Transforming Cities with Transit

Hiroaki Suzuki et al.

The World Bank

Cities in developing countries are facing unprecedented urban growth, as well as the negative externalities that come with car dependent urban sprawl including congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, inefficient use of energy and time, and social inequality of accessibility. Effective integration of transit with land use can help steer urbanization on a more sustainable path, addressing economic, environmental, and social issues, summarized by a World Bank publication whose Chinese edition was launched in Beijing.

The new publication “Transforming Cities with Transit”, explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. As one of the most promising strategies for advancing environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and socially inclusive development in fast-growing cities, transit and land-use integration is increasingly being embraced by policymakers at all levels of government.

This book focuses on identifying barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transport infrastructure and urban development. Global best-case practices of transit-oriented metropolises that have direct relevance to cities in developing countries are introduced. Key institutional, regulatory, and financial constraints that hamper integration and opportunities to utilize transit to guide sustainable urban development are examined in some cities in developing countries. For this, the book analyzes their Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems and their impact on land development. The book formulates recommendations and implementation strategies to overcome barriers and take advantage of opportunities.

This book asserts that unprecedented opportunities which benefit the integration of transit and land development will continue to arise in developing countries. Many cities in developing countries currently have the pre-requisites - e.g., rapid growth, rising real incomes, and increased motorization and congestion levels - for BRT and urban rail investments to trigger meaningful land-use changes in economically and financially viable ways. Recommendations for creating more sustainable cities of the future range from macro-level strategies that influence land development and governance at the metropolitan scale to micro-level initiatives, like Transit Oriented Development (TOD), that can radically transform development patterns at the neighborhood level.

The book was launched at a workshop of “Transforming Cities with Transit”, which was jointly organized by the World Bank, the Institute of Comprehensive Transport of NDRC and the Beijing Transport Research Center. The issues mentioned above were discussed by national and local government policymakers, urban and transport planners, transit agencies, private developer and researchers as well as international experts.

The follow-up publication titled “Financing Transit with Land Values”, to be published in early 2014, was also introduced. This book aims to explain how to achieve TOD through creative, non-traditional financing mechanisms. Drawing on experiences from Hong Kong SAR, China and Tokyo, Japan, as well as secondary cases in London, UK, New York City and Washington, D.C., USA, the book introduces the concept of Development-based Land Value Capture (DBLVC) as a powerful way to sustainably fund transit infrastructure as well as promote transit usage.

“The type of Development-based Land Value Capture financing schemes practiced in a few Asian global cities could help not only generate funds for transit, but also promote sustainable urban development. This is especially timely considering increased pollution and greenhouse gas emission rates recorded in Chinese cities; transit and land use integration can help create more sustainable urban areas, and DBLVC can help provide the necessary financial support,” said Hiroaki Suzuki, World Bank Lead Urban Specialist and lead author of the two books.

The new book also explores the experiences of cities that are starting to implement various versions of DBLVC, highlighting cases in Nanchang, Hyderabad, Delhi, and St Paulo. Suggestions for successful DBLVC implementation through strategies, policies, and methodologies are offered, as well as important caveats for policymakers to heed. Current and foreseen urban development and mass transit development in China provide a unique historic opportunity to apply such TOD and DBLVC principles on a large scale in China. The large investments in mass transit and high speed rail throughout the country can contribute not only to improve connectivity, but also to shape the cities to support effectively the economy of tomorrow. The application of DBLVC can provide part of the financing needed to develop mass transit in cities. The workshop identified and discussed some of the challenges and emerging good practices to implement those principles in the Chinese context.

This workshop was organized as part of TransFORM, the joint China-World Bank Solution Platform for urban transport. TransFORM aims at making urban transport safer, cleaner and more affordable for development by accelerating knowledge exchanges and by promoting the development and piloting of solutions adapted to the Chinese context.

[EN] Transforming Cities with Transit