URBANISATION II

THE NEW URBANISM ROUNDUP

Daniel Burnham, 1909 Plan of Chicago

His vision for Chicago and other American cities made a seminal steps for new, modern cities. It aimed to create a city that was both aesthetically pleasing (think "City Beautiful" movement) and efficient in its layout. While not fully implemented, it played an important influence for modern planning and the role of parks, forest and waterways.

©Peter Calthorpe,The next American Metropolis, 1993

Often credited with the concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), which focuses on creating walkable, mixed-use communities centered around public transportation systems It was seminal in that it put a system that was mass transit, not motor vehicle in the center of the new city planning.

Hong Kong Mass Transport Study, 1965

It was the 60's. A new impetus was gathering in Hong Kong. Rapid urbanisation, limited land supply and a budgetary constraint was driving a new urbanisation model, that was to stream across Asia in due course. This Freeman, Fox & Partners seminal works, was to have a far-reaching impact in HK and elsewhere. Lets review this in more details in other papers.

© Kinder Institute for Urban Research. New development along Houston rail.

The above paper discusses an interesting development, where real estate development drive has supported development around transit. However, the opposite can also take place, where transit is frequently taken to development which can support such transit systems.

This ToD model has been proved time and again in Asia, where such symbiotic relationship between large urban development can only be facilitated by the mass transport connector. The Tokyo metro, HK, etc. model is cited.

The model of urbanisation has changed substantially since the day of Daniel Burnham. Whilst there is no definite solution for the new urbanism, A higher density, mixed used, city planning, which is dynamic, vibrant and connected is desirable. This is of course due to the need to resizes the cities to a smaller footprint, address population growth, etc. Many of the new cities, particularly in Asia and in the very near future in Africa will be very different due to the density of the cities required.

Presently many developed medium to larger cities in EU and the USA generally have density from 5000-10,000 people per square km, (where such density will trigger a mass transit systems), and can presently afford new transit systems, new cities in Asia and Africa will have substantially more population. Meaning cities will need a transit system, despite their economics.

Dense cities also allow for the government agencies to provide vital infrastructure in a smaller footprint, instead of extending this to a larger landmass.

Nevertheless, as a sign of times, that cities like Copenhagen and Macau (Population of ~600K) now have transit systems. So, the underlying basis of present and future urbanisation is fully linked by a very well-designed transit system, which the cities cannot afford to ignore, to meet its sustainable initiatives.

THE FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF URBAN TRANSPORT STRATEGY

Urban transport can contribute to poverty reduction both indirectly, through its impact on the city economy and hence on economic growth, and directly, through its impact on the daily needs of poor people. However, urban transport exhibits a fundamental paradox. How can a sector with such an obvious excess of demand over supply and with such a heavy involvement of private suppliers of service fail so completely to meet the aspirations of both politicians and citizens? Why has it not been possible to mobilize commercial initiative to yield the kind of revolution in service quality and cost that has been achieved in the telecommunications, water, and energy sectors? Finally, why does increasing affluence seem to have the effect of reducing the quality of travel, at least for poor people

CITIES ON THE MOVE , A WORLDBANK URBAN TRANSPORT STRATEGY REVIEW 2002

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