Urban Mobility and Sustainability in Asia and the Power of Context

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of recent developments in urban mobility and sustainability in Asia and highlights the significance of understanding the power of context when relevant policy and planning responses to urban transportation challenges are being formulated. The author argues that the challenge of how best to go about enhancing mobility and sustainability in today's urban Asia is clearly a strategic megaissue that requires a thorough appreciation of the dynamics and the influence of the context in which current Asian developments are taking place. Citing Naisbitt, the paper suggests that this is significant, for what is happening in Asia today is by far the most important current development in the world not only for Asians but for the entire planet. The author concludes by citing critical areas in need of research and claiming that the translation of the aims of the sustainable development vision into the urban transportation sector is one of the most problematic and challenging aspects of urban transportation strategy formulation—a task made more difficult by recent forces of globalization that actively encourage a departure from past practices of using transportation infrastructure to bind and unite cities and regions.