EMBARQ Brazil launches series of workshops on sustainable urban mobility
Located at the southern tip of Brazil, the city of Pelotas is home to around 346,000 inhabitants and was the site of recent seminar on urban mobility organized by EMBARQ Brazil. Photo by Roger Amaral Scheridon de Moraes/Flickr.
EMBARQ Brazil’s newest project, “From PAC to Plan”, is an effort to increase technical knowledge on sustainable urban mobility plans. Targeted towards medium-sized cities all over Brazil, the initiative aims to increase the quality of Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) projects and help cities to develop their mobility plans. For two days (May 2-3, 2013), the southern city of Pelotas, which has 346,000 residents, hosted the first of what will be a series of workshops on sustainable mobility planning.
The first session was attended by 140 participants including local authorities and technicians, university students, and companies and associations related to transport. The content was focused on information about existing studies and plans for the city, building local capacity, and aligning multiple concepts.
“No more roads, but management and organization”
EMBARQ Brazil director Luis Antonio Lindau was featured as the workshop’s opening speaker. "Brazilian cities do not need more roads,” explained Lindau, “but rather management and organization of the flow on these roads."
In the second session, EMBARQ Brazil led closed-door sessions with an audience of 40 technicians, city officials, and transport company representatives. Discussions included the PAC concept design, risk evaluation, and the construction of a roadmap for the project. “The work you have been doing is decisive for city government”, said Pelotas Mayor Eduardo Leite during the session.
“A historic moment for the city”
Joseane Almeida, Secretary of Management and Urban Mobility for the city of Pelotas, called the workshop “a historic moment for the city,” and added, “the experience and knowledge EMBARQ Brazil brought to this event will be key to the development of our mobility plan”.
A continued Pelotas-EMBARQ Brazil partnership
EMBARQ Brazil prepared a detailed report containing the conclusions of the workshop - as well as technical recommendations for the city - which was delivered to Mayor Leite. EMBARQ Brazil will follow up with Pelotas to guarantee that the newly developed mobility plan will fully comply with sustainability practices and that future PAC funded projects will adequately meet the demands of the city.
"The activity was very motivating and enriching,” remarked Secretary Almeida. “With the effective participation of all present, we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with EMBARQ Brazil."
