Constructing a vision for an 'ideal' future city: A conceptual model for transformative urban planning

Nearly 54% of the world's population lives in urban areas and this is set to grow over 2.5 billion people by 2050 (United Nations, 2014). In this context, the question is how to make cities contribute positively to the wellbeing of all their inhabitants and with economic, social and environmental sustainability. Due to increased complexity of their functionality and limitations imposed by the existing uncoordinated frameworks for designing and managing urban systems, cities are already facing great challenges such as resource scarcity, institutional barriers, narrow accounting frameworks, lock-in due to infrastructure, inequality, congestion, crime and diseases, which will only worsen with increased urbanization. As such, innovative tools for planning and engineering coordinated solutions to transform cities’ systems are at the heart of sustainable living in the future. As part of the EPSRC programme grant Transforming the Engineering of Cities we are conducting research to understand precisely how to radically transform the way in which cities are engineered to move towards future cities that address current challenges and promote long-term well-being for society and the planet. After reviewing evidence of urban transformations, we identified that, in most cases, their starting point was a high level vision, usually defined by political leadership based on strong participatory processes, which constructed imaginaries that defined the main urban functions to be provided by the city and that underpinned all projects and policies in the short and long term. Because of the importance of setting such a vision our research aims to define a way of developing a vision of a future ideal city. Our approach identifies a methodology for defining the future city vision that is able to move beyond the all-too-common ‘political wish list’ and that enabled the vision to be defined as a result of a rigorous process. To develop this process we divided the work into two phases. The first phase included empirical work in Latin America, the UK and China and literature review of exemplary urban transformations. As a result, an initial preferable future vision, conceptualized as the 5-cities model was defined. The second phase included a series of 8 sectoral visioning workshops conducted over a period of 2 years in London and other UK cities. Each workshop is analysed to identify the high level principles for the preferable future city. This research findings underscore that transformative planning only can take place when social norms, people's behaviors and people's attitudes change. Urban life is created by everyone in cities, the municipality, citizens, owners, businesses, experts, individuals, communities; therefore, urban life can only be transformed through the right tools to engage and involve them, and it is precisely what the process of defining a high level principles vision and the vision itself should do

A new road/street network classification for Havana, Cuba

This note summarises the production of a new road/street network classification for Havana, Cuba. This classification was the output of a 2-day workshop with representatives of national and municipal planning and transport authorities and of the local community of Centro Habana. The workshop highlighted the limitations of traditional road network classifications and introduced participants to alternative approaches that consider the dual function of streets as links (conduits for movement) and places (destinations in their own right). Workshop participants then produced a new classification of Havana’s road/street network based on these two functions

Sustainable Urban Transport Financing from the Sidewalk to the Subway : Capital, Operations, and Maintenance Financing

Urban transport systems are essential for economic development and improving citizens' quality of life. To establish high-quality and affordable transport systems, cities must ensure their financial sustainability to fund new investments in infrastructure while also funding maintenance and operation of existing facilities and services. However, many cities in developing countries are stuck in an "underfunding trap" for urban transport, in which large up-front investments are needed for new transport infrastructure that will improve the still small-scale, and perhaps, poor-quality systems, but revenue is insufficient to cover maintenance and operation expenses, let alone new investment projects. The urban transport financing gap in these cities is further widened by the implicit subsidies for the use of private cars, which represent a minority of trips but contribute huge costs in terms of congestion, sprawl, accidents, and pollution. Using an analytical framework based on the concept of "Who Benefits Pays," 24 types of financing instruments are assessed in terms of their social, economic and environmental impacts and their ability to fund urban transport capital investments, operational expenses, and maintenance. Urban transport financing needs to be based on an appropriate mix of complementary financing instruments. In particular for capital investments, a combination of grants –from multiple levels of government– and loans together with investments through public private partnerships could finance large projects that benefit society. Moreover, the property tax emerges as a key financing instrument for capital, operation, and maintenance expenses. By choosing the most appropriate mix of financing instruments and focusing on wise investments, cities can design comprehensive financing for all types of urban transport projects, using multi-level innovative revenue sources that promote efficient pricing schemes, increase overall revenue, strengthen sustainable transport, and cover capital investments, operation, and maintenance for all parts of a public transport system, "from the sidewalk to the subway.

