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Transport planning for third world cities
Book reviews
Transport development milestone TRANSPORT PLANNING THIRD WORLD CITIES by Harry T. Dimitriou George A. Banjo
Routledge,
London,
FOR
and assisted
by
UK, 1990, pp 432
This book carries two principal messages: the study of urban transport problems cannot be detached from the context of overall development, and that transport planning techniques developed and based on the experience of the industrialized economies, cannot be indiscriminately transplanted to Third World situations. In adducing these themes, Harry Dimitriou and George Banjo have done a marvellous job in assembling an international team of 13 transport academics and practitioners to come up with a major publication geared specifically to the needs of Third World settlements. The book certainly represents one of the major milestones in the relatively scanty literature concerning Third World transport development. Organized into three parts, with four chapters in each, the book addresses the development characteristics (Chapter l), transport problems (Chapter 2), inadequacies of urban public transport (Chapter 3). and role of non-motorized travel (Chapter 4) in Third World cities in Part One. Chapter 4, which presents an incisive case study of the nature and extent of non-motorized transport, both as a means of travel and a source of employment, in India, is most noteworthy. Besides having a sharply defined focus, the discussion is well illustrated with photographs and informative statistics, making the chapter lively and reading it an enjoyable experience. The pivotal role played by nonmotorized transport in the economies of Third World cities, as exemplified by the Indian experience, should alert planners, both teachers and practitioners, concerned with Third World urban transport, to an interesting set
440
of problems worthy of careful, scholarly attention. The other three chapters are less inspiring. Chapter 1 delves at length into the develomental characteristics of Third World economies, but fails to trace the cause-effect relationship that links the transport situations of Third World cities to their endemic political. socioeconomic, and cultural traits. The chapter is further weakened by the reproduction of several multi-page tables on development indicators, population, and urbanization from various World Development Reports of the World Bank. Although these are relegated to an Appendix, the relevance of these tables becomes questionable since the chapter provides no comparable statistics on travel demand in Third World countries which could be tied back to their development characteristics. Chapter 2 provides a good narration of the transport problems in Third World cities. However, no attempt is made to contrast the problems and their causes with those of developed countries ~ in what way do transport problems between the two differ? Or are their problems similar but the underlying causes vary? Chapter 3 is stuffed with largely unsubstantiated presumptuous prose. Words like ‘typically’. ‘usually’ and ‘generally’ are relentlessly used. Rather than attempting an in-depth analysis of a few case studies to drive home its argument that low capital investments in vehicles and infrastructure constitute the root causes of urban public transport inadequacies in Third World cities, the article embarks on a generalized review of the problems. Without referencing to some consistent contexts backed by systematic data sources, the chapter suffers from lack of concrete, coherent evidence, apart from some rather unrelated examples sprinkled here and there, resulting in a text which reads more like a newspaper report than a scholarly researched publication. Part Two reviews the applicability and effectiveness of the concepts and methodologies of urban transport
planning in the Third World context. An excellent historical overview on the development of the urban transport process (UTP) is given in Chapter 5, which is followed by an extensive deliberation of the often overlooked, but critical, issues underlying urban transport project appraisal in Chapter 6. Transport planning students learning the UTP process should find Chapter 5 rewarding and those studying the techniques of transport project appraisal could benefit immensely from the technical and non-technical pointers raised in Chapter 6. Chapter 7, on institutional frameworks for transport planning in Third World cities, brings forth a host of bureaucratic obstacles which continue to frustrate the process of plan implementation in developing nations. The example of the Sao Paula Metropolitan Area is, therefore, refreshing, as not many similar discourses have been given of other Third World cities owing to the politically sensitive nature of the subject.
Travel demand analysis A highly comprehensive piece on the relevance of urban transport planning developments to Third World practice, Chapter 8, presumably, was written sometime in the early 1980s. However, the impacts of developments in computer technology and in the theory and methods of travel demand analysis discussed in the chapter remain as valid today as they were a decade ago. Part Three presents some of the emerging approaches to Third World urban transport planning. The simplified transport network model based on traffic count data discussed in Chapter 9 and the two case studies (one in Cairo, Egypt, and the other in Guadalajara, Mexico) of urban transport corridor planning presented in Chapter 10. which outlined two contrasting situations of data availability and planning objectives, should appeal to transport planners in developing countries contemplating applying the techniques to their own cities. Chapter 11, on street management, poignantly wraps up the typical street
UTILITIES
POLICY
October
1991
Book review
scenes commonly found in many of the major roadways in Third World cities. The problems created by the coexistence of a diverse mix of motorized traffic and human activities jostling one another for narrow road space have often been neglected in the conventional transport planning process, as such situations are highly uncommon in the developed world. Proudlove and Turner’s proposal of street management through design and enforcement, and their stress on the need for education for street-use, deserve to take prominence in Third World transport planning. The last chapter, Chapter 12, sheds light on the Integrated Urban Infrastructure Development Programme (IUIDP) approach to transport planning developed for Indonesia recently. The low-cost and flexible characteristics of the IUIDP method show promise, albeit its effectiveness has yet to be fully proven. Toward this end, this chapter has contributed significantly in highlighting the strengths and limitations of the approach, and in emphasizing the need for a transport hierarchy to match available technologies and to fit settlements of different sizes. Barring that some of the chapters were written in the early 198Us, the book also falls short of a chapter on issues of environmental pollution. As the Green Revolution takes hold, given the disproportionately high (compared with developed nations) percentage of old, decrepit motorized fleet Third World cities, coupled with the limited financial and institutional capacities characterizing their legislative machinery, a chapter on the environmental aspects of urban transport would invariably boost the value of the book. Nonetheless, the book is a valuable compendium for students interested in Third World urban transport planning. Practing planners in Third World cities, in particular, should find many of the articles information and insightful, having direct applications on their daily assignments.
Hanshall
UTILITIES
Booi Hon Kam Hansen Associates Victoria, Australia
POLICY
October
1991
Effective water management WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Integrated Policies OCED,
Paris, 1991, pp 199, E13.50
INTEGRATED AGEMENT
WATER
MAN-
B. Mitchell Pinter Publishers,
London,
UK 1990,
PP 225 The OECD report Water Resource Management ~ Integrated Policies and Mitchell’s Integrated Water Management not surprisingly cover much the same subject matter. Moreover both are based upon national case studies, indeed Mitchell’s book consists largely of the description of integrated water management, or its lack, in seven countries. Five of these countries are also members of OECD (Poland and Nigeria are the exceptions), so there is overlap in base material if not in opinion. Integrated water management is a frequently quoted concept with a variety of meanings. In his introduction Mitchell puts forward three definitions to which these words might be taken to apply. Firstly, the systematic consideration of the various dimensions of water: surface and groundwater, Second,
integrated
quantity water
and quality. management
can
imply that, while water is a system, it is also a component which interacts with other systems. In that respect it directs us to address the interactions between water. land and the environment. A third is to approach integrated water management with reference to the interrelationship hetween water and social and economic
development.
These give a useful set of reference definitions for judging what a writer might mean when he refers to integrated water management, although further confusion arises when the world ‘resource’ is introduced into a title or discussion. The OECD publication includes ‘resource’ in its title and might, therefore, be expected to be concerned with Mitchell’s first class
of meaning of integrated water management. In fact Part I of the report addresses the issues of ‘Policy, Integration and Institutional Characteristics’ with reference to the reconciliation of water management with environmental and other economic policies. Mitchell’s own collection of national studies is stated by him to have as a main focus the second of the given definitions, the integration of water with land and related environmental resources. This limitation is not followed by all his contributors.
