Abstract:

The overall goal of the Third Phase of Urban Environmental Management Project (UE Project) was to contribute towards better management of the urban environment in Asian cities by developing new ideas and tools, analysing various factors that facilitate the formulation and implementation of policies, and evaluating their limitations and advantages. Many cities in Asia have not been able to solve urban environmental issues on their own due to lack of capacities, finance and technology. To fully address those issues, it is not sufficient to make these cities solely accountable. It is also necessary to involve other stakeholders such as national governments and the global community. The project's decision to focus on strategies to link local issues with global issues, specifically mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) came as a breakthrough. Thus, under the theme of "integrating global concerns into urban environmental management in Asia", research was conducted on the urban transportation sector, which is thought to be the fastest growing energy consumption sector as well as the most promising sector for integrating air pollution control with greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation studies during the Third Phase focused primarily on reduction in travel activities and promotion of modal shifts, which are the two major strategies that simultaneously have potentials to reduce local pollutants, traffic congestions and greenhouse gases. During the course of research, case studies were conducted for Mumbai (India), Bangkok (Thailand), Shanghai (China), Yokohama (Japan), Beijing (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia). In addition, one cross-city comparative analysis was carried out on the policy process to introduce Bus Rapid Transit Systems in Jakarta, Seoul and Beijing. The rationale behind selecting those priority areas and case study cities are described in Chapter Three, following an overview of the transport and environment in Asian cities in the next chapter.

URL: http://enviroscope.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/upload/836/attach/836_air_pollution_control_transportation.pdf