service code. Members include bicycleactivists, transportation planners, economic devel-opment specialists, small businesspeople, environ-mentalists and other prof essionals, primarily but notexclusively U.S. citizens.

c o n t e n t s

Articles

8

Africas Public Transit Renaissance

14Greenwash and Waxing

A report on the Earth Summit and the resulting Plan of Action

16Nowa HutaWhats in store for the worlds largest brownfield?

20The Sound of Chinas Bicycle Industry?One Hand Clapping

23The Islands That Refused to Motorize

24Green Fund Switches to Sustainable Transport

26

People PowerThe citizens behind Bogots urban revolution

Features

2Letter From the Executive Director

Does it make sense

for China to motorize ?

4N ews Briefs

30New Titles

31Bulletin Board

Cover: Sendzimir Steel Works, Krakow, Poland.

Photo: Yaakov Garb

SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002 3

sustainabletransport

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Plan and a b icyc le-sympathet ic

mayor is moving residents away

from private cars by im proving alter-

natives where they are needed most.

I t is st i l l re lat ively easy to get

around by car in Pariss suburbs.

However, 70% of short car trips inthe Paris area are taken between

suburbs, and i f t rends are not

reversed, traffic will only increase.

Therefore a Bus Rapid Transit sys-

tem is being put in place to struc-

tu re the suburbs a round hubs

where intermodal changes can be

made. These hubs will connect sub-

ways, trams, buses and cycle lanes,

and will contain bike parking areas.

They wi ll also feature a bouquet of

stores and services to make them

more attractive to comm uters.These hubs, combined with other

BRT features such as dedicated bus

lanes, real-time schedule d isplays on

buses and at stops, pre-pay fare

systems and hours of service, and

better communication and tracking

systems should make suburb-to-

suburb bus trips as easy as the city-

center Metro.

Within Pariss city center, under-

ground transport is relatively easy,yet streets are still jam-packed with

cars, and conditions for cycling and

aboveground public transit condi-

tions are less than ideal. As a result,

more ex t reme s teps a re be ing

taken. Because there is no addition-

a l space for buses and cyc les,

Mayor Bertrand Delano, a strong


Photos,

froml

eft:LloydWright,ProjectforPublicSpaces,ww.pps.org

continued on p. 6

Paris-Plage: Highway to greenway

Bertrand Delano, the mayor of Paris, and Ken Livingstone, the

mayor of London, are both taking bold steps (and big risks) to

decrease automobile use in their cities. Mayor Delano was publicly

derided for his sustainable transport bent until his Paris-Plage a

pedestrian area on the Seine river reclaimed from the Georges-

Pompidou Expressway proved a resounding success. He is still tak-

ing a lot of heat, however, for widespread traffic delays caused by

extensive busway and cycleway construction. Meanwhile, across the

Channel, Mayor Livingstone is planning to charge motorists 5

(approximately $7.80) for entering downtown London, inciting similaroutcry. Heres how these hackle-raising m ayors stack up:

Bertrand Delano (left) and Ken Livingstone

Gutsy Mayors to Liberate London and Paris from Autocracy

Delano: [ I w i l l ] f i g h t , w i t h

al l the means at my disposal ,

aga ins t t he ha rmfu l , eve r -

increasing and unacceptab le

hegemony of the automobile.

Delano: The first openly gay

man to hold a high-profile officein French government

The Anti-Delano: Jean-Pierre

Jerabek, of the I le-de-France

Automobile Club, who said, Its

absurd. Mr. Delano must rid

himself of this idea that m otorists

will just abandon their cars.

Livingstone: Improving trans-

port and reducing congest ion

wi l l have a signi f icant im pact

on pollution.

Livingstone: The f i rst openly

socialist m an to hold a high-profileoffice in English government

The Anti-Livingstone: Kevin

Delaney, traffic and road safety

manager of the Royal Automobile

Club Foundation, who said, I

was surprised well, staggered

would be a better word.

In Their Own Words:

Also Known As:

Outspoken Critics:

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bicycle advocate, is taking space

away from cars.

Making good on h is campaignpromise to fight, with all the means

at my disposal, against the harmful,

ever-increasing and unacceptable

hegemony o f t he au tomob i le ,

Delano has widened previously

existing bus and bike lanes to 4.5 m

and bui l t concrete div iders com-

pletely blocking private cars from

the lanes. Its predicted that this w ill

increase bus-route efficiency within

the city by 10% to 20%. Delano has

also experimented with a car-free

zone along the r igh t bank of the

Seine, the Paris-Plage, which attract-

ed 3 million visitors in its first week.Though this is only a temporary

measure, Delano plans to recon-

quer the riverside for pedestrians all

year round. His efforts have been

met by joy fu l r eac t ions f r om

cyclists, pedestrians and the public

t ranspor t commun i t y , bu t have

angered drivers, who now have an

even harder t ime gett ing around.

Delanos hope is that this w ill even-

tually discourage unnecessary car

trips to the city center.

How d id all this happen? In 1996, a

law was passed requiring all French

municipalities of more than 100,000inhabitants to develop plans to im-

prove air quality. In Paris this result-

ed in the creation, in 1998 and 1999,

of an Urban M obil i ty Master Plan

(Plan des Displacements Urbains de

lIle-de-France, or PDUIF), intended

to reduce car traffic, emissions and

energy use. The plans 5-year imple-

mentation phase, called the Mobilien

Project, began in 2001 and w ill cost a

total of $300 milli on.

The purpose of Mobilien, which

was designed with input from repre-

sentatives from mass transit opera-

tors and public professionals at alll eve ls, i s t o im prove co l l ec t i ve

transport and non-motorized trans-

port conditions and thus decrease

automobi le t raf f ic. I t focuses on

every element of transport, includ-

ing mass transit, bicycles, pedestri-

ans, parking, deliv eries, traffic m an-

agement, transit information, pric-

ing and energy use.

According to Bus 38, a pro-transit

Web site, Paris, such a beautiful

city, has, for years, been dying under

a traffic jam. Something had to be

done. Hopefully this is it.

The first step, undertaken in thesummer of 2001, was to improve

the 17 urban and 49 suburban bus

lines in and around Paris. In the

next 6 years, 22 km of exclusive bus

lanes will be built, along with 77 km

of tram lines and 10 km of subway

extensions, all planned w ith cooper-

a t ion f rom the communi t ies and

operators, to cover the suburb-to-

suburb routes.

Over the course of its implemen-

tat ion, Mobi l ien hop es to reduce

car traff ic by 3% and double thenum ber of journeys by bicycle.

Im not obsessed by cars, said

Delano. I m obsessed with the

health of Parisians. Is it my fault that

the automobile is the citys major

source of pollution and that it takes

up two-thirds of the road surface?

Things have to be brought back

into balance thats what our policy

is all about.

For more in fo rmat ion on these

developments, visit:

The PDUIF Web site, at: pduif.org

A review of the planned system

by the USFTA, at: calstart.org/

brt/ paris_BRT_trip.htm and

calstart.org/ brt/ Paris_BRT_Trip_Rep

ort_Jan_02.pdf

A story on Mayor Delanos pro-

NMT efforts in the Guardian, at:

guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/

journalist/ story/ 0,7792,541488,00.html

An insiders look at Paris public tran-

sit, at: bus38.online.fr

Simonovsky Signals U-turnon Sketchy HighwayA Watershed for Specious Public

Motorway Projects

Accord ing to the new Czech

Minister of Transport and Commu-

nications, M ilan Simo novsky, there

will be an investigation of the pro-


continued from p. 5

Right bank, right stuff: Rush hour on the Paris-Plage

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posed and very controversial

D47 motorway, the first ever public-

private inf rastructure partnership

in the Czech Republic.

Simonovsky said that the govern-ment might choose to take advan-

tage of an escape clause to get out

of the contract altogether if signifi-

cant problems are uncovered. The

min isters statements were the firstmajor sign of a shift in official atti-

tude toward the project. Before the

June 2002 e lect ions, there was

strong political pressure to quickly

sign the contract for construction of

the 80 km s t re tch o f mo to rway

between Lipnik and Ostrava. When

the I s rae l i comp any Hous ing &

Construction (H&C) landed the con-

tract without a public tender, there

was outspoken crit icism from the

pro ject s government -employed

advisers, consulting engineers MottM acDonald Praha. The deal has

H&C bu i ld ing the moto rw ay fo r

Kc 125 billion (about $4 billion) and

operating it for 30 years, with the

government paying an annual toll

based on the number of vehicles

using it and eventually taking over

all operations.

The announcement from Simo-

novsky came just days af ter the

Brno-based construction company

SDS Exmost, which specializes in

bridge construction, f i led a com-

plaint wi th the countrys highest

court, claiming that the cost quotedby H&C is too high for construction

of th is stretch of motorway. The

company has, apparently,

no financial interest in the

project but has raised the

issue in the public interest.

SDS Exmosts Pavel Jan-

kuj said he knew of other

firms that would welcome

the chance to make lower

bids to build the road.

Wrong TurnMany consider the D47 a

test case for the future of

this type of financing for

Czech motorway projects.

Ramiro Cibrian, head of

the EU de legat ion in

Prague, warned in a M arch

2002 speech that the suc-

cess of the D47, the first

endeavor of its kind, was

fundam ental. The success or other-

wise of this project will, I believe,

play a crucial role in the Czech pub-lics perception of the usefulness of

th i s me thod o f f i nanc ing pub l i c

works, he said.

The final price tag for the road is

still unclear. H&C says Kc 125 bil-

lion is the maximum cost. However,

acco rd ing to i n fo rmat ion made

avai lab le to Prague Business

Journal, the contract is so ful l of

conditions and sub-clauses regard-

ing th e f inal price covering, for

example, risks involved in the buy-

out of property and receipt of land-use permits that the f inal price

could spiral upward.

Although its w ork for the govern-

ment ended in Apr i l 2002, Mot t

MacDonald Praha has continued to

criticize the project and, especially,

omissions in the final contract. The

company said i t would refuse to

superv i se i t s imp lementa t ion i f

asked. We havent changed our

mi nd at all about it, said Jiri Pet-

rak , manag ing d i rec to r o f Mo t t

MacDonald Praha. We sti l l thi nk

that the deal is very unfavorable for

the s ta te , and i t shou ldn t havebeen signed . . . the r isks for the

state are still too h igh.

Construction cannot start before

2005 in some places, Petrak added,

because only the most rudimentary

plans exist. He confirmed that the

Supreme Audit Office, the states

spending watchdog, is looking into

its cooperation with the ministry,

but said he was not worried about

that: It was the ministry w ho pre-

pared our cont ract , so i t i s in

accordance w i th i ts norms. PRAGUE BUSINESS J OURNAL

by Zuzana Smivoda

United States Finds Alternativeto Middle Eastern Oil

It is very, very difficult to imagine a Saddam

Hussein in A frica. U. S. Congressman

Edward Royce (R-CA), chairman of the

House of Representatives Africa

subcommittee, speaking about the

relative security of W est African oil.

In the May/June 2002 Sustainable

Transport e-Update, ITDP reported

that U.S. congressional representa-

tives particularly those who receive

campaign dollars from Big Oil and

the automobile and highway lobbies

voted against raising vehicle fuel

efficiency standards. The standards

would have helped wean the U.S. off

its increasingly expensive oil habit.

Now that the Middle East is more

flammable than ever, where is Uncle

Sam go ing to get his fix?Today the U.S. gets 15% of its oil

from Africa. If current Bush adminis-

tration oil hawks have their way, this

figure will increase to 25% by 2015

as much as the U.S. currently gets

from the Middle East. But thats not

al l . The U.S. is also planning to

establish a naval base in the Gulf of


Photos,

froml

eft:ProjectforPublicSpaces,www.pps.org

continued on p. 13

To win highway contracts, it's important

to dress for success.

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President Kufuor of Ghana and President Wade of Senegal two ofAfricas most respected and recently elected statesmen placedpublic transit at the top of their inaugural agendas. Accordingly,

Accra, Ghana, and Dakar, Senegal, have both undertaken transit modern-ization programs. Most recently, these capital cities have appealed to theGlobal Environmental Facility (GEF) and ITDP for help in realizingmodern BRT corridors and cycleways analogous to Curitba, Brazil, andBogot, Colombia, the first such systems in Africa.

For both projects, the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), working through ITDP, is providing technicalsupport. The U.S. Federal Transit Administration (USFTA) is also provid-ing some transit planning support in Accra, and the World Banks urbanmobility project is focused on transit vehicle modernization in Dakar. Allof Africa will be watching, because cities from Cairo to Cape Town are inthe grips of an increasingly intractable transportation crisis. Congestionfrom the escalating number of private vehicles now forces residents of

Accra, for example, to wake up at 4 a.m. to reach their offices by 8 a.m.8 SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002

by Paul Steely White

and Walter Hook

AfricasPublic TransitRenaissance

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What Ails Urban Transport?

In most African cities, normal bus ser-vices have all but disappeared, replacedwith minibus paratransit vehicles that

go by such colorful names as Danfos(Nigeria), Matatus, (Kenya), T ro-tros(Ghana) , Dala-Dalas, (Tanzania),Combis (South Africa) or Car Rapides(Senegal). The vehicles are so danger-ous and uncomfortable they are derisive-ly termed flying coffins, movingmorgues and the like. Last year, a Tro-tro carrying two ITDP staff membersblew a tire just outside Kumasi, Ghana,sending them careeningon two wheels into the oncoming lane and nearlyflipping the vehicle. Informal, loosely

regulated routes engender fierce compe-tition and reckless driving that killsthousands of waiting passengers, pedes-trians, and cyclists every year. In SouthAfrica, competition often erupts in vio-lence, sometimes killing innocent pas-sengers. Anyone who has spent any timetraveling in African cities knows thedanger, frustration, discomfort and delayassociated with the paratransits.

The Demise of Public Transportand the Rise of Paratransit

In the 1970s, during times of relativeeconomic prosperity, many nat ional gov-ernments tried to set up transit authori-ties like those in the U.S. and WesternEurope. These public companies oftentook monopoly control over the mostlucrative corridors and downtown routes,pushing the informal operators to lessprofitable areas. In major cities through-out francophone West Africa Dakar(Senegal), Abidjan ( Cote dIvoire),Douala and Yaounde (Cameroon) thepublic transit agencies were joint ly

owned by the national government andRenault Vehicle Industries, which held amonopoly over vehicle procurement.French expatriates held key managementpositions. In many Anglophone coun-tries, government-sponsored companiescompeted with private buses and para-transit services. Throughout Africa,these companies relied on governmentfunds for purchasing the buses, and inmany major cities such as Dakar, Lagosand Abidjan, they also relied on millionsof dollars in annual operating subsidies.

These public companies had a lot ofproblems; capital scarcity was compound-ed at times by mismanagement and cor-ruption. By the mid-1980s, most of these

public transit fleets were so dilapidatedand so short of spare parts that more than50% of the vehicles were inoperable. Asmore and more of West Africa faced adeepening fiscal crisis (and often WorldBank and IMF-imposed austerity mea-sures as well), more and more of thesesystems collapsed or shrank dramatically.This left the majority of public transitsystems in the hands of paratransits eagerto fill the void.

Paratransits Explained

Paratransits exist some-where between the grayand black market. Thestructure of the industrydiffers between Ghana andSenegal. In Ghana, almostall of the Tro-tros are mod-ern imported minibusesfrom Japan or elsewhere.Almost all are small owner-operated vehicles, and thereal power rests with theunions. Ghanas GPRTU,

(Ghana Private RoadTransport Un ion), with17,000 members is by farthe largest, controlling80% to 90% of the market.It regulates services, setsfares and controls most ofthe stations. Though thegovernment is responsiblefor maintaining the bus sta-tions, it is unable due tothe powerful unions tocollect any revenues from

the bus companies to payfor their upkeep.

In Senegal, there are tighter controlson the types of vehicles imported. TheCar Rapides are all old Renault trucksthat were carved into buses and importedprior to 1986. Some 650 of them wereimported in 1976 as part of a governmentmodernization program. T hese samevehicles are kept running by importingJapanese engines via South Africa dis-tributors and spare parts from Poland.Rumors hold that the parts come mainly

from stolen cars. The N diaga N diayes,slightly larger and newer vehicles, arealmost all Mercedes truck-bodies.

The ownership of the vehicles is much

more concentrated than in Ghana, andthe owners have a lot more power. Thereare four major owners or groups of own-ers that control the majority of the CarRapides fleet, though there are alsomany small owner-operators. One man,Mr. Ndiaga Ndia Ye, owns 400 of theNdiaga Ndiayes hence their nickname.There are no unions to speak of, but inorder to operate a paratransit vehicle inSenegal you virtually have to be a mem-ber of the Mourid Islamic Brotherhood,or one of the other powerful spiritual

economic groups. These groups are themeans by which the industry asserts itspolitical power. In Senegal the bus sta-tions are either in chaos or are operatedby one of the large owners. One stationis operated under the control of a unionof Coxeurs, men who shepherd peopleonto the Car Rapides in exchange for avoluntary payment from the drivers.