The OECD study The OCED publication has four Parts, covering institutional arrangements, demand management, protection of groundwater, and Council Recommendations. Part I is approached through the analysis of case studies which were ‘designed to illustrate the institutional characteristics that lead to effective integration of water resources management with other areas of government policy’. This is Mitchell’s third and widest interpretation of integrated water management. The case studies, 106 in all, are not reported in the publication, but are cited to illustrate policies and opinion and as the foundation for policy recommendations. Country overview reports’ were compiled which are extensively quoted. We are told that these overviews were written by ‘experts generally independent of water resource management agencies or governments’. One might wonder how they acquired their expertise in water management! The experts’ opinions are illustrated by Tables of the relative value they attached to organizational characteristics which are suggested as inducive to integrated water management. Much importance is attached to an appropriate bureaucratic framework, with high marks for administrative jurisdiction, enforcement powers and administrative structures; whereas image, public accountability, and performance evaluation are rated lowly, as is staff quality. Clearly, these experts do not
441
Transport development milestone TRANSPORT PLANNING THIRD WORLD CITIES by Harry T. Dimitriou George A. Banjo
Routledge,
London,
FOR
and assisted
by
UK, 1990, pp 432
This book carries two principal messages: the study of urban transport problems cannot be detached from the context of overall development, and that transport planning techniques developed and based on the experience of the industrialized economies, cannot be indiscriminately transplanted to Third World situations. In adducing these themes, Harry Dimitriou and George Banjo have done a marvellous job in assembling an international team of 13 transport academics and practitioners to come up with a major publication geared specifically to the needs of Third World settlements. The book certainly represents one of the major milestones in the relatively scanty literature concerning Third World transport development. Organized into three parts, with four chapters in each, the book addresses the development characteristics (Chapter l), transport problems (Chapter 2), inadequacies of urban public transport (Chapter 3). and role of non-motorized travel (Chapter 4) in Third World cities in Part One. Chapter 4, which presents an incisive case study of the nature and extent of non-motorized transport, both as a means of travel and a source of employment, in India, is most noteworthy. Besides having a sharply defined focus, the discussion is well illustrated with photographs and informative statistics, making the chapter lively and reading it an enjoyable experience. The pivotal role played by nonmotorized transport in the economies of Third World cities, as exemplified by the Indian experience, should alert planners, both teachers and practitioners, concerned with Third World urban transport, to an interesting set
440
of problems worthy of careful, scholarly attention. The other three chapters are less inspiring. Chapter 1 delves at length into the develomental characteristics of Third World economies, but fails to trace the cause-effect relationship that links the transport situations of Third World cities to their endemic political. socioeconomic, and cultural traits. The chapter is further weakened by the reproduction of several multi-page tables on development indicators, population, and urbanization from various World Development Reports of the World Bank. Although these are relegated to an Appendix, the relevance of these tables becomes questionable since the chapter provides no comparable statistics on travel demand in Third World countries which could be tied back to their development characteristics. Chapter 2 provides a good narration of the transport problems in Third World cities. However, no attempt is made to contrast the problems and their causes with those of developed countries ~ in what way do transport problems between the two differ? Or are their problems similar but the underlying causes vary? Chapter 3 is stuffed with largely unsubstantiated presumptuous prose. Words like ‘typically’. ‘usually’ and ‘generally’ are relentlessly used. Rather than attempting an in-depth analysis of a few case studies to drive home its argument that low capital investments in vehicles and infrastructure constitute the root causes of urban public transport inadequacies in Third World cities, the article embarks on a generalized review of the problems. Without referencing to some consistent contexts backed by systematic data sources, the chapter suffers from lack of concrete, coherent evidence, apart from some rather unrelated examples sprinkled here and there, resulting in a text which reads more like a newspaper report than a scholarly researched publication. Part Two reviews the applicability and effectiveness of the concepts and methodologies of urban transport
planning in the Third World context. An excellent historical overview on the development of the urban transport process (UTP) is given in Chapter 5, which is followed by an extensive deliberation of the often overlooked, but critical, issues underlying urban transport project appraisal in Chapter 6. Transport planning students learning the UTP process should find Chapter 5 rewarding and those studying the techniques of transport project appraisal could benefit immensely from the technical and non-technical pointers raised in Chapter 6. Chapter 7, on institutional frameworks for transport planning in Third World cities, brings forth a host of bureaucratic obstacles which continue to frustrate the process of plan implementation in developing nations. The example of the Sao Paula Metropolitan Area is, therefore, refreshing, as not many similar discourses have been given of other Third World cities owing to the politically sensitive nature of the subject.
