T-SUM: Transitions to sustainable urban mobility

There is evidence internationally that there is a positive association between an increase in GDP per capita and growing car use in cities. However, car-oriented urban development results in strong negative externalities, such as high C02 emissions, air pollution, congestion, road accidents, urban sprawl, social exclusion, spatial segregation and sedentary lifestyles. These lead to poor accessibility and inequity and affects socio-economic development. Most Global North cities with high levels of motorization are now attempting to constrain and reduce traffic levels and move towards sustainable mobility and more liveable cities. Cities in developing countries are faced with a stark choice of repeating the evolutionary mistakes of many of the cities in more developed countries, or 'leapfrogging' car-oriented mobility to directly develop cities around the principles of sustainable mobility and liveability. Growing urban economies have an opportunity to establish innovative solutions for achieving sustainable and inclusive mobility and land use patterns; thus, avoiding being 'locked-in' to a car-oriented development trajectory - which can prove very difficult and expensive to rectify at later stages of development.
T-SUM is an interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborative project that aims to identify the conditions under which sustainable and inclusive transport and land use development can be accelerated in growing cities in the Global South. It is grounded in the observation that, in the context of still-low-but-rising levels of motorization, economic growth and increasing social and spatial inequalities, the formulation and implementation of policies, practices and partnerships that can support an accelerated implementation of sustainable mobility structures is an urgent concern for rapidly developing cities. This project will initially focus on Maputo, Mozambique, and Freetown, Sierra Leone, as relevant examples of growing urban economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the Global South.
Challenging the traditionally assumed links between economic growth and car-based urban transport, alongside documenting the socioeconomic and spatial inequalities stemming from current urban transport systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, requires rethinking some of the knowledge and methodologies produced about cities of the region. This proposal seeks to contribute to this debate through three objectives: firstly, to develop a conceptual framework based on alternative development trajectories for (un)sustainable urban transport, drawing on data from cities across the Global North and the Global South; secondly, to assemble and co-produce evidence by interrogating urban transport and land use data in two rapidly developing cities in the region, Maputo and Freetown; and thirdly, to initiate participative governance processes to foster new models of development based on a sustainable mobility trajectory, through evidence-based engagement with public and professional stakeholders across levels of governance and sectors. The process will rely on collaborations across disciplines, with government and with local communities; and ultimately will produce evidence-based knowledge for informing policy and accelerating sustainable and socially inclusive transport development in Sub-Saharan African cities, and beyond.
Expected impacts include: Improved urban governance processes and institutional capacity-building in the cities of Maputo and Freetown;The introduction of a tradition of citizen engagement and co-production; Accelerated urban transport development pathways based on sustainability and inclusivity principles, resulting in improved physical and mental well-being, increased prosperity, reduced C02 emissions, air pollution and energy consumption, improved accessibility and social inclusion in cities; A legacy of data and analytical tools that will assist both cities in their future sustainable mobility planning and implementation.

T-SUM brings into the research process academic and practice-based partners in the United Kingdom, and Freetown and Maputo, with a broad range of stakeholders in the government, private and third sector, to help shape questions, provide and collect data, shape future thinking, offer interpretations of findings and act as champions for impact going forward. This anticipated close collaboration is possible because of preceding experience and working relationships, and the diverse and complementary teams put together in the partner organisations, building on previous research with the same or similar groups and associated research issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and overseas, demonstrating a proven interest and willingness to collaborate. Four groups of beneficiaries can be distinguished: (1) local populations in Maputo and Freetown; (2) local government, planners and others responsible for transport and infrastructure planning and delivery; (3) the international community, including private sector, civil society actors and the United Nations' development support structure; and (4) bilateral and multilateral development donors such as the World Bank and African Development Bank.

Local populations will benefit from the voice that this academic research will give them; this is particularly so for local residents that are not often involved in transport planning processes. For those involved in interviews and focus groups, and other local workshop activities, access to new information and critical thinking on development is hoped to improve awareness raising and empowerment, and scope for local collective and individual inclusion. Local populations will also benefit indirectly from the impacts of this research on other actors, when their actions contribute to improved sustainable urban development, accessibility and inclusion. Local agencies responsible for municipal and regional planning, critical infrastructure planning, and economic and social policy are likely to be the clearest potential beneficiaries. Research provides data and analysis of direct relevance to this group of actors, to help inform their planning decisions and decision-making practice.

International NGOs are eager to contribute to accelerating the uptake of sustainable transport development policies in African cities. By partnering with two Non-Governmental Organisations and securing support from government and international agencies, and through the activities of the External Advisory Board, this global community will be able to shape research to inform policy development, and in turn provide a number of potential vehicles for post-programme legacy. Both the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) will work closely with the academic team in documenting various practices surrounding urban mobility. The involvement of key actors, such as United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) and the World Bank, in the project similarly allows access and influence through champions in the global infrastructure sector.

Bilateral and multilateral development actors, and others who set the broad international policy discourse will benefit from the strategic insights to be derived from T-SUM, coupled with practical local application. Consortium members are well connected with this community and are regularly active in drafting policy reports, for example through the European Union Horizon 2020 CREATE project. Through these networks, outputs from T-SUM will spread widely, well beyond the case study cities and partner institutions.