Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest 11 April 2008

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Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest

Vol. 5 Issue 6

11 April 2008

SUMA News Digest is a free weekly e-mail publication that features
news,
information, and events related to sustainable urban transportation in
Asia.

*** VISIT THE SUMA PAGES: http://www.cleanairnet.org/suma ***

SUMA Partners on the Move!

GTZ-SUTP: Specialized training course on Mass Rapid Transit Options
and Bus Rapid
Transit in Jinan,China with 2-day workshop open for policymakers and
other stakeholders
24-25 April 2008
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1067&Itemid=1&lang=uk

GTZ-SUTP and I-CE: Specialized training course on Non-motorized
Transportation Planning
at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, India
10-16 April 2008
http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1067&Itemid=1&lang=uk

UNCRD: Meeting report of the 3rd Regional Environmentally Sustainable
Transport (EST) Forum
in Asia 17-19 March 2008 held in Singapore is now available!
http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/3rd-regional-est-forum/doc/Meeting-Summary-3rd-EST-Forum-Singapore-17-19Mar2008-FINAL.pdf

CAI-Asia Center: Center signs agreement with the Department of
Transportation and Communications
in the Philippines in support of the UNCRD EST technical assistance
for the Philippines.
18 March 2008
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72485.html


* * * * *

HEADLINES

BEIJING, CHINA: China's SUV Culture: Flaunting Fat Wallets While
Choking on Dirty Air
21 March 2008

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, more
than 370,000 of
the vehicles were sold in China last year, a 58 percent increase over
2006. The bulk
of the sales concentrated on mid- and high-end models, which are
expected to dominate
the market in 2008.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72491.html

BEIJING, CHINA: China launched bigger transport ministry managing
road, water and air
routes
11 March 2008

A government reshuffle plan announced by State Councilor Hua Jianmin
to a parliament
session said the new department under the State Council, or the
cabinet, will
incorporate the current Ministry of Communications, the Civil Aviation
Administration
of China and the section of urban traffic management under the
Ministry of Construction.
http://english.gov.cn//2008-03/11/content_917003.htm

DELHI, INDIA: Delhi to have an 'intelligent' traffic system by 2010
9 March 2008

The capital's traffic system is in for a major overhaul before the
Commonwealth Games
in 2010, with Delhi Police planning to put in place an IT-driven
Intelligent Traffic
System (ITS) which will monitor and streamline vehicular movement.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72457.html

More air quality and sustainable mobility news at
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-14783.html

* * * * *

INTERESTING FINDS

Cycling in the Netherlands (2007)

This publication prepared by the Ministry of Transport, Public Works
and Water
Management was based on the frequent requests for information from
policy-makers,
politicians and NGO's from all over the world. This comprehensive
brochure about
cycling in the Netherlands gives an actual overview on the results and
findings
of relevant studies and experiences.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72518.html

The Costs and Benefits of Road Pricing:
Comparing Nationwide Charging with Project-Based Schemes (2007)

This Institute of Economic Affairs (UK) paper critically examines the
case for
road pricing and discusses the optimal scale of charging systems. The
costs and
benefits of nationwide and project-based schemes are compared using
evidence from
case studies and economic modelling.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72464.html

Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change
(2007)

This report by the Urban Land Institute in the U.S. discuss how key
changes in land
development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas
emissions. Based on a
comprehensive review of dozens of studies by leading urban planning
researchers,
the book concludes that urban development is both a key contributor to
climate change
and an essential factor in combating it.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72489.html

* * * * *

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

10th Tour of the Fireflies!
20 April 2008, Manila, Philippines
The Tour of the Fireflies (ToF) is an annual 50-km bicycle ride
through seven cities
to promote the use of the bicycle as an alternative means of
transportation that is
cheap, efficient, environmentally sensible and good for one's health.
http://www.fireflybrigade.org/TOF/TOF.html

UITP 2nd Sustainable Development Conference
Making tomorrow today
22-24 October 2008, Milan, Italy
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72425.html

Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshop 2008
12-14 November 2008 Bangkok, Thailand
Call for Abstracts ongoing; First Call for Pre-events
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72312.html

See more SUT events
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-27089.html

See CAI-Asia's events calendar
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-13577.html


* * * CONTRIBUTE * * *

To contribute articles, news items, or event announcements for the
next
issue, send an email with the complete details and URL source to
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Past issues from Feb 2007 are found at
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* * * ABOUT SUMA * * *

The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program of the Clean Air
Initiative for Asian Cities ( www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), Asian
Development Bank ( www.adb.org), EMBARQ-the World Resources Institute
Center
for Sustainable Transport ( http://embarq.wri.org ), GTZ Sustainable
Urban
Transport Project ( www.sutp.org), Interface for Cycling Expertise (
www.cycling.nl), Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (
www.itdp.org), and United Nations Center for Regional Development (
www.uncrd.or.jp/est) is made possible through the generous support of
the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ( www.sida.se).

SUMA works with Asian countries and cities to strengthen then
formulation
and implementation of sustainable urban transportation policies,
specifically in (i) improving urban air quality by adopting AQM
planning in
sustainable transport policies and promoting public transportation,
(ii)
improving road safety by encouraging non-motorized transport and
public
transport, and (iii) reducing transport's contribution to climate
change by
adopting a co-benefits approach with urban air quality management.