Assessment of the potential for modal shift to non-motorised transport in a developing context: case of Lima, Peru

Under the logic of Avoid, Shift, Improve, fostered by donors and NGOs worldwide, cities in the global south are investing emphatically in non-motorised facilities and policies for low-carbon mobility aiming to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of urban mobility. Such is the case of Lima, Peru, our case study. Through the analysis of the potential for integration of non-motorised facilities with current and planned public transport networks, we seek to provide evidence on the planning considerations of non-motorised facilities in Lima with an emphasis on multi-modal travel and integration of non-motorised infrastructure. We develop spatial coverage, capacity and accessibility assessment of the ‘supply side’ of the transport network. In addition, the research studies the local transport system and travel patterns to identify trips with the potential to shift to non-motorised alternatives. Based on these analyses we estimate indicators of potential coverage, changes in mobility patterns and distributional effects of current investments. Our analysis suggests that coverage of high-capacity public transport can potentially increase by up to six times if integrated adequately with cycling facilities. The research provides methodological and empirical contributions to debates related to the capacity of cities in the global south to adopt low-carbon mobility in the foreseeable future

A new pedestrian demand model for Havana, Cuba

This note presents a new model to estimate the potential demand for walking trips in Havana, Cuba. The model covers the whole city, identifying the areas with higher potential demand. The model was developed using open-source geographic information on land use, location of public transport nodes, and the road/street network. The results of the model were then validated in a half-day workshop with representatives from the national and municipal planning and transport authorities in Havana, researchers, and students

Movilidad sostenible: alternativa viable para las ciudades cubanas

Las reformas económicas hacia la ‘normalización’ de las relaciones con los Estados Unidos ha suscitado la esperanza de un aumento de los propietarios de autos en Cuba. Sin embargo, la experiencia internacional ofrece vasta evidencia del gran costo de esta dependencia en las ciudades. Siguiendo las enseñanzas de las tendencias globales, La Habana puede evitar errores y crecer a partir de sus únicas fortalezas. Una visión política clara basada en el ‘acceso y habitabilidad’ podría convertir a La Habana en líder mundial en términos de sostenibilidad y movilidad urbana socialmente equitativa. ABSTRACT (ENGLISH): Economic reforms and moves towards ‘normalization’ of relations with the US have raised hopes for increasing car ownership in Cuba. But international experience provides plenty of evidence of the huge costs of private car dependency in cities. By learning from global trends in urban mobility, Havana can avoid mistakes and build on its unique strengths. A clear policy vision based on ‘access and liveability’ could enable Havana to become a leader in the world in terms of sustainable and socially equitable urban mobility

The Baltic prawn Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1837 (Decapoda, Caridea, Palaemonidae): first record, possible establishment, and illustrated key of the subfamily Palaemoninae in northwest Atlantic waters

This study documents the introduction of the European Baltic prawn, Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1837 to the coastal waters of northeastern North America, specifically the west coast of Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Species identification was verified using morphological and genetic criteria. In September 2011, the first specimens of P. adspersus were collected in Gulf of St. Lawrence waters near Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland, Canada. In 2012, additional P. adspersus specimens were collected in this area and at St. Andrew’s, located further south in western Newfoundland and in 2013 several egg-bearing females were collected further north in York Harbour. Accidental transport by ballast water of ships seems the likely vector for transport of Baltic prawn to the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Northern Europe or the Caspian Sea. It is possible that this shrimp has a wider presence in Atlantic Canadian waters but, due to its close resemblance to native shrimp species, it may have been previously misidentified, as occurred with specimens collected from the Magdalen Islands. We further expect that other species of the genus Palaemon, including P. elegans Rathke, 1837 from the Baltic Sea or northeastern United States, and P. macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 from the northeastern United States, may invade the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We provide an illustrated key for the identification of these exotic Palaemon species and to differentiate them from native members of the subfamily Palaemoninae.Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans and AGL2011-23689 grant from the Spanish government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). Financial support to EGO was provided by a Marie Curie fellowship with European funds.Peer reviewe

Street Performance Assessment in Havana, Cuba

This note summarises the outcomes of a 'walkshop' conducted in May 2019 with local residents in Havana, Cuba, including practitioners from the national and municipal planning and transport authorities in Havana, researchers, and students. Participants walked along Galiano Street in the area of Centro Habana and completed a street performance assessment for in Havana, Cuba. Participants walked along the street and assessed 23 attributes of the street environment