Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Breaking the projected
trend (Delhi)
The Emperor published an edict, commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the
smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us there have
been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one Emperor lost his life, and another his crown
[. . .]. It is computed, that eleven thousand persons have, at several times, suffered death, rather than
submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.
(Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels , 1726, p. 44)
Introduction
Delhi is one of the world's largest megacities, rapidly growing over recent years, with a pattern
of growth similar to a cluster of South Asian cities including Bangalore, Bangkok, Jakarta,
Karachi, Lahore, Manila and Mumbai. All these cities face similar challenges in terms of
urban transport. The dramatic projected rise in GHG and CO2 emissions poses a major
challenge for Asia, but also with global repercussions due to the scale involved. Population
growth, increased urbanisation and sprawl, and increased average incomes and consumption,
mean that travel demand is rising rapidly. The supply of transport funding and infrastructure
to meet these challenges lags behind the growth in demand. Critically, there are limited funds
available for investment, and this together with poor coordination and inertia in policy processes
means that highway construction and motorisation are often the main elements of investment
programmes. Naisbitt (1996, p. 10) sets the context and challenge: 'What is happening in Asia
is by far the most important development in the world today [. . .] not only for Asians, but
also for the entire planet'.
The choice of context within case studies is critical in 'bounding' or 'framing' the lessons
that can be derived (Flyvbjerg, 2011; Dimitriou, 2006a), and cities in Asia, in particular,
provide us with some very different understandings of the pathways towards sustainable
mobility in view of the transport baselines and the opportunities. Urban traffic growth and
congestion levels are at extreme levels in many parts of Asia, particularly in cities such as
Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila, with very long commute and journey times being part
of everyday life for a significant cohort of the population. The urban transport problem in
Asia has been considered since at least the 1970s, with various attempts to describe the
'malady' or difficulties in travel, essentially the immense growth in traffic demand, the resulting
casualties, environmental pollution, poor conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, congestion,
and poor public realm; and the differing strategies for dealing with these issues, often in the
face of low funding levels (Thompson, 1977; 1983; Dimitriou and Banjo, 1990; Dimitriou,
1992; Schipper et al., 2000; Gwilliam, 2002; Asian Development Bank, 2009; Darido et al.,
2009). 1
Barter (2000) describes the different developmental paths taken by selected cities in
 
 
 
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