Next-generation ParkShuttle automated mini-bus
Feature Article on Local Transport
©2003 J.Crawford

News at Carfree.com

This issue is also available in Spanish. Thanks to Ricardo Eid for the translation.

Towards Carfree Cities IV

The conference is being organized by World Carfree Network in partnership with BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany), Green City, Autofrei Wohnen, Autofrei Leben!, ITDP Europe, and UMKEHR. Pre-registration and further information are available at WorldCarfree.net.

Carfree Cities Availability

Carfree Design Handbook

E-Mail Subscriptions

Spamnix in Use

Spanish Translation of Carfree Introduction

Quotable

Even when there's no law governing people, repeated interactions, especially face-to-face ones, can give rise to cooperation and eventually institutions, norms and practices that continually improve. But on the road, people are in their own bubble, sealed off from each other, and they scarcely worry about repeated interactions.

News Bits

Bam Destroyed

Nader Khalili has updated traditional Persian architecture with a design that non-architects can build themselves. This design surpasses California earthquake standards and is code-compliant. A prototype on the San Andreas fault has survived a large earthquake. Perhaps this approach, fitting for the region, could be applied in the reconstruction of Bam.

Montreal's Carfree Day

Survey Says: People Really Like Carfree Days

• 92% say it's a good idea
• 69% want it repeated at least quarterly
• 35% want it repeated at least weekly
• 13% want it every day
• 64% want next event to cover a bigger area

• 49% found no personal disadvantages at all
• 20% thought there was not enough public transport
• 16% complained that it does not solve the pollution problem

"To reduce traffic and pollution in your town, car use must be limited."

• 50% Strongly agree
• 36% Somewhat agree

• 89% say it's good idea
• 68% say it should be repeated at least quarterly
• 55% say the car free zone should be bigger
• 82% want car use limited in their towns

Results courtesy Richard Evans, In Town Without My Car! UK Co-ordinator. The full results are at the following web site:

Carfree Progress

• Cologne - 770 residences on former army base - in planning. More info
  
• Karlsruhe - 300 residences are now under construction. More info
  

The Politics of Suburban Sprawl

An enormous amount of market research and surveys over recent years shows that well over one-third of home seekers want an alternative to suburban sprawl un-places. The odds of them finding a home in a place designed on the basis of New Urbanism, smart growth, or traditional neighborhood design principles, however, is over 500 to 1 against them.

The way that the sprawl industry maintains its grip on the housing market is through its sprawl lobby. Literally everywhere in the United States, from Florida to Hawaii, enormous sums of money, both legal and illegal, are provided by sprawl industry groups to politicians, local government officials and state legislators. Whenever data are collected on the monies provided by various business sectors to local and state campaigns, and in battles over certain ballot initiatives, the sprawl industry ranks at or near the top. Long ago sprawl interests understood that they had to spend money to control local planning and zoning systems to keep sprawl land development’s primacy.

Despite sprawl’s power, about 200 true smart growth and New Urbanism communities and neighborhoods have been built around the nation, with more going up all the time as innovative and courageous developers conquer the obstacles the sprawl lobby has nourished over decades. Most importantly, these places are achieving considerable financial success because the actual and latent consumer demand for alternatives to sprawl is so great. Most importantly, most of these smart growth type projects are in suburbia. In other words, there is no longer any reason to equate suburbia with sprawl.

Governor Hummer

To make up for $4 billion lost when he cut the unpopular car tax, the governor will make a $40 million payment to local governments to keep them from closing facilities and laying off police officers and fire fighters, aides said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Fool Cells

Donald R. Sadoway, professor of materials engineering at MIT said, "As far as I know, no one who is technically literate is an enthusiastic supporter of fuel-cell-powered vehicles." According to an EETimes article:

For fuel cells to reach production automobiles by 2020... scientists need a Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough to cut the cost of the technology by a hundredfold or more.

