Search

In the context of still-low-but-rising levels of motorization and economic growth, increasing social and spatial inequalities, and growing concerns about air pollution and climate change, the formulation and implementation of policies, practices and partnerships that can support an accelerated implementation of sustainable mobility policies is an urgent concern for rapidly developing cities. This paper seeks to contribute to reframing some of the knowledge and methodologies produced in and about cities of Sub-Saharan Africa, through a comprehensive assessment of mobility patterns and accessibility needs within a larger debate about mobility transitions and sustainable development. By deploying a mixed-methods approach that builds upon case-study focus groups and city-wide accessibility and mobility analysis in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, the paper maps travel patterns and their links with structural factors such as urban form, poverty, informality and social identities at the macro, meso and micro levels. The paper also presents evidence from a variety of methods that illustrate the significance of accessibility-centred information and analysis for establishing policy priorities for improving urban mobility and accessibility in the local, African and global contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Are the achievements of sustainable development and the improvement of environmental standards mutually exclusive in the 21st century? Is there a possibility to combine the two? This study is an effort to investigate the mutual exclusiveness of the two policy areas and asks for the necessity and possibility to combine the two with a reference to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). After describing the historical, geographical, and climatic backgrounds of SSA, negative effects of global warming and local environmentally harmful practices are discussed. Subsequently, the appropriate development measures for the region are elaborated in order to understand their compatibility with regards to improving the environment. It is concluded that to change the dependency on agriculture, the economy needs to be restructured towards technologies. Furthermore, it is found that there is a direct link between global warming and economic efficiency. Theories, which imply that some regions are simply ‘too poor to be green’, are investigated and rebutted by another theory, which states that it is indeed possible to industrialize in an environmentally friendly way. It follows that environmental and development measures are interconnected, equally important and can be reconciled. The paper finally concludes that the threat posed by global warming and the previously practised environmentally-harmful local measures might be so pressing that it may be too tragic to go for ‘develop first and clean up later’ approach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]