Photos:PaulS.

White

continued on p. 10

Laptop diplomacy: President Abdoulaye Wade of

Senegal considers transit advice from ITDP board

member Enrique Pealosa.

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On the upside, paratransit serviceshave provided basic mobility to urbanAfricans for decades, operating largelywithout subsidies, generating millionsof jobs and virtually defining a new

urban class of indigenous entrepre-neurs. They continued operating evenat times when national governments

faced deep financial problems.However versatile and omnipresent,

informal paratransit systems have seriousproblems. First, the vehicles are oftenvery polluting and unsafe. Because profitsare so low, operators run tires until theyblow. Second, while they are nimble andeffective for low-volume feeder trips,paratransits are not as efficient in maincorridors, where they now tend to amass,wreaking congestion and conflict with

other road users. Third, they follow nopredictable schedule, stopping randomlyand without notice. Finally, the paratran-sits obstinately stand in the way of reformand modernization . Solvin g Africasurban mobility crisis will not be easy.

Can the System Be Fixed?

Most experts agree that the secret toimproving transit is for public authoritiesto grant licenses for the right to operatemore lucrative routes based on competi-tive private bidding. Private operators are

given monopoly control over a lucrativeroute, and in exchange have to meethigher standards of road-worthiness, safe-ty, comfort, higher tailpipe emission stan-dards and of course offer reasonable fares.The power to revoke the route licensegives the government the power to ensure

that companies comply. In theory this isthe way to fix the system.

Unfortunately, in many developingcountries, the allocation of routes iseither completely unregulated or isinformally regulated for the person-al enrichment of certain individu-als or groups. In Senegal there is noformal system of assigning routes tospecific paratransit operators; tech-nically, a license to operate a CarRapide is valid anywhere.

Compounding these problems is

the rapid growth of private motorvehicle use by higher incomegroups, and growing congestion.For West Africa to solve its urbanmobility crisis, it will have toimprove transit services in thiscomplex socio-political cont extwithout reverting to mismanagedstate operation. How this will bedone remains to be seen.

Banking on Bus Rapid Transit

Bus Rapid Transit, by definition, requires

the regulation of routes; exclusivebusways are just that no other vehiclesare allowed. Furthermore, routes andvehicles must be designed in tandem;buses and stations must be compatible inorder for rapid boarding and pre-boardfare collection to work. Revenues arehigher, due to greater efficiencies,enabling the purchase of higher quality,lower emission (Euro II compliant) buses.Thus vehicle modernization, route regu-lation and lower emission vehicles are allinseparable parts of the BRT whole.

In 2002, a confluence of events hasplaced BRT high on the agenda in bothDakar and Accra. In the spring, ITDPvisited both cities and presented seniorgovernment officials information ongrowing international experience withBus Rapid Transit. BRT combines pre-paid boarding stations, priority for pub-lic transit vehicles at intersections andexclusive lanes in areas of congestion,giving passengers most of the benefits ofa metro system at a fraction of the cost.With the recent success of new BRT

systems from Bogot, Colombia, toQuito, Ecuador, to Kunming, China,many African experts already recognizedthat BRT is the only affordable way forAfrican cities to avoid hopeless trafficgridlock.

Accras Mayor Darko and Ghanas

Ministry of Transport have launched acampaign to make Accra the home ofAfricas first Bus Rapid Transit system,which they hope will be a beacon toother African cities. In July, at the U.S.Federal Transit Administration (USFTA)workshop in Accra, Dr. Ludwig Hesse ofthe Ghana Department of Urban Roadspresented an initial concept for a pilotBRT system in Accra which generatedconsiderable enthusiasm among the con-ference participants. Dakars new MayorPape Diop also sees the relevance of a

Transmilenio-like BRT system alongmajor urban corridors, for which plansare being developed.

In every city where a BRT system hasever been implemented, there was resis-tance from the private bus companieswho control the routes identified forconversion to a BRT. This problem wasovercome in Bogot because the exist-ing private operators were allowed tobid for the operating contract, and forthe winner the contract proved to bevery profitable. Operators resisting the

scheme politically were obviously lesslikely to win the operating contract. Inthis way, a major conflict with privateoperators was avoided. In Quito andCuritiba, private operators violentlyopposed the plans, blocking traffic andcausing traffic chaos for days. In thesecities, this resistance was ultimately bro-ken by a combination of police powerand a huge popular backlash against therecalcitrant companies.

First Steps in Dakar, Senegal:

World Bank Program GrapplesWith Vehicle Modernization

In Senegal, with the new nationalgovernment commitment, there areseveral parallel initiatives underway tomodernize transit. Some eight years ago,the old, debt-laden public transit agencySOTRAC went bankrupt. It continuedto operate in some capacity, but by 2000its share of commuting trips had fallen toonly 5%. With the new effort to revital-


Photo:PaulS.

White

continued on p. 12

continued from p. 9

IT DPs Nathaniel Heller, W alter Hook and

Oumou Diallo (standing) with CET UD executive

director Ousman T hiam in Dakar, Senegal

Africa

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Ghana

Accra Mayor Solomon Darko and other local leaders

want to make Accra the first city in Africa with a BRT

system. The Ghana Road Transport Coordi nating

Council (BRTCC) has also stated its support for the

system, which would be integrated with Accras

emerging cycleway network. Through ITDPs Global

Bicycle Fund, local bicycle dealers are receiving loan

guarantees and technical assistance, helping them

grow their businesses by enabling the direct importa-tion of new tools and bicycles. In early 2003, hundreds

of students, teachers, and HIV/AIDS outreach workers

will receive free and/or subsidized skills training and

new b icycles.

Senegal

On September 17, ITDP met with

Senegal President Abdoulaye

Wade to discuss a pending BRT

and cycleway network project for

Dakar. The

nascent projecthas the support

of Dakar mayor

Pape Diop, and

several other local decision-makers, a

few of w hom are headed to Bogot in

February 2003 to see alternatives to

automobile oriented planning first-

hand. In November 2002, ITDP and

ENDA, Senegals leading NGO, will

disseminate a container of new bicy-

cles to low- income benef ic iar ies,

including gir ls who wil l r ide in the

second annual Tour des Femmes.

South Africa

The Jo hannesburg-based Afribike, independent of

ITDP since 2000, continues to mobilize thousands

throughout the Southern Africa region with low-cost

bicycles and training. ITDP has now broken new

ground with BikeWell, a new bicycle, training and

wellness course that is being administered through-

out South Africa, in concert with community-based

projects administered by PEER Africa, South Africas

leading provider of energy efficient housing. At the

August 2002 Earth Summit, the 65-member German

Delegation was treated to a community bike ride with

some BikeWell beneficiaries (see photo).

Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN) is a new

Cape Town-based group that is implementing a host

of bicycle oriented projects in low-income areas,

including the fo unding o f several local workshops

stocked with increasing numbers of used bikes com-

ing in from Holland. ITDP and BEN are affiliating to

increase the scope of these projects, and to co-host

training and prom otional events.

Tanzania

The campaign to eliminate the taxes and tariffs on

bicycles and related products scored a big victory in

July when the government announced that it was

lowering the import tariff on bicycle tires. Last year,

the local Association for the Advancement of Low-

Cost Mobility (AALOCOM) founded the campaign

with ITDP support. AALOCOM is also working on

Africas first Safe Routes to School program, and an

init iat ive to improve popular access to bicycles.

AALOCOM and ITDP recently hosted a seminar on

Bus Rapid Transit and Cycleways.


Photos,

froml

eft:PaulS.

White,

DouglasMothusiGuy

In Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania,ITDP and its local partners are advancing theplanning and construction of BRT systems and cyclewaynetworks, bringing modern and affordable new bicycles toa wider market and staging transit workshops andbicycle events.

Far left: Oumou Diallo, ITDP Senegal Team Leader.

Above: In Benoni, South Africa, from left:

a student; Dr. Lilia Abron, president, PEER Consultants;

Jurgen Tritten, German Minister of the Environment;

Winfried Hermann, member of German Bundestag and Deputy

Chairman of the Environment Committee; Anna-Margareta

Peters, German Ambassador to South Africa.

Update

8/14/2019 Number 14

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ize public transit, SOTRAC was restruc-tured and turned into a partiallyprivatized transit corporation calledDEMDIK, and the government assumedSOTRACs old debts. While there are

plans to place the majority of DEMDIKsshares in the hands of private investors,currently the state retains more than80% of the ownership.

