Supporting sustainable mobility in Asia's cities

The Southeast Asia region is projected to experience significant and rapid growth, with economic growth predicted to average 5.1 percent anually from 2017 to 2021. Considerable increases are expected in population size, economic development, urbanisation, the level of motorisation, as well as the demand for urban transport. The average increase in the rate of motorisation was 12% from 2002 to 2010, with associated implications for increased congestion, energy consumption, and air pollution including CO2 emissions. 

The ITF has developed different policy scenarios and evaluated their effect on transport demand and emissions. The ITF’s analysis has shown that an integrated land use and transport planning scenario will provide the greatest reduction in emissions and can lead to more sustainable urban transport mobility. This implies that cities need to consider a greater supply of public transport, extensive deployment of mass transit, restrictions on urban sprawl, and to prioritise the combination of public transport options with compact urban development. Such measures will increase public transport use, decrease trip distances and reduce private vehicle use.

A workshop on Sustainable Urban Mobility in ASEAN Cities convened in Bangkok, Thailand, on 21 November to focus on Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and the assessment of urban mobility. TOD is a measure that reflects integrated land use and transport planning and has been implemented successfully in numerous cities. The workshop, jointly organised by the ITF, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT) and UNESCAP, was opened by ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim (photo). The main objectives were to share best practice and to identify specific policies that will support TOD in ASEAN cities, such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.