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Upcoming SMART Events (SAVE THE DATE!) |
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Case study briefs |
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SMART news |
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About SMART |
Dear Friend of SMART:Welcome to Issue #3 of SMART’s e-NEWS. This issue’s case study briefs focus on sustainable transportation as a key to livable cities. Then we catch you up with a quick summary of the latest SMART news and events. To learn more about SMART’s mission and activities and how to get involved, please go to ABOUT SMART. We’d like to hear from you. Please send your comments, questions, related research, favorite innovations, case studies, and collaboration ideas to Susan Zielinski, Managing Director of SMART at susanz@umich.edu. For past issues of SMART e-NEWS, see:
Case study briefsTransmilenio in Bogotá – toward a new civic spiritFrom the homepage of Bogotá’s TransMilenio bus rapid transit [BRT] system, one immediately gets the sense that the vision is grander than merely getting from point A to point B. Slogans read: Bogotá Sin Indiferencia and Orgullo Capital: Bogota Without Indifference and Pride of the Capital. Looking at the principles of TransMileneo reveals not only “Consistency” and “Affordability,” but “Respect for Life,” “Respect for Users’ Time,” and “Respect for Human Diversity.” Indeed, the system has had a remarkable effect on traffic and city life. As it moved from concept to reality in just two years, TransMilenio brought measurable results: SO2 emisisons are down 43%, travel time is down 32%, and approval rating for the system is 98%. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it took a bold leader to drive this bold vision: Enrique Peñalosa was elected mayor of Bogota in 1998 and moved quickly to re-cast Bogotá as a city built for people, not for cars. Bogota’s need was acute, since 140,000 people and 70,000 cars are added to its streets each year, causing traffic gridlock. The TransMilenio solution was chosen over a subway system partly because its US$300 million pricetag for 38 kilometers of coverage was a fraction of the cost. What’s more, despite an affordable $0.40 per ticket, the system operates at a profit. Enhanced by reforms that increase pedestrian and cycling access while restricting personal car use, TransMilenio has made Bogota livable again. The most striking results from this reborn Bogota is that violent crime is down city-wide, from 84 homocides per 100,000 in 1998 to 30 per 100,000 in 2003; by comparison, Atlanta is at 36, Chicago at 21. With all its success, TransMilenio is due for an expansion: existing plans are for the initial 38 kilometers of service to expand to 388, with coverage extending to within 500 meters of 85 percent of Bogotanos, by 2015. |
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TransMilenio Essentials |
Project for Public SpacesThis issue’s local case study pick is a New York-based national organization called Project for Public Spaces. In tune with the spirit of Bogota’s transformation, PPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities and make great public spaces (that prominently feature sustainable transportation). Visit their website at www.pps.org. Cases selected and presented by John Gearen
SMART newsMichael Glotz Richter on Michigan TVIf you missed Michael Glotz Richter when he was in Ann Arbor for the SMART Learning Community event back in March, you can catch his talk in its entirety on Michigan TV. It will air on ComCast Channel 22 on Thursday May 17 at 8 pm, on Friday May 18 at 1 pm, and on Sunday May 20 at 4:30 pm. Michael Glotz-Richter is a leading innovator in integrated, sustainable urban transportation. Among other things he has developed the New Mobility Hub network approach in Bremen Germany, and has inspired similar efforts in cities across Europe, in Canada, and world-wide. His success in integrating public transport, car sharing, clean vehicles, bicycles, urban design, new technologies, and urban goods movement won Bremen the CIVITAS “City of the Year” award in 2005. Mary Crass, ECMT – June 21 & 22Mary Crass heads up the Sustainable Transport group of the European Conference of Transport Ministers of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. With support from the National Science Foundation Human and Social Dynamics Program, she’ll join SMART in Ann Arbor to present recent trends and policies in Europe and beyond. Watch your email for details. Dr. Joseph SussmanOn April 27, SMART welcomed the pre-eminent Dr. Joseph Sussman of MIT to Michigan to present and discuss his most recent work. Dr. Sussman originated and specializes in the ground-breaking study of “Complex, Large-Scale, Interconnected, Open, Sociotechnical” (CLIOS) Systems related to transportation. He has focused recently on developing a new methodology for regional strategic transportation planning (RSTP) as a special case of the CLIOS Process, integrating ideas from strategic management, scenario-building, and technology architectures, and applying it to cases in the U.S. and abroad. Currently his work in this area deals with transportation, technology, and sustainability in Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and