This report provides an intriguing historical analysis of urban mobility Asia in the mid 1990s. It would have remained lost somewhere in the World Bank’s document archive had it not been for Dr. Hugh Brown (Infrastructure Advisor with AUSAID) who carefully kept a copy in his extensive library and took the time to scan it and send it to me. Many colleagues had said to me that this document is as valid to today as it was then and many have asked for it to be updated to current conditions. I have therefore placed it in the gTKP Knowledge Centre to make it accessible to those who have asked me for copies. Below, you will find the original abstract from the report. My sincere thanks to Hugh Brown.
Peter Midgley, gTKP Urban Mobility Theme Champion, July 2010
“The extent to which Asian cities meet the challenges of urbanization and contribute to macroeconomic performance will, to a large extent, depend on how efficiently they can transport the goods, services, information and people upon which their economic activities depend. The intrinsic development of the urban transport sector and its response to the pace,
scale and nature of urbanization and economic development in the 1990s will determine to a large extent the nature and form of Asian cities in the early twenty first century. The performance of the urban transport sector in Asia in the 1980′ s has been mixed. It is clear that the demands on the sector will be even greater in the 1990s and that new approaches are
needed to rectify the issues inherited from the past and meet the challenges of the future. These challenges are unique in their scope, scale and pace of change and require a response which is tailor made to the region. The paper presents new approaches for the transport sector, the implications of these actions for World Bank operations and the role
of agencies in ensuring the availability of adequate and timely external aid.”