Travel demand analysis A highly comprehensive piece on the relevance of urban transport planning developments to Third World practice, Chapter 8, presumably, was written sometime in the early 1980s. However, the impacts of developments in computer technology and in the theory and methods of travel demand analysis discussed in the chapter remain as valid today as they were a decade ago. Part Three presents some of the emerging approaches to Third World urban transport planning. The simplified transport network model based on traffic count data discussed in Chapter 9 and the two case studies (one in Cairo, Egypt, and the other in Guadalajara, Mexico) of urban transport corridor planning presented in Chapter 10. which outlined two contrasting situations of data availability and planning objectives, should appeal to transport planners in developing countries contemplating applying the techniques to their own cities. Chapter 11, on street management, poignantly wraps up the typical street
UTILITIES
POLICY
October
1991
Book review
scenes commonly found in many of the major roadways in Third World cities. The problems created by the coexistence of a diverse mix of motorized traffic and human activities jostling one another for narrow road space have often been neglected in the conventional transport planning process, as such situations are highly uncommon in the developed world. Proudlove and Turner’s proposal of street management through design and enforcement, and their stress on the need for education for street-use, deserve to take prominence in Third World transport planning. The last chapter, Chapter 12, sheds light on the Integrated Urban Infrastructure Development Programme (IUIDP) approach to transport planning developed for Indonesia recently. The low-cost and flexible characteristics of the IUIDP method show promise, albeit its effectiveness has yet to be fully proven. Toward this end, this chapter has contributed significantly in highlighting the strengths and limitations of the approach, and in emphasizing the need for a transport hierarchy to match available technologies and to fit settlements of different sizes. Barring that some of the chapters were written in the early 198Us, the book also falls short of a chapter on issues of environmental pollution. As the Green Revolution takes hold, given the disproportionately high (compared with developed nations) percentage of old, decrepit motorized fleet Third World cities, coupled with the limited financial and institutional capacities characterizing their legislative machinery, a chapter on the environmental aspects of urban transport would invariably boost the value of the book. Nonetheless, the book is a valuable compendium for students interested in Third World urban transport planning. Practing planners in Third World cities, in particular, should find many of the articles information and insightful, having direct applications on their daily assignments.
Hanshall
UTILITIES
Booi Hon Kam Hansen Associates Victoria, Australia
POLICY
October
1991
Effective water management WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Integrated Policies OCED,
Paris, 1991, pp 199, E13.50
INTEGRATED AGEMENT
WATER
MAN-
B. Mitchell Pinter Publishers,
London,
UK 1990,
PP 225 The OECD report Water Resource Management ~ Integrated Policies and Mitchell’s Integrated Water Management not surprisingly cover much the same subject matter. Moreover both are based upon national case studies, indeed Mitchell’s book consists largely of the description of integrated water management, or its lack, in seven countries. Five of these countries are also members of OECD (Poland and Nigeria are the exceptions), so there is overlap in base material if not in opinion. Integrated water management is a frequently quoted concept with a variety of meanings. In his introduction Mitchell puts forward three definitions to which these words might be taken to apply. Firstly, the systematic consideration of the various dimensions of water: surface and groundwater, Second,
integrated
quantity water
and quality. management
can
imply that, while water is a system, it is also a component which interacts with other systems. In that respect it directs us to address the interactions between water. land and the environment. A third is to approach integrated water management with reference to the interrelationship hetween water and social and economic
development.
These give a useful set of reference definitions for judging what a writer might mean when he refers to integrated water management, although further confusion arises when the world ‘resource’ is introduced into a title or discussion. The OECD publication includes ‘resource’ in its title and might, therefore, be expected to be concerned with Mitchell’s first class
of meaning of integrated water management. In fact Part I of the report addresses the issues of ‘Policy, Integration and Institutional Characteristics’ with reference to the reconciliation of water management with environmental and other economic policies. Mitchell’s own collection of national studies is stated by him to have as a main focus the second of the given definitions, the integration of water with land and related environmental resources. This limitation is not followed by all his contributors.
The OECD study The OCED publication has four Parts, covering institutional arrangements, demand management, protection of groundwater, and Council Recommendations. Part I is approached through the analysis of case studies which were ‘designed to illustrate the institutional characteristics that lead to effective integration of water resources management with other areas of government policy’. This is Mitchell’s third and widest interpretation of integrated water management. The case studies, 106 in all, are not reported in the publication, but are cited to illustrate policies and opinion and as the foundation for policy recommendations. Country overview reports’ were compiled which are extensively quoted. We are told that these overviews were written by ‘experts generally independent of water resource management agencies or governments’. One might wonder how they acquired their expertise in water management! The experts’ opinions are illustrated by Tables of the relative value they attached to organizational characteristics which are suggested as inducive to integrated water management. Much importance is attached to an appropriate bureaucratic framework, with high marks for administrative jurisdiction, enforcement powers and administrative structures; whereas image, public accountability, and performance evaluation are rated lowly, as is staff quality. Clearly, these experts do not
441