Political analysis: Bush & Co. didn't want to do anything that might harm the US auto industry, so they pulled the rug out from under the Japanese, who had actually developed successful hybrid systems that are very clean and quite fuel efficient. The American manufacturers were threatened by California's proposal to require the sale of very low emission vehicles, so the chimera of the fuel cell was held up, along with the promise of huge subsidies for US manufacturers to attempt to develop the fuel cell, a prospect that is comfortably far (for the manufacturers) in the future. In the meantime, they'll happily take the money to run a fool's errand.

And Now, the Weather

It is virtually certain that increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will cause global surface climate to be warmer.

The complexity of the climate system makes it difficult to predict some aspects of human-induced climate change: exactly how fast it will occur, exactly how much it will change, and exactly where those changes will take place.

Feature Article

Local Transport Using Self-Guided Vehicles

by J.H. Crawford

Small transit vehicles, such as the one above and the one that heads this issue of Carfree Times, have a role to play in many carfree implementations. While it would be preferable to use underground rail systems for all public transport, this ideal will not be achievable in many existing urban areas, and we need practical methods for converting these areas into carfree districts. Since few carfree conversions will be feasible without improved public transport, we should welcome any approach that helps to achieve this goal while minimizing the impact on other street users.

In the early 1980s, I was involved in some early container terminal automation projects. The technology was then cutting edge, and problems were rife. The fastest microprocessors of the day were barely up to the task of manipulating the necessary data. Start-up problems were often "challenging." Since that time, a great deal of progress has been made in the development of self-guided vehicles, and obstruction detection has forged ahead. The technology is now mature and is seeing quite wide application.

FROG ("Free Ranging On Grid") Navigation Systems has developed sophisticated vehicle guidance and obstruction detection. While speeds are generally low, passenger vehicles have been in service for some time in various locations, notably long-term parking at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, where a first-generation automated shuttle will soon be replaced by the newer, larger ParkShuttle shown at the top of this issue. Frog has been instrumental in the development of a variety of self-guided vehicle projects, including pallet movers (used to shift loads in warehouses), container terminal movers, and the Phileas, a large double-articulated bus now undergoing final test that can operate in fully self-guided mode.

Guidance

Accuracy

Safety

It is still too soon to put an automated vehicle into the middle of a busy street, and this may remain a limitation for a long time to come. When there is comparatively little foot traffic and the vehicle can be assigned a relatively broad right-of-way which few pedestrians should cross, the technology is already good enough. Acceptable safety is achieved by keeping speeds low and using sensors to constantly sweep a fairly large area in front of the vehicle for the presence of moving obstructions. This approach probably would result in an excessive number of unplanned stops if the vehicles were set up to operate in a crowded street.

Power

While auto-makers have given up on battery-powered cars, the design parameters for cars are far more demanding than for local-service vehicles. Top speeds of at least 70 MPH (110 km/hr) are required, and a minimum range of 100 miles (160 km) is regarded as essential. While GM's EV-1 could reach these goals (with a new battery), GM determined that the concept did not merit further development and has withdrawn the vehicles from service. In local circulation service, top speeds will typically be in the range of 20 MPH (30 km/hr), and the length of a run will be measured in a few miles (kilometers), with the possibility of recharging after each run. It will thus be seen that battery-powered vehicles are already practical in urban situations (and have, indeed, seen such use for a century).

Overhead?

Conclusion

More Information

Frog Navigation Systems
Urban Light Transport (ULTra)
Phileas Bus development

Thanks to Robbert Lohmann at Frog for the plant tour and a thorough explanation of Frog's products, present and future.

Opinion

Pep Talk

By J.H. Crawford

I don't pretend to know. It could get very much worse. Maybe we'll be lucky and it won't get a lot worse than it is. Maybe things will even get better. There is only one way that will happen, and that is if concerned people around the world spend time, effort, and money to try to make it happen. There are billions of people who want a better world. They are a potent force for good. Arrayed against us are mainly huge corporations and extremely rich people. They have seized power in the USA and are not likely to let go without a struggle.

Because so many of the world's problems today have their roots in the policies of Bush & Co., it is crucial for Americans to stand up and be counted in the coming election. The USA is so powerful that only a change in US policy can lead toward a better world. Without Kyoto and the many other treaties abrogated by Bush & Co., real progress is probably not possible. The Bush-style American unilateralism must end on 20 January 2005, with the inauguration of a more reasonable president.

