Summary: Designing mobility for liveable and social cities

Ingo Kucz and Sascha Naji

Four case studies explore the state of mobility in Asia’s megacities.

The cities of Asia have developed rapidly in recent years and decades. Many are characterised by high population growth, and an overburdened mobility system focused on cars. How can these cities develop their mobility systems in a sustainable way to ensure long-term social and economic participation and quality of life for all people?

Ingo Kucz and Sascha Naji summarize the main findings, challenges and recommendations of a series of case studies in which local partners of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) examined four cities in Asia: Bengaluru, Hanoi, Jakarta, and Metro Manila.

The case studies took a closer look at the history of transport in the cities, the current and ten-year projected planning situation; affordability, availability and inclusivity of transport systems; safety and reliability; and ecological sustainability. Each studied city has its own challenges, opportunities in development process, policies, and stakeholders, different pathways towards the future, but they do have one common goal: to build an inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable city.

Main findings

The negative effects for society and the climate can only be eliminated when strong alternatives to private transportation are created and people can be successfully incentivized to use alternative means of transportation. These alternatives need to be competitive in performance and in terms of safety, especially for vulnerable groups.
Transit-oriented development has the potential to improve general transport performance without decreasing the liveability of cities. And the development of cities must emphasize a balance between the common good and private economic interests, all with a gender-sensitive orientation.
Each city is equally challenged when it comes to implementing technological innovations, from new fleets, vehicle and propulsion concepts to digital tools.
The public’s participation in decision-making processes is underrepresented in all cities, although civil engagement occurs in several forms. To shape the future of mobility more collaboration is needed.