Cities at Large
Our Mission // We catalyze and help implement environmentally, socially and financially sustainable urban transport and urban development solutions to improve quality of life in cities.
Our Impact // Since 2002, the EMBARQ Network has worked globally with city and national governments, strategic partners, and the private sector to achieve on-the-ground change and influence policy at the local, national and international levels.
Pictured: Mexico City Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). Photo by Jess Kraft/Shutterstock.
Between 2011 and 2013, EMBARQ Turkey helped to pedestrianize over 250 streets in Istanbul’s Historic Peninsula (pictured), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. EMBARQ Turkey partnered with local government to revitalize public spaces that had been severely challenged by traffic congestion, improving air quality and reducing traffic crashes. Pedestrianization projects have been shown to reduce fatalities by 60%. Future work will replicate this approach in three historic Turkish cities by 2019. Photo by Clayton Lane/EMBARQ.
EMBARQ Mexico influenced the design of the Los Pilares development in Monterrey, Mexico, working with Casas GEO – one of Latin America’s largest housing developers – to bring transit-oriented development (TOD) principles to the 62,000-resident development. EMBARQ Mexico’s design recommendations improved street design to better serve cyclists and pedestrians and increased access to mass transport systems. Similar measures are being adopted across Mexico through local reforms and new approaches to national policy. Photo by Julie Clerc/EMBARQ Mexico.
EMBARQ India helped the city of Bangalore transform its city bus system, organizing the BIG (Bangalore Intra-city Grid) bus network. Launched in September 2013, the new integrated transport system introduced express service and bus rapid transit (BRT), saving passengers an average of 20 minutes per day. Over the next two years, the BIG bus network will expand to include over 2,000 buses and serve two million people daily, bringing total travel time savings to an estimated 660,000 hours each day, the equivalent of 82,500 eight-hour workdays. Photo by Noppasin/Shutterstock.
The Brazilian government’s national Growth Acceleration Program (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento), “PAC”, provides US$57 billion in funding for Brazilian cities to develop urban mobility plans and sustainable transport projects. EMBARQ Brazil is supporting medium- sized Brazilian cities to develop urban mobility plans – a requirement for all cities over 20,000 inhabitants by 2015 – in order to qualify for this funding, adopt global best practices, and foster discussion among local stakeholders. Pictured: Passenger on Rio de Janeiro's TransOeste bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Photo by Benoit Colin/EMBARQ.
EMBARQ Mexico partnered with the Mario Molina Center to pioneer the establishment of a national fuel efficiency standard for light duty vehicles, which became law on June 21, 2013. This is the first fuel efficiency standard for light duty vehicles in Latin America. Implementing the Vehicle Efficiency Standard will regulate roughly 6 million vehicles over five years, reducing CO2 emissions by about 125 million tons in that time frame, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emissions reduced by a forest ten times the size of Mexico City. Pictured: Mexico City, Mexico. Photo by Pulpolux !!!/Flickr.
Predominantly rural for most of the 20th century, China is now expected to be 64% urban by 2025. EMBARQ China is seizing this moment of opportunity to help cities implement sustainable mobility solutions that accommodate this rapid growth. EMBARQ China works in Beijing to help develop the city’s low-emission zone implementation plan, in Jinan to promote trolley and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, in Qingdao to integrate transport and land use planning, and in Chengdu to curb motorization and conduct transport demand management. These local partnerships set the stage for further influence in Chinese cities. Pictured: Pedestrian crossing in Guangzhou, China. Photo by GuoZhongHua/Shutterstock.
Our mission is to catalyze and help implement environmentally, socially and financially sustainable urban transport and urban development solutions to improve quality of life in cities. Since 2002, the EMBARQ Network has worked globally with city and national governments, strategic partners, and the private sector to achieve on-the-ground change and influence policy at the local, national and international levels. With centers in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Turkey, EMBARQ has already influenced 120 cities and has the goal of influencing 200+ emerging cities by 2016.
We work to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities worldwide, making cities safer by design. EMBARQ’s on-the-ground work helps to expand sustainable urban mobility options by shifting urban design and transport infrastructure to serve people, not cars. By helping to shift passengers to efficient, high-capacity modes of transport, EMBARQ helps reduce time spent traveling, giving urban residents more time to live, not commute. We work to ensure that investments in sustainable urban development and transport projects achieve maximum impact, and catalyze sustainable transport solutions that reduce the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted by the transport sector, helping to mitigate climate change. To learn more about EMBARQ's mission and work, download the brochure below, "Cities At Large."