With fresh capital from the govern-ment and the private investors,DEMDIK purchased some new French,Swiss, It alian and Algerian full-size

buses. The French Development Agencyand the French export credit agencyfinanced the French buses, and theAlgerian buses were financed with loansfrom the Islamic Development Bank.How the new buses will be procuredremains an area of political controversy.The municipality has now restricted theoperation of Car Rapides (minibus para-transit) in areas served by the DEMDIKbuses in order to help secure their invest-

ment in DEMDIK.At the same time, the World Bank

Urban Mobility loan for Senegalincludes a pilot effort to modernize theold Car Rapide paratransit vehicles,which they hope will be a model for allof West Africa. This effort has alreadyled to the establishment of a new institu-tion, the Comit Execuitif des TransportUrbains de Dakar (CETUD), to coordi-nate urban transport activity in Dakarand to implement the World BankUrban Mobility loan. CETUD is a quasi-

government agency with representativesfrom private bus companies and techni-cal experts also involved.

The basic idea is for CETUD toreceive money from the World Bank andthen re-loan it to eligible owners of CarRapides to get rid of their old vehicles

and buy more modern buses. In order tobe eligible, the Car Rapide owners arerequired to form themselves into cooper-atives, or economic groups. This hasbeen done, and today the more than1,400 separate owners have formedthemselves into 13 collectives withroughly 100 vehicles in each group.

CETUD was goingto lend 75% of themoney for new busesto these collectives,and t he collectives

would have to comeup with 25% of themoney up front.Unfortunately, thecollectives are onlywilling to pay 15%of the cost of thevehicles up frontunless the govern-ment allows them toincrease the fares.The governmentdoesnt want them

to increase the fares,and the World Bank

doesnt want the down-paymentreduced. Hence, the program has stalled.Further complicating matters, the loanprovided funds for 30 to 40 new buses atestimated prices ranging from $30,000and $50,000. At this price, some indus-try experts feel it will be difficult to pro-cure vehicles that also comply withSenegals new clean air law, whichrequires the purchasing of more expen-sive Euro II-compliant vehicles.

CETUD says it has plans to regulatethe allocation of routes, though theirsuccess to date has been minimal.CETUD is studying the profitability ofdifferent routes, which they will use toallocate in some equitable manner ini-tially some 14 routes to buses and 12routes to refurbished Car Rapides andtaxis. There is some indication thatCETUD will favor the participants inthe World Bank loan scheme withpreferable routes in order to help insurethe repayment of the loans. Other than

this, there is no plan to link route allo-cation to vehicle modernization or ser-vice quality. It is likely that some infor-mal regulatory system exists, and thebeneficiaries of this system can beexpected to be the major opponents ofproposed reforms.

Accra Introduces High-Occupancy Buses

Ghan as national government h asformed a Public Transit Task Force,chaired by Accra Mayor SolomonDarko, which called for and then estab-lished a Metropolitan TransportAuthority. This authority will operate 80new passenger vehicles specially orderedfrom DAF, a Dutch bus manufacturer,with financing from the Dutch ExportCredit Agency. Other bus manufacturers

are hoping to bid on future tenders.The Task Force also plans to allocate

route licenses to private operators basedon competitive bidding and also makethe management and maintenance ofbus stations open to competitive bid-ding. The World Banks urban transitloan in Ghana focused on competitivebidding for the management and opera-tion of bus stations. In Tamale, this hasbeen successful, and management of onemajor bus station was licensed to a pri-vate operator. In Accra, however, the

GPRTU has been unwilling to relin-quish its control over the bus stations,and two new facilities funded withWorld Bank funds stand empty.

Some unknown private sector entitieshave also recently entered the bus mar-ket with imported used double-deckerbuses from England. They are offeringfairly low fares and reasonable qualityservice but the steering wheel is on theright hand side, while Ghanaian motorvehicles by law must have the steeringwheel on the left hand side. The chal-

lenge in the months ahead will be toundertake a BRT planning process thatwill yield greater efficiencies than piece-meal vehicle improvements.

If recent transit reform and modern-ization projects in Latin America are anyindication, Africas transit renaissancewill require more than just a good plan.To break through the status quo, mayors,presidents and high officials mustdemonstrate strong leadership and met-tle in the face of what will surely befierce opposition. Stay tuned.


continued from p. 10

Africa

Photo:PaulS.

White

8/14/2019 Number 14

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Guinea, West Africa, to ensure that

there are no shenanigans. And, as

fate would have it, the World Bank

recently decided to move ahead

wi th the cont rovers ia l Chad-

Cameroon Pipeline, despite the con-

clusions of the Banks own internal

Inspection Panel. The Panel found

that the pipeline was in violation of

at least ten bank policies and proce-dures, many of which w ere de-

signed to redress the Oil Curse.

In theory, oi l development in

Africa should lead to a decrease in

poverty. The facts, however, indi-

cate the oppos i te . In N iger ia

(where drinking water is often as

opaque as Texas Tea i tsel f ) ,

easy oil m oney subverts econom icdiversi f icat ion and good gover-

nance. The oil industry employs

less than 2% of Nigerias popula-

tion while supplying 90% of gov-

ernment revenue. Local fisheries

are decimated. In addition, many

sc ient is ts l ink Af r ica s recent

d rough ts to g loba l warming ,

wh ich has eve ry th ing to do

with oil.

So what benef i ts

acc ru e t o A f ri ca s

majority? According

to a proponent of tap-

ping Africas oil, Rep.

William Jefferson (D-

LA), who earlier thisyear w as among the

aforementioned congressmen vot-

ing to prolong the SUV age, Our

trade-off has to be to help to devel-

op Africa with the things that we

know in ou r coun t r y work :

t ranspor ta t ion and in format ion

technology.

International Seminar onHuman MobilityThe Experience of Bogot, Colombia

Bogots transformation f rom chaosto a more sustainable city has been

swift and impressive. From Latin

Amer ica s la rgest network o f

world-class cycleways (250 km) to

the high-quality BRT system called

TransMi len io to the

worlds longest pedes-

trian way (17 km) to the

largest car-free day in

the world (covering an

entire city of 35,000 ha),

Bogot has become a

model of possibility. Thestory is a l l the more

impress ive as i t has

taken place in a devel-

oping-nation m egacity

of 7 million inhabitants

facing deep economic

and social challenges in

a country caught in vio-

lent civil conflict.

From February 6 through

February 9, 2003, the city is hosting

an international seminar that will

give planning and transport deci-sion-makers an inside look at how

Bogot achieved its transformation.

The Municipality of Bogot is spon-

soring the event, along with ITDP,

the World Bank and the Human City

Foundation. The seminar coincides

with Bogots annual car-free day,

giving participants an opportunity

to see how a large-scale car-free

day is planned and implemented.

The semi nar wi l l f eature local

and international experts present-

ing such top ics as BRT, bicycle

infrastructure and promotion, recu-

peration of public space and trans-

port financing. Additionally, partici-

pants will have the opportunity tospeak with transport authorit ies

and private sector firms operating

in Bogot. Most important, site vis-

its to the TransMilenio system and

rides on the citys bicycle infrastruc-

ture will provide a first-hand look at

Bogots new urban form.

A l l p roceeds f rom the In ter -

nat iona l Seminar on Human

Mobil i ty wil l go toward projects

benefit ing im proved m obil i ty for

children and disadvantaged groups

in Bogot. For m ore information on

how to reg is ter for the Bogot

seminar, please contact Human

City Foundation at:

Fundacin Ciudad Humana

Calle 71, 6-57 of. 401

Phone + 57 1 5 42 66 37,

Fax + 57 1 5 42 43 98

Bogot, Colombia

ciudadhumana.org

[email protected]


Bogots car-free Sunday

continued from p. 7

8/14/2019 Number 14

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and WaxingGreenwash

and Waxing


Ten years ago, the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit heralded the new environ-

mental world order, yielding major climate-change and biodiversity conven-

tions and local environmental initiatives. Alas, scant few of the visions and

goals set in Rio were ever realized, most notably the Climate Change Conventionand subsequent Kyoto Protocol that were scuttled by the U.S.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, held

August 26 to September 4, was meant to redress this lack of progress. So what actu-

ally got done? The only real new outcomes of this $100 million follow-up meeting

were non-binding targets on safe drinking water and restoration of fisheries. Other

Summit happenings, such as the BMW showcase, proved just how much the forum

has slipped since the heady days of Rio.

Though transport represents more than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and

the fastest growing source of such emissions, no targets or timetables were set for

emission reductions in the Summits resulting Plan of Action.

On the positive side, the Plan did call for the total phase-out of leaded fuels, albeit

with no commitments or timetables. Additionally, the United Nations Department

for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP) and a host of partner organizations announced the launch of a

cleaner fuels initiative aimed at encouraging lower sulphur contents. While com-

mendable in its focus, the initiative ignored non-motorized and public transport.