It's time to throw the bums out. Do something towards this end. Start now.

New Books

The End of Over-consumption Towards a Lifestyle of Moderation and Self-restraint Marius de Geus International Books, 2003 222 pages Softcover US$24.95 ISBN 9057270463

This book examines the norms, values, and beliefs that contribute to modern environmental problems. The author contends that individuals must simplify their lives and show self-restraint to avoid wasting the Earth's resources. Governments must translate moderation and limitation into effective policy measures and adapt economic, social, and political institutions accordingly.

The thesis is that individuals will eventually be forced to simplify their lives to protect the environment, but this simplification does not in itself impose a marginal standard of living or an ascetic life. The book argues that we should seek a middle ground between extreme consumption and total austerity.

Putting the notion of moderation and self-restraint on the political agenda of the West will be difficult and take decades. Once the issue achieves prominence, governments will have a mandate for the difficult task of translating moderation and self-limitation into policy. We must begin to initiate policies that make room for consuming less, not more.
 

Town Spaces Contemporary Interpretations in Traditional Urbanism Rob Krier Birkhauser, 2003 283 pages Hardcover US$78.00 ISBN 3764369426

This big book was received an hour before press time, and I have taken the liberty of quoting below the publisher's blurb, which appears to be an accurate reflection of the book's contents. Rob Krier and his brother Léon are some of the most original thinkers in architecture and city design today, and their works are, in my experience, always enlightening. The book is very richly illustrated and carefully prepared.

In response to the sense of crisis in many of today´s towns the proponents of new traditionalism offer a form of urban planning which looks back to more traditional styles whilst firmly integrating the requirements of modern life. Their designs are easily accessible and characterised by a sense of public spirit, identification, and order.

The contributions in this book reveal how these principles relate to the specific European city in the 20th century as well as to the writings of theoreticians from Camillo Sitte up to Rem Koolhaas. The authors reveal why the provocatively conservative approach has enjoyed so much success in the avantgarde Netherlands. They draw comparisons with the New Urbanism found in the USA and above all develop a systematic approach to town planning.

New towns, the rebuilding of town areas, the restructuring of city centres and the extension of towns and urban areas are investigated in the chapters on urban composition. All examples in this part are from the Krier Kohl office and demonstrate in detail the design process up to the realized buildings. In particular the architectural realization by a wide range of architects, including Michael Graves, Cesar Pelli, and others, shows that new traditionalism in urban planning can fruitfully work together with a wide range of architectural approaches.

Street & Square Street and Square Cliff Moughtin Architectural Press, 2003 300 pages Softcover US$39.95 ISBN 0750657170

This is the third edition of this work, which forms a central pillar of a regularly revised four-volume set. Written from a British perspective, the book is illustrated with many drawings and photographs from European cities.

The book begins with a consideration of basic design concepts and proceeds to a consideration of various design elements, in particular streets, squares, and waterways. The discussion continues with chapters on sustainable urban form, visual analysis, and some interesting case studies.

There is scant mention of pedestrianization, but it is acknowledged that cars have a large effect on urban design. The success of some pedestrianized areas in Europe is mentioned. Whether by coincidence or otherwise, many of the photos show few or no cars, which always displays an area to best advantage.

Hot Links

Bogotá designs transportation for people, not cars

Shanghai ends reign of the bicycle

Big and Blue in the USA by James Howard Kunstler in the New Colonist

A Tale of Two Spaces A Word from Richard Risemberg, December 2003

What Are They Afraid Of? In Smart Growth's Widening Wake, A Stream of Venom, by Keith Schneider in the New Colonist

Transport and Energy Bucking the trend

Bottom of the barrel

Saddam, Oil and Empire: Supply versus Demand

The Political Economy of Terror oil shortages and violence in Saudi Arabia

Warming Climate More Deadly than 9/11/01 Terrorist Attack

Leonardo DiCaprio on global warming

UITP Better passenger information contributes to public transport ridership

A Tour of Illichville

External Costs: Damages arising from electricity and transport (PDF!)

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