most recently in Portugal. This talk was captured on video. Watch future emails for the link to his talk. Thanks to the National Science Foundation HSD program for making this SMART Learning Community event possible. Accessibility Index Research UnderwayUrban and Regional Planning Chair (and SMART member) Jonathan Levine and his team have begun work on developing an accessibility index for North America. The study, entitled “Metropolitan Accessibility and Transportation Sustainability: Comparative Indicators for Policy Reform” is being funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute (GESI). New Mobility Industry Meeting in India this summer.Back in January, SMART presented on New Mobility industry development at a cities conclave in Bangalore India. As a direct result the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is developing and hosting an industry event focused specifically on private sector innovation opportunities related to New Mobility. The event will bring together key private sector leaders representing manufacturing, IT, real estate, logistics, marketing, and other New Mobility-related industries to identify and catalyse collaborative projects and research. SMART is collaborating on this initiative with Drs. Moira Zellner and Vonu Thakuria of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Members of the SMART Masters project (see below) will also participate. SMART in South AfricaIndustry dialogue continues on SMART’s South Africa project in preparation for World Cup 2010 games. See future newsletters for updates. SMART Masters Project Focuses on New Mobility Industry DevelopmentThis year’s SMART masters team is exploring new business models, strategic alliances, and marketing approaches related to New Mobility development. While on-site work will concentrate on India and South Africa, research results from the 18 month project are intended to be more generally relevant to New Mobility development in urban regions world wide. This year’s project builds on prior masters teams’ work to hone the industry integration concept and to identify key global markets. The project is supported with thanks by the Erb Institute, the William Davidson Institute, and Ford Motor Company. SMART at LargeSMART continues to be out and about. SMART members have been and will be presenting in New York City, Capetown, Portugal, Toronto, and more. Watch future newsletters for more details.
About SMARTSMART (Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation) is an inter-disciplinary project of CARSS (Center for Advancing Research and Solutions for Society *) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It focuses on sustainable transportation and accessibility in city regions of the world. This is both timely and relevant as the global challenge of urban mobility becomes rapidly more vexing and complex. The accelerating pace of urbanization, population growth, globalization, and demographic shifts is leading increasingly to transportation systems that threaten climate, environment, biodiversity, energy security, social equity, productivity, and urban competitiveness. Yet the vital role of mobility and accessibility to meeting our daily personal and business needs cannot be denied. SMART takes a unique systems approach to understanding and transforming the future of urban mobility and accessibility. Moving beyond the technical fix alone, it "connects the dots," bringing together the various disciplines and sectors, the players, the theoretical approaches and the practical applications required to tackle urban transportation's growing complexity, sophistication, impacts, and opportunities. Through collaborative, trans-disciplinary, multi-sectoral research, on-the ground projects, and academic programs, SMART concentrates in four main research and action areas: • Systems-based analysis and solution-building • Accessibility-based planning and policy making • Sustainability – environmental, social, and economic • New Mobility markets – identifying and developing new markets and business models for integrated urban transportation SMART's innovative, integrative, applied approach carves a unique niche for whole systems solution-building that works to address the mobility and accessibility challenges of the 21st century. SMART brings together the efforts of a wide range of academic and industrial partners: the Center for the Study of Complex Systems, the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (TCAUP), the Ross School of Business, the School of Natural Resources & Environment (SNRE), the Institute for Social Research (ISR), the department of Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering (and Wu Manufacturing Research Center), the Ford School of Public Policy, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), the school of Literature Science & the Arts (LS & A), and the Ford Motor Company, and others. * CARSS was established in January, 2003 to extend and strengthen the intellectual and methodological foundations of social and behavioral science, and the degree to which that science is applied to addressing society's most pressing problems and abiding dilemmas (http://www.isr.umich.edu/carss/).
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