During the initiatives launch, Klaus Tpfer, UNEPs Executive Director, said that

tailpipe solutions (fuel-based measures) "are the only short-term solutions to reduc-

ing transport emissions," with no mention of the low-cost and short-term emission

successes in boosting public transport and cycling (as in Bogot, Colombia).

A report on

the Earth Summit

and the resulting Plan of Action

by Lane Wyden

8/14/2019 Number 14

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Bright Spots: Bicycles New and Old

Several NGOs and governmental agencies launched newinitiatives at the Summit. The International Council for LocalEnvironmental Initiatives (ICLEI) announced that it will pro-vide information and technical resources to small and medium-size cities in the developing world, helping to develop loweremission transportation systems. Vlo Mondial made a sub-

stantive statement with the donation of 1,000 second-handbicycles to the South African community of Midrand. TheGerman government also took a highly positive step to offsettheir delegations emissions in attending the Summit by con-tributing 10,000 euros to projects throughout South Africa.PEER Africa, a U.S.-based consulting firm operating in SouthAfrica, received the offsets from the German Minister of theEnvironment, Jurgen Tritten, at a ceremony in Benoni, SouthAfrica. PEER Africa will be using the funds in part to financenew mountain bicycles for several communities.

Also, the Swedish government announced an initiative towork with the local government of Shanghai, China, in stimu-lating appropriate transit-orientated development for several

new planned communities.

Greenwash, Buff and Wax

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development(WBCSD) used the Summit as an opportunity to highlight itsSustainable Mobility initiative. The initiative is backed bymore than $10 million from major automobile manufacturersand petroleum producers. The WBCSDs initiative mainlyfocuses on producing studies, much of which merely reiterateprevious findings. The five panel presentations at the WBCSDevent in Johannesburg managed t o discuss SustainableMobility without ever mentioning the words public trans-port, buses, non-motorized transport or bicycles. Instead,

the focus was on the tailpipe solutions and producing alterna-tive fuels. Professor Jose Goldemberg of the University of SoPaulo, a participant in the WBCSD initiative, proclaimed thatcars are here to stay and that , in fact, cars represent a funda-mental characteristic of our civilization. It is true that theWBCSD has worked hard to develop an inclusive process anda dialogue with other sectors, but the end result to date hasbeen more about protecting and expanding the markets of itsmain contributors.

Companies covering themselves in green fig leaves were notan uncommon sight at the Summit. BMW took center stage atthe Sandton Convention Centre site, where governmentalnegotiations were held, with large displays of green cars. In

many ways, BMWs installation of a large plastic structure andcar showroom at the heart of the Summit underscores how lit-tle has been learned since Rio. And there was more of thesame at the Ubuntu Village, the cultural and social hub of theSummit. At this venue, the Gauteng Economic DevelopmentAgency (Gauteng Province, South Africa) had the audacity todisplay the rather curious idea of a green sport-utility vehicle.Mercedes also got into the act by providing the Summit with arange of limousines and large, fuel-hungry sedans.

For the most part, t he Summits organizing company and theUnited Nations Commission on Sustainable Development(UNCSD) did an admirable job hosting an unwieldy event of

more than 20,000 participants, although controversies did ariseabout difficulties with NGOs accessing conference facilitiesand sessions. On the positive side, recycling collection wasgenerally done by smartly designed work bikes and some policeand medical teams were equipped with bicycles. However,while free parking was provided for private cars at most venuesites, anyone arriving by bicycle was turned away. The real

shame of the Summit, though, was the nearly 300,000 tons ofcarbon dioxide produced from participants traveling to theevent. An initiative to collect donations from delegates to off-set these emissions only addressed about a seventh of the total.

The Summit to End All Summits?

All of which leads to the question of whether suchgrandiose summits are really worth the cost and effort. Thefinal price tag was about $100 million, funding that arguablywould have been better spent accomplishing some of theobjectives to which the delegates were so reluctant to fullycommit. Many participants t ook to wearing No MoreSummit stickers by the end of the event. The World Wildlife

Federation dubbed it the World Summit for Shameful Deals, a

sentiment echoed by Ricardo Navarro, chairman of Friends of

the Earth, who implored that we should never have suchshameful summits again.

The U.S. received the brunt of the criticism about theSummits rather modest accomplishments. Senior officialscountered that they could not commit U.S. citizens to vaguelyworded commitments the irony of which is that the vague-ness of wording was largely due to U.S. interventions duringthe negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wasroundly booed during his Summit remarks.

The eyes of the world were on Johannesburg, and our leaderscould only muster photo opportunities and a few platitudes.The planet and our future deserved so much more.


Only 2 miles from Sandton's opulence,

the Alexandra township goes without sidewalks.

8/14/2019 Number 14

16/3216 SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002

In June 2002, ITDPs Central EuropeAnti-Sprawl team was invited by theKrakow Real Estate Institute to Nowa

Huta, to speak to the head of theSendzimir Steel Works, the ChiefArchitect of Krakow and dozens of otherconcerned groups gathered to considerthe redevelopment of Central Europeslargest Brownfield.

In 1954, Nowa Huta was famousthroughout the socialist world as aworkers paradise. (In fact, it was estab-lished at this location and scale todilute the traditionally intellectualand religious character of Krakow.)

That year marked the opening of theSendzimir Steel Works, which by themid-1960s had become the largest steelmill in Europe. Sendzimir was not justa steel mill, it was an integrated indus-trial city, with 350 km of railway linesin its grounds, its own electric powerplant, a coal mining operation, gas sup-ply, telecommunications company, dis-trict heating system, pipe manufacturerand dozens of other upstream anddownstream industries related to steelproduction and the everyday lives of its

workers (such as a dairy for theirneeds).

As the steelworks were being con-structed, some of Polands leadingarchitects set to work designing a newresidential city nearby to house thecream of Polands industrial proletariat.Several districts with 15,000 to 20,000residents each were built around a cen-tral square. Inside these districts, chil-dren and parents could comfortablywalk to the main square without everhaving to cross a major road. The lay-

out of the town in some ways resem-bled the Dutch Woonerf model, or thepedestrian pockets or new town plan-

ning ideas increasingly fashionable inthe U.S. and Europe today. The archi-tectural style remains one of the clear-est and best examples of SocialistRealism, the state-sanctioned architec-tural style of the Soviet Union and itssatellites from 1949 to 1956. While thenew housing in Nowa Huta came, overthe years, to resemble the unattractivehousing blocks that everyone associateswith socialist alienation, the core dis-tricts of Nowa Huta remain a monu-ment to an alternative urban vision.

The buildings an odd but unobjec-tionable combination of renaissance,baroque and classical styles, with someRussian influences are surroundedwith green areas, playgrounds, day-carecenters and public plazas.

Like steel mills everywhere, however,Nowa Huta has gone through a processof downsizing. When we arrived at theseminar at the Sendzimir Administra-tive Headquarters, we uncomfortablycrossed a picket line of Solidarity unionworkers who felt the government

wasnt doing enough to save their jobs.Unable to find a foreign investor forsuch a large-scale operation, Sendzimirremains a state-owned corporation,called the HTS Steel Company. Aslate as the mid-1990s, there were stillmore than 35,000 people employed inthe Sendzimir steelworks and it s relatedindustries, but today the number hasfallen to only about 7,000. While thewhole city of Krakow had only 7%unemployment in 2001, unemploymentin Nowa Huta is 16%, and rising rapidly. All

photosbyYaakovGarb

NOW A HUTACan the M odel City

Be Rebuilt?

I n June 2002 , ITDP s Cen t ra l

Europe Anti-Sprawl team was invited

to Nowa Huta by the Krakow Real

Estate Institute to speak to the head

of the Sendzimir Steel Works, thechief architect of Krakow and dozens

of other concerned groups gathered

to consider the redevelopment of

Central Europes largest brownfield.

by Walter Hook

and Yaakov Garb

8/14/2019 Number 14

17/32

Of the original 1,000 ha for the steelmill, HTS estimates that only 300 haare needed for the part that mayremain economically viable. Th isleaves 700 ha of unused land inside theperimeter fence of the steelworks, andanother 2,000 ha of underutilized landin what was originally designed as the

buffer zone to protect the residents ofKrakow and Nowa Huta from industrialpollution. Taken together, this makesNowa Huta one of the largest brown-fields in Europe.

In Krakow overall, 25% of the land isindustrial, and only 35% is residential.In most cities, an average of 65% ofurban land is residential. More than200,000 homes could be built on theunderutilized land in Nowa Huta, as wellas office and other commercial activities.

