In addition, part of the middle classes is taking on board the issue of environmental degradation and is open to rethinking the automotive model. Since the 2000s, such movements have been increasingly active, backed by local and international non-governmental organizations and institutes for policy analysis. Nevertheless, although there still are large differences between social groups in terms of their ability to influence public policies, the overwhelming power of the elite and middle classes may be confronted by progressive experts and intellectuals working for the State and by new social movements demanding more equity, accessibility and environmental quality. Major changes cannot be expected in the short run. The movement to promote change will face huge obstacles, related to crystallized economic and political interests, from the automotive industry, the middle class, and conservative politicians. A large set of open and hidden subsidies were provided, to purchase vehicles and to use them. Taxes on vehicle property and licensing were kept at very low levels. The road system was adapted to them, to ensure traffic fluidity and provide free parking spaces on streets. For those who have access to cars, life was always plenty of comfort. They paid an immoral cost to visualize they could be accepted as citizens. With motorcycle users, those that opted to work carrying merchandises carved their road space circulating between large vehicles to speed up and often facing severe accidents and death. The single improvement that impacted the whole system was the creation of the “vale-transporte”, which limited fare expenses of salaried workers unsalaried workers, approximately 50% of all workers, did not have this benefit and continued paying full fares. Severe difficulties remain in peripheral areas and on peak-hours on major cities, causing severe daily discomfort to millions of users. But the results were not at all satisfactory. An integrated bus system was in fact designed and implemented, becoming one of largest in the world. They always had a structural advantage: the economic system had to transport workers to the work in place in order to function properly. People relying on public transport were much more politically active in the past because regular workers belonged to unions and associations that were constantly pressing for an improved transport system. In short, we argue that the potential of city networks must go hand-in-hand with more integrative and strategic thinking at both local and international levels. Drawing on a research collaboration between the UCL City Leadership Laboratory at University College London and the World Health Organization's Healthy Cities Network and both a global dataset of city networks as well as qualitative focus group data, we consider the growth of these governance structures, their strengths, but also the weaknesses associated with their rapid growth, and how cities can engage with this networked landscape more strategically. Might it be time for a ‘Darwinian’ selection between city networking options? Diving deeper into this networked challenge, this essay focuses on the effects this networked diplomacy and overlap it might have on cities. Institutionalized networks of cities, while not new, are becoming a growing presence on the international scene, almost omnipresent and perhaps even too common. Yet while there are many studies on networking among cities, there have been few studies of ‘city networks’ as formal and institutionalized governance structures facilitating city-to-city and city-to-other actors cooperation, or ‘city diplomacy’. Cities are increasingly capturing the attention of major international actors and now regularly feature in multilateral processes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |