News
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Established in memory of Dr. Lee Schipper, the scholarship has helped advance the field of sustainable mobility for four years
The Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency is awarded annually to up to two extraordinary candidates to honor the legacy of Dr. Leon J. Schipper, pictured above, co-founder of EMBARQ. Photo by EMBARQ.
EMBARQ, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities’ sustainable urban mobility initiative, and the Lee Schipper family are pleased to announce Gwen Kash has been selected to receive the fourth annual Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship.
Established in 2012, the Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship celebrates EMBARQ founder Dr. Lee Schipper’s vision and contributions to sustainable transport and energy. Last year’s recipients – Erik Vergel-Tovar and Madeline Brozen – studied the relationship between BRT ridership and the built environment and the design of complete streets, respectively.
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Collaboration through the Transit Metropolis program to target private car use and support public transport
Mayor of Suzhou LU Liusheng and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities Director of Strategy and Global Policy and EMBARQ Director, Holger Dalkmann, inked the MOU to officially launch a series of cooperation on the Transit Metropolis demonstration project between WRI and Suzhou Municipal Government. Photo Credit: EMBARQ China
Currently home 4.16 million people, the city of Suzhou in China is growing at such a rapid rate that its economic activity has nearly reached that of first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. However, rapid economic growth has also produced the same mobility challenges—major traffic congestion, pipe-tail emissions, and increased road incidents--that have plagued the first-tier cities.
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Event will be broadcast live on www.cidadesetransportes.org
Register now for the Cities & Transport International Congress.
Given the widespread challenges of urbanization, mayors need to learn from one another and gain fresh ideas in order to pioneer projects that result in sustainable cities. To inspire city leaders worldwide, WRI Brasil Sustainable Cities is hosting the Mayors’ Summit, which will be attended by Ken Livingstone, Enrique Peñalosa, Mary Jane Ortega, Jaime Lerner, and Sam Adams.
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New publication serves as a practical guide for helping Brazilian cities develop mobility plans
Cycling in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Benoit Colin.
In 2012, President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil passed legislation that required cities with more than 20,000 residents to incorporate urban mobility planning in their greater development plans in order to receive federal development funding. Known as the National Policy on Urban Mobility, this legislation established principles, guidelines and tools to guide cities in creating urban mobility plans.
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Officials exchanged insights and ideas, identified potential new programs
Two cyclists in Caddebostan, Istanbul, Turkey. Credit: Benoit Colin/WRI.
Bike share has become one of the fastest growing trends in urban transport over the past ten years. From 2004 to 2014, the number of cities with bike share systems increased from 11 to 855. With nine cities already operating bike share systems, Turkey is showing substantial interest in moving toward more sustainable urban mobility.
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Online platform BRTData.org now features 402 mapped BRT corridors and bus lanes
Photo by Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brasil
August, 2015 marks an important milestone for BRTData.org—an online database that tracks bus rapid transit (BRT) systems worldwide: the number of mapped BRT systems and corridors passed 400.
BRT is expanding globally. Currently, there are 195 cities with bus priority systems, serving approximately 32.4 million people served every day. With the platform’s latest update, the tool registered three new corridors, including Brampton, Canada and Cordoba, Argentina, bringing the total to 402 corridors and systems.
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A week-long case study revealed lessons for sustainable urban development in Brazil
The Busway, a bus service in the UK. Photo credit: Maria Fernanda Cavalcanti/EMBARQ Brasil
To stay competitive on a global level, London reinvents itself every day. Through the London Infrastructure Plan 2050, the Greater London Authority (GLA) is responsible for ensuring that this happens. The GLA implements low-carbon reforms in transport, energy, and waste management, using urban planning to address population growth in the metropolitan area.
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A bi-annual workshop from WRI India Sustainable Cities convened experts, emphasized the need for quality transport services
Transport in Gurgaon, India. Photo Credit: Peter Makholm/Flickr (slightly modified from the original)
“When we plan a city, the plans are usually restricted to land-use. But we need to move beyond land-use. What’s more important is how to move people” –Vikas Gupta, Municipal Commissioner of Gurgaon, India
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Release: Report Provides Urban Design Recommendations for Healthier Cities, Fewer Traffic Fatalities
Guide for urban planners and policymakers details specific design elements with examples from Tokyo, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, New York, Paris and more.
Intersection in São Paulo. Photo Credit: Mariana Gil/EMBARQ Brasil
WASHINGTON (JULY 23, 2015)— A new report, Cities Safer by Design, offers practical guidance for designing safer streets and communities that can reduce traffic fatalities and improve people’s lives. More than 1.3 million people are killed in traffic crashes worldwide, making traffic fatalities one of the leading causes of death in cities, especially in developing countries. Children, elderly, and poor people are particularly vulnerable.
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A new report examines past success, outlines recommendations for future progress
Cyclists in Turkey. Photo Credit: Serkan Aygören
Motorized vehicle emissions are a primary cause of air pollution and have some of the most adverse impacts on public health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exposure to heavy traffic—even living near a major road—is associated poor health outcomes and high mortality rates. In 2012, outdoor air pollution caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide, 88 percent of which occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