The problem of Nowa Huta is several

massive national problems of the tran-sition all rolled into one. First and fore-most it is an issue of privatization: howto determine the value of state assetsthat remain inside the Sendzimir steel-works and restructure them in a way

that will attract investors interested inretaining at least some onsite produc-tion and employment. It would also beimportant to avoid the asset stripping removal of key assets, leavin g aworthless shell that has plagued pri-vatization efforts in Central Europe.Second, there is a massive nationalunemployment problem among anaging population unlikely to beretrained for other jobs before theyretire. What will happen to these peo-ple and their communities? Third,

there is potentially serious environ-mental contamination on some parts ofthe site, and until this contaminationis better known, investors will be wary.Fourth, unlike in the U.S. and Europe,Poland has no national governmenturban development funds to financebrownfield redevelopment.

Public funding is clearly a major com-ponent of brownfield efforts. Finally,even if the Polish government decidedto invest in brownfield redevelopment,it currently lacks even a basic inventory

of available brownfield land, let aloneany strategic framework for how to pri-oritize the use of these redevelopmentfunds. And prioritizing the use of thesefunds would not be easy. Should thefocus be on Nowa Huta, or on the morethan 7 ha of brownfield sites that con-tinue to exist in downtown Krakow, forwhich private investment should bemuch easier to attract?

State investment promotion agen-cies do exist in Central Europe, butthey do little to help brownfields.

In th e Czech Republic, for example,2,000 ha of greenfields will be devel-oped with support from CzechInvest,the state investment promotionagency, while only 140 ha of brown-fields will be improved. Increasingly

alert to the urban consequences andlost opportunit ies of this trend,CzechInvest has become an importantleader in initiatives to recycle moreurban land for development.

For a municipality to make a rationaldecision about how to prioritize itsbrownfield redevelopment efforts, itneeds a baseline of information. Tobegin with, it needs an inventory of


Todays greenfield

developments aretomorrows brownfields.

continued on p. 18

8/14/2019 Number 14

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brownfield land. The municipalitywould be well served by information onhow much of the citys tax base is gen-erated by different parts of the city.This would help in estimating how thecitys tax base would be affected by dif-ferent redevelopment efforts. Whilenational money exists in most ofCentral Europe for ecological clear-ance, municipalities lack a coherentstrategy for prioritizing the use of these

funds, and there is no relationship tothe level of ecological cleanup and thefinal use of the land, which wastesscarce funds.

After this information is collected,existing brownfields should be dividedinto four categories: a) those whichwill be redeveloped by the market withno state support; b) those which will beredeveloped by the market once theenvironmental problems are resolved(with perhaps $1 of public moneyneeded for every $5 to $10 of private

investment); c) sites which are of somesocial, economic or environmentalvalue but which will not be redevel-oped unless there is a significant pushby state authorities (perhaps $1 of pub-lic money for every $1 to $4 of privateinvestment); and d) sites which haveno value as real estate but need to becleaned up because of existing environ-mental hazards (all public money).Addit ionally, the extent to whichproperty is in an economically blightedarea, with high levels of unemploy-

ment, deteriorating property values,disinvestments and other factors, mightbe considered.

It is unclear how different portions of

the Nowa Huta complexwould be prioritized accord-ing to this system. While allof the land is state-owned,in some ways simplifyingland consolidation, much ofit is owned or leased by

daughter companies whohave in turn on-leased it toothers for very long periodsof time. Furthermore, fewinvestors are interested insuch an enormous site, andthe vertical integration ofthe transport, power, elec-tricity and other support ser-vices makes some investorsnervous. HTS Steel Com-pany and the Krakow EastEconomic Development

Agency have parceled offsome 50 ha of land whichthey are turning into a tech-nology park. This land,however, was basically agreenfield site used as farm-land inside the perimeter ofthe steelworks. A majorprinting company and oneor two other small industrialor technology firms have opened there.Some experts believe that Nowa Hutawill be best used if the government

forces factories to relocate there fromother parts of Krakow.

In the West, we are no strangers tothe problems of deindustrialization,corporate downsizing, brownfields andurban sprawl. But these processes tookplace over a period of more than 20years, beginning in the late 1960s, giv-ing government institutions time torespond to problems and diffusing theemployment impacts over a long peri-od of time. In Poland and other tran-sitional economies, on the other hand,

th is dramatic ch ange has basicallytaken place in the decade since thecollapse of socialism, along with a hostof other dramatic political and social

changes, overwhelming the weak newstate institutions abilities to respond.Sites in post-Communist count ries

have also been more difficult for thereal estate market to assimilate, as theytend to be much larger; in addition,the restitution process and its distor-tions often left properties tied up inownership limbo, or sometimes un-manageably fragmented. As a conse-quence of these difficulties, new, for-eign-dominated capitalist investmenthas gone toward sprawling greenfieldsites. But Central Europes leadersshould realize that todays greenfielddevelopments are tomorrows brown-

fields, and unless they begin to addressthem now, the problems of sprawland destruction of green space willonly get worse.



NOW A HUTA

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Unlike the relatively open U.S. mar-

ket, China has numerous forms of non-tariff barriers. In the U.S. and most ofthe world, the automobile industry isdominated by the private sector. Not soin C hina. Virtually all motor-vehicleproduction is now in joint venturesbetween foreign and state-ownedcompanies. The Chinese auto lobbydoesnt influence the government; it isthe government. Volkswagens jointventure (JV) with the ShanghaiAutomotive Group and with north-eastern Chinas First Auto Works con-

trols 45% of the total market. GeneralMotors JV with Shanghai AutomotiveGroup, Daihatsus JV with Tianjin,Suzukis JV with Changan, CitronsJV with Wuhan, and Hondas JV withGuangdong Automotive Group, allstate companies, account for 86% ofthe total market.

Chinas state-owned companies con-trol the domestic distribution networks.Most major motor-vehicle industryexperts, wanting a piece of Chinasdomestic motor-vehicle market, have

thus gone into JVs with state compa-nies. Even with very low tariffs, it willbe hard to sell cars inside China with-out a state partner. The governmentcan also prop up state-owned compa-nies with low interest loans from statebanks, government procurement con-tracts (state-owned companies are alsosome of the largest consumers of motorvehicles in China) , capital investment,supporting infrastructure investment,direct subsidies and other measures.

Industry executives are split about

whether China will become a majorauto exporter. In June 2002, Chinaexported its first shipment of automo-biles to the U.S. Though they were re-exported to Mexico, it was seen as animportant political gesture insideChina. Honda just announced that itwould build an automobile factory inGuangdong that would focus entirelyon export. With extremely low costcredit (less than 3% a year) availablefrom state banks, access to capital is nota problem. While some industry experts

believe that China is years away frombecoming a significant automobileexporter, with this kind of state sup-port, it can afford to wait.

As long as wealthy countries like theU.S. do nothing to curb our own com-pletely unsustainable consumption of

motor vehicles and oil, why shouldntChinas economy profit from it? Japangrabbed a large share of the U.S. auto-mobile market, profiting richly. Overthe next ten years, manufacturingin China might wellcapture the rest.

Exporting cars is theperfect solution . Youmake all the profits,plus you get rid of thecars. Some other coun-try has to deal with the

oil dependence, the airpollution, the trafficcongestion, the mile-high stack of used cartires that might catchfire and poison every-one for miles around.

But will Chinaseconomy grow faster if itincreases its domesticconsumption of automo-biles? Does China really need to compro-mise the livability of its cities to ensure

economic growth, or is China preparingits cities for the economy of yesterday?

Most economists agree that the morea country saves and invests, the fasteri t grows. The rapid growth of theAsian economies was clearly related totheir higher savings and investmentrates. The fastest-growing Asianeconomies Japan, Hong Kong,Singapore, Korea and China all con-sumed far fewer automobiles than othercountries at similar income levels. Themore money a country consumes on

automobiles, the less money it has leftover to save or invest, by definit ion.

The Asian economic miracle was theresult of conscious efforts to increasedomestic savings and decrease domesticconsumption of things like automobiles.

In the period of Japans economicmiracle, from 1945 until 1990, it was abit like China today. Japan had verylow levels of automobile ownership anduse compared to its per capita GNP.High consumption taxes, fuel taxes andextremely high parking charges and

land costs made automobile use veryexpensive, and government investmentwent more into public transit and railthan into roads.

At the same time, however, Japanwas developing an export-orientedautomobile industry. In the 1960s,

some 30% of the capital going to theJapanese motor-vehicle industry wascoming from heavily subsidized loansfrom the Japanese Development Bank.Japanese motor-vehicle manufacturing

was protected by a 40% tariff barrier,and soon Japanese companies had dri-ven out all but 1% of foreign car salesin the country. By 1978, Japanese carmanufacturers were so competitive thattariffs were reduced to zero. That sameyear, more than half of the cars manu-factured in Japan were exported, and40% of these went to the U.S.

