20/12. "Principal Voices": Making OUR voices heard

Monday, December 20, 2004, Paris, France, Europe

Source/Program: The New Mobility Agenda

-----Original Message-----

From: EcoPlan, Paris [mailto:eric.britton@ecoplan.org]
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 8:22 AM
To: 'New Mobility Cafe [NMC]'
Subject: Principal Voices: Making OUR voices heard

About Principal Voices: Principal Voices is an international project aimed at provoking discussion on some of the more compelling challenges confronting our world today. Over the next 12 months TIME, FORTUNE and CNN, in association with Shell, will be presenting a series of videos, articles and round-table discussions. Themes covered will include the environment, business innovation, economic development and transport. URL - http://www.principalvoices.com/

Today’s thought:
* Old Mobility: Congestion is the problem
* New Moblity: Congestion is (part of) the solution

Background:
Dave Wetzel and several others ask how the thousand or so active international transportation and environment experts that we are can make our voices heard in this forum. I have pondered this over the weekend and here are my best thoughts for you on this as the day breaks here in Paris:

1. I have proposed to the organizers that they add my name to their transportation component as a measure to ensure that the ‘New Mobility Agenda’ approach is also fairly represented… bearing in mind that the other ‘voice’ that they have selected as a representative of contemporary thinking and expertise in the sector is Mr. Ellatuvalapil Sreedharan “one of India's greatest civil engineers, the architect of the supposedly unbuildable Konkan Railway linking Mumbai and Mangalore, and, more recently, designer of the Delhi Metro system”. I think it is fair to say that this is one, primarily supply oriented, perspective, but that is at best only half of the story. My thought is that I can then act as a relay to ensure that our collective voices, principal too, are heard.

2. “Public Debates”. Over the next 12 months the sponsors will be presenting a series of four round-table discussions in cities across the world: (1) Singapore, February 2005, on the environment; (2) Beijing - May 2005 - Business Innovation; (3) London, July 2005, Economic Development; and (4) Mexico City, November 2005, Transport. Details at http://www.principalvoices.com/debates.html . I am not sure as to the details of organization, but you are invited to “take part” and ask a question as you will see at http://www.principalvoices.com/ask.html.

Otherwise, it all looks the usual pretty hermetic managed “debate” to me, but that often is the case in the world where the old mobility values continue to dominate. (I will shortly share a page with you on what I believe to be the main difference between these two schools, these two ages actually of thought and practice in our field). But perhaps we can at the very least keep an eye on them, even if they do not agree to any form of more direct participation, and share our views here. Hopefully however good sense will reign and they will welcome us all in as active parts of the solution.

Your comments and suggestions are as always more than welcome.

Eric Britton
The New Mobility Agenda


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