Japans combined efforts in discour-aging car ownership and use athome and encouraging exports paidrich economic dividends for more

than three decades. In 1995, Japanconsumed 27% fewer cars per capitathan the U.S. Japanese workers tookthe bus to automobile plants sellingvehicles to the U.S. By not trapping itsworking class in a costly dependenceon private car ownership, Japan wasable to keep labor costs down. Andbecause Japan spent only 10% of itsGNP meeting i ts transport needs,compared to closer to 20% in the U.S.,


Photo:WalterHook

continued from p. 2

continued on p. 29

Shopping in a Shanghai pedestrian zone

Letter

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Over the last five years,the Peoples Republic of China has come to dominate theglobal bicycle industry, producing 55% to 60% of the worldsbicycles, about 60 million units in 2001. Only India, witharound 11% of global bicycle production, comes close.Japanese, Taiwanese, European and U.S. bike manufacturinghas declined rapidly, each losing 1/3 or more of their marketshare over the last five years. Today, 86% of the bicycles soldin the U.S. are imports from China, even higher end models.This should make China an important ally for the promotionof bike use worldwide. But their voice is silent.

Ironically, Chinas dominance of global bicycle produc-

tion has occurred while government policy is driving bicy-cles off Chinese streets. In many Chinese cities, exclusivebike lanes have been converted to mixed-traffic serviceroads, and bikes are being pushed onto the sidewalks, orbanned all together or major urban roads. Unsurprisingly,the drop in utilitarian bicycle use is most pronounced incities and provinces with major automobile manufacturers.In Guangzhou, home of the huge Guangzhou Motor GroupCompany-Honda joint venture, bicycle travel has fallenfrom 33% of all trips in 1995 to less than 20% today. InShanghai, home of the Shanghai Automotive Group-General Motors and Volkswagen joint ventures, bike usedropped from 33% of trips in 1995 to 27% in 2000. In

Chengdu, which has no local motor vehicle manufacturing,bicycle use has remained at 42% for the last 5 years. Becauseof the changes in traffic policy, people are operating bicyclesin increasingly unsafe road conditions. Annual traffic deathsincreased from 50,000 in 1990 to more than 100,000 in2000, and 38% of these death s are cyclists.

Total bicycle sales within China have not fallen nearly asdramatically as bike use. Bike sales peaked at 40 million, butrecently have ranged between 22 million and 25 million salesannually. But the type of bikes being sold within China havechanged dramatically. Before, old English-roadster-style com-muting bicycles dominated the industry. Today, as more andmore working people are switching to buses, motorcycles, elec-

tric bicycles, taxis or company cars, its high school kids whodominate the bike market inside China, and they want moun-tain bikes with gears.

One might think that Chinas bicycle industry, whichdirectly employs over 150,000 people, dominates world-wide

bicycle production, and generates over $1 billion a year in for-eign exchange earnings, might try to do something about theirdeclining domestic market. Even industry stalwarts likeShanghai Phoenix have seen their domestic markets drop by50%. ITDP staff asked many leaders in the Chinese bicycleindustry what could be done to advocate cycling in China.

In the U.S. too, the bike industry was years behind theNGO community in actively supporting bicycle use. Only inthe last several years, and at the prodding of NGOs, did theU.S. bike industry become more advocacy-oriented, with thedevelopment of the Bikes Belong coalition. China has fewindependent NGOs. Those noteworthy exceptions, likeGlobal Village Beijing, which does some bicycle advocacy, are


Photo:BeijingBicyclecourtesyofSonyPicturesClassics

The Sound of

Chinas Bicycle Industry?

A bove: At least some are reluctant to enter the automobile age.

Right: one of Giants 2,000 retail outlets.

by Walter Hook

8/14/2019 Number 14

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registered as private companies. Outside of Beijing, such orga-nizations are virtually non-existent. The Consumers Unions intheory could be a voice for public transit riders and cyclists, butmost of them interpret their role quite narrowly in terms ofconsumer advocacy, limiting themselves to taking surveys andpublishing the results. Using the NGO framework for advocacyis thus not really an option until the country democratizes.

The biggest bicycle companies are either still state-owned

or export-oriented foreign-owned firms. The foreign-ownedfirms are not focused on the domestic market. The state com-panies have limited their marketing to signs bearing theirbrand name at bicycle parking lots and bike shops. Theywould never dream of doing anything that criticized state poli-cy, as their management is hired and fired by the government.The Chinese automobile industry is also state run, and theymanaged to learn effective marketing from their internationaljoint-venture partners, but they had the blessing of govern-ment policy behind them, and their foreign partners werefocused on the Chinese market. The Five Rams bicycle com-pany in Guangzhou, for example, was taken over by theGuangdong Motor Group Corp., the same state-owned con-

glomerate that produces the Honda auto and motorcycle jointventures. The leadership of the Guangdong Motor GroupCorp. are very influential inside the Guangdong CommunistParty, the same policy makers who decided to phase out bicy-cles. No one who values their job at Five Rams would advo-cate general bicycle use. The joint ventures with state bicyclecompanies are almost all export-oriented.

The new, private Chinese-owned bicycle companiesmay become an advocacy force in the future, but right now,the few who focus on the domestic market have limitedexperience with basic marketing, as they are emerging from50 years of a socialist-dominated economy. They are wary ofantagonizing the government, which can make life difficult

for them in a number of ways. They are also competitors,and have no experience working together. It would be agreat leap for them to engage in joint advocacy efforts onbehalf of bicycling in general.

Perhaps foreign bike companies will eventually play anadvocacy role in China, but for now U.S. and European bikecompanies have made only the most tentative steps to enterthe Chinese domestic market, and they are aiming at high-endracing and recreational cyclists. Only the Taiwanese firmsGiant and Merida have made a serious bid to capture a share ofthe Chinese domestic market. Giant has set up over 2000retail outlets throughout the country, and Merida also hasnumerous outlets. But as Taiwanese companies, they are

already viewed with suspicion by government authorities, andmust tread lightly. Giant was compelled to float shares on theShanghai Stock Exchange to make the company more non-Taiwanese. Giant is sponsoring one of the few bike promotion-al events: an annual bike race, aimed at higher-end racingbikes. Giant U.S. has been extremely helpful in supportingbike advocacy in the U.S. through membership in BikesBelong, and the Taiwanese Bicycle Trade Association is also

considering joining. But the Taiwanese bike industry has done

very little to promote bicycle use even in Taiwan, which haslimited utilitarian cycling despite having the third-largestbicycle industry in the world.

The Chinese Bicycle Association (CBA), which repre-sents most of the major private and public bicycle compa-nies, has few resources, and it s mandate is limited to organiz-ing the Shanghai trade show and arranging visits by Chinesefirms to international trade shows. The CBA helps to spon-sor a 100-city bike race in China in cooperation with theSports Association of China. As a branch of China LightIndustrial, a government ministry, it has been reluctant tobecome involved in domestic transportation issues. Theirleaders have echoed the official position that bicycle use inChina will be for recreational purposes, viewing the removal


continued on p. 22

One Hand Clapping

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of bike lanes as a necessary measure for accommodatingincreased auto use. These are surprising views for a bicycleassociation. While the CBA has been very helpful in identi-fying appropriate suppliers for shipments of bikes to Africa,and its even conceivable that one day they might actively

promote bike use and sales in developing countries, they areunlikely to become a force for domestic bicycle advocacy.

Local bicycle retailers know their markets are being hurt bycurrent government policy, and some are quite vocal about it.However, they are not strong enough to take a leadership rolein domestic bike advocacy. Smaller independent bicycle deal-erships are weak in China, like in other transitional

economies. Many of them were set up by Giant, and are stillowned by Giant, and hence are not really independent. Allof them face competition from big box retailers like Carrefour

and Wal-Mart, which do not offer the full range of bicycle ser-vices but do offer bikes at very low prices. Carrefour, selling awhole range of products, is unlikely to become a voice forbicycle advocacy.

Global Ramifications of Chinas Overcapacity

With declining markets for utilitarian bicycles, little brandloyalty and growing competition from a growing number ofsmall private Chinese factories, bicycle prices have beenpushed downward not only in China but all over the world.This no doubt precipitated the controversial punitive anti-dumping tariffs inside Europe. As European sales fell due to the

tariff, overcapacity only got worse for Chinese bike manufac-turers, and they began selling bicycles for ridiculously lowprices. Low-end-bicycle price wars have broken out in manycountries. In Ghana, for example, a price war over the past twoyears has brought down the retail price for bottom-endChinese mountain bikes from $67 to around $25 a bike. Untila few established Chinese and international brand names

establish some credibility and a trustworthy reputation forquality, profits in the industry will suffer. A boon to low-income cyclists, perhaps, but it has also meant a race to thebottom in terms of quality.

These fantastically low Chinese prices have also under-mined the viability of manufacturing in Africa and LatinAmerica. In Africa today, bicycle production can only be con-

firmed in Uganda, Tanzaniaand Senegal, and frame pro-duction in Tunisia. The fac-tory in Uganda is owned byRoadmaster-India. It operatesat about 30% capacity, and

produces about 85,000 bikes ayear. Avon India owns thefactory in Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania, and producesaround 72,000 bikes a year. Ithas reportedly been operatingat a loss for several years.Senegals only manufacturer,ISENCY, is locally owned,producing under the Peugeotlabel, and they only produce2,000 to 3,000 bicycles a year,down from 5,000 a year 10

years ago. With the exceptionof Avon in Tanzania, most ofthe steel is imported fromIndia, and the componentsfrom India or China.

In Peru, Colombia,Chile, Brazil and some otherLatin American countries, alarge number of bicycleframes are still produced, and

some components, but most components are imported fromChina or Taiwan, and these Latin American manufacturersalso face growing competit ion from Chinese imports.

The Road Ahead?

The dramatic drop in Chinas domestic bicycle consump-tion and the deregulation and privatization of its bicycle indus-try has meant falling prices for bicycles the world over. Whilethis is good news for low-income consumers, it has underminedquality and been catastrophic for the industry.

Meanwhile, there seems little hope that the Chinese bicy-cle industry will play a significant role in advocating for morecycling-friendly domestic transportation policies. For now, thebest hope remains a change of heart among Chinas seniorpolicy-makers.


PhotocourtesyofEyesCoffee.com


China

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The Islands That

Refused to Motorize

The Islands That

Refused to Motorizeby Yaakov Garb

tepping off the ferry at Buyukada the largestof the nine Princess Islands, just 40 to 50 min-utes south of Istanbul by ferry, in the Sea of

Marmara a subtle secret is revealed: It forgot tomotorize. In 1911, when the first cars appeared inIstanbul, it was difficult to transport them to theislands, and locals were not much interested in them.As time went on, this preference became custom andthen law. Horse-drawn carriages have operated onBuyukada for well over a hundred years

and are still the main form of trans-portation. Bicycles have gained popu-larity on all the islands, whose popula-tion of 17,000 swells to a quarter of amillion during the summer tourismseason.

Buyukada remains free of privatevehicles, and one gets the sense thatmotorized vehicles (of which there arefewer than two dozen, including aschool minibus in the winter, policevans, fire engines and forest-servicepick-ups) are, at most, tolerated by the

inhabitants.Municipal police chief Huseyin

Sahin cant recall a single h orse-carriage accident in his 26 years of ser-vice and has registered few transporta-tion complaints. Some people say thatthe horses smell, and others claim thatthe few vehicles which do operate aretoo loud. He has suspended the licenses of elevencarriage drivers over the last year (out of 304 licenseddrivers). Another long-time resident once caught aforest-service vehicle carrying unofficial passengers.

We almost beat them up for it, he admitted.Almost everybody wants to keep things this way,

said Munir Hamamcioglu, a hotel owner and nativeBuyukadan. To abolish the system would be likeabolishing the queen in England.

Effective Symbiosis

The carriage hub is adjacent to the towns centralsquare, where passengers wait in line for a ride.

Carriages, which have a standard rate,

operate from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. in thesummer and 8 a.m. to midnight duringthe rest of the year. The highest fee,for circumnavigating the entire island,is just over $10. A symbiosis has devel-oped between bicycles and horse car-riages (for example, there is a tacitarrangement that bikers can hold ontocarriages going up hills). Pedestriansare also respected by carriage drivers.

Even in th is non-motorized en-vironment, there are hidden fossil fuelimpacts. Horse feed is brought in by

truck and then ferry from Sakarya,Konya, Bursa, Tekirdag and Kirklareli,between 100 and 400 km fromIstanbul. And since DDT has beenbanned, flies and mosquitoes are keptat bay during the summer by occasion-ally spraying a fine mist of unburneddiesel oil over the town at night.

(Public announcements state that this is not harmfulto humans.. .)


S

Find the obsolete technology

in this picture.

Photos:YaakovGarb

continued on p. 28

8/14/2019 Number 14

24/3224 SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002

Lima, Peru

As the nation of Peru enjoys a new democratic begin-ning, a new sustainable transport initiative dawns in itscapital city, Lima. The proposed Public TransportImprovement Program will be a $9 million GEF initia-tive under the supervision of the World Bank. TheLima project components look to place the quality oftransport service at the forefront. A wide base of coop-eration between local and national groups has beeninstrumental in the new GEF project. The Ministry ofTransport, the municipalities of Lima and Callao, the

G re e n Fund Sw it c h es

t o Su s t ain ab le Tran s p o rt

With the recent U.S. pledge to contribute

$500 million over the next four years to

help developing countries mitigate environ-

mental problems, the replenished Global

Environmental Facility (GEF) may have

new momentum to finally address transport

sectors increasing share of greenhouse gas

emissions. The U.S. decision to boost con-

tributions to the GEF after a reluctance to

increase funds for the third GEF replenish-

ment will leverage about $2.2 billion in

total new donor contributions.

Three recently announced GEF projects

in Lima, Santiago and Mexico City are a

positive sign of transports new role within

the fund. These projects herald a welcome

shift from previous GEF programs based on

expensive tailpipe technologies and a hand-

ful of hydrogen fuel-cell buses toward more

viable energy and t ransportation solutions.

The new designs for Limas proposed

Bus Rapid Transit system (top)

stand in stark contrast to existing

bicycle paths (above).

Photo:FundacinCiudadHumana

by Astra Bonini,

Carlos Cordero

and Rodrigo Quijada

8/14/2019 Number 14

25/32SustainableTransport/ Fall 2002 25

Environmental Agency, multilateral organizations andlocal NGOs have all worked together in its develop-ment and promotion. T hese groups elected the

National Environmental Fund (FONAM) to formallymanage and direct the overall initiative, which isexpected to begin in 2003. The GEF project willundertake a study of how best to scrap older buses anda revolving fund to do so. It will develop a strategy toattract commuters back to public transit, as well asimproving pedestrian and bicycle in frastructure(including cycleways and parking). Microcredits willbe reactivated for bicycle purchases, and the programwill also launch a bicycle promotion campaign.

Additionally, th e World Bank an d th e Int er-American Development Bank ( IDB) are joiningforces to finance a com-

plementary Bus RapidTransit (BRT) projectin th e city. The fundingpackage of approxi-mately $120 millionincludes more than40 km of exclusivebusways. While thecomponents of this project do not directlychallenge the growingpresence of privateautomobiles in Lima,

they do include key ele-ments to increase mobility and accessibility for thecitys low-income majority. Perhaps most important-ly, the Lima GEF project has initiated a participatoryprocess in which the citys gravest problems of pollu-tion, social exclusion and inaccessibility to employ-ment and services can be publicly addressed.

Santiago, Chile

The GEF is also taking direct aim at Santiago,Chiles infamous smog-laden skies and air-qualityhealth alerts. Like Lima, Sant iagos efforts are direct-ed toward promoting non-motorized and public

transport modes while attempting to rationalize thegrowing use of private automobiles. And as in Lima,the World Banks transport team is supervising theeffort.

The Air Quality and Sustainable Transport forSantiago project is closely linked to the UrbanTransport Plan, which hopes to reshape the face of thecity over the next decade. The Inter-MinisterialSecretariat on Transport Planning (SECTRA) isdirecting the projects initial studies, now underway.To facilitate greater public participation in the process,SECTRA has formed a work group that includes twoleading citizen-based organizations, Ciudad Viva

(Living City) and the Movimiento de los FuriososCiclistas (Movement of Furious Cyclists), as well as theNational Commission on Transit Safety and the

municipalities of uoa, Providencia and Santiago.The idea of public participation in a project of thismagnitude is relatively novel in Chile, and thus ofeven broader interest.

The project will help launch a major bicycle promo-tional campaign as well as lead to the construction ofcycleways in three districts of the city, which will formpart of the citys overall plans for nearly 1,000 km ofcycleways . Additionally, the Santiago project willevaluate hybrid electric bus technology; study theenvironmental benefits of various mass-transitoptions; consider implementing a road pricing scheme;

and support Travel Blending, a social marketing tech-nique which provides households with key informa-tion to implement mode changes.

Mexico City,

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