Inclusive climate-resilient transport in Africa

Poorly planned transport systems have negative consequences for everyone; whether they are driving a car, using public transport, walking or cycling. There is a need to ensure transport planning and decision making is not only sustainable and resilient to climate change but hears the voice of all transport users, especially low-income disadvantaged groups.

Overall, the project’s aim was to contribute to meeting the mobility needs these groups in a changing climate. It set out to address two research questions:

• How can the voice of disadvantaged groups be incorporated within transport planning and decision-making?
• What institutional arrangements are needed to ensure better coordination among various stakeholders to implement climate resilient infrastructure?

The project sought to strengthen technical capacity in Africa to support the formulation and implementation of inclusive climate resilient low carbon mobility. Creative participatory approaches can incorporate the voice of disadvantaged and low-income groups into the transport planning decision-making process. Therefore, the project focused on the evaluation of these approaches and developed an evidence-based toolkit to support transport policymakers and decision-makers.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the project were to:

• Understand needs of key actors by undertaking an assessment of mobility needs of specific disadvantaged groups and national and local transport planners and decision-makers.
• Share knowledge on climate impacts on transport, and evidence-based participatory tools and practice to include the voice of disadvantaged groups, and by providing a guidance for inclusive climate resilient transport planning.
• Enhance capacity of transport planners and decision-makers via short-term training on guidance for inclusive climate resilient transport to include the voice of disadvantaged groups in transport infrastructure planning, and to address the climate resilience aspects to promote low carbon mobility.
• Raise awareness by communicating and disseminating the results of the study to African LIC via the Guidance for Inclusive Climate Resilient Transport that can be used by other planners and NGOs across Africa.

Outcomes

The project increased:

• understanding of the needs of low-income disadvantaged groups and transport, low carbon mobility and climate resilience;
• capacity to include the voice of low-income disadvantaged groups in planning climate resilient transport infrastructure;
• use of tools and approaches that can include the concerns of low-income Increased use of tools and approaches that can include the concerns of low-income disadvantaged groups in transport planning;
• ability to ensure transport infrastructure is resilient to climate change; and
• opportunity for low-income disadvantaged groups to contribute to transport planning and design.

Creative participatory methods

Creative participatory methods for urban transport planning enable participants to visualize, share experiences, explore different possibilities, and challenge current thinking.

They encourage engagement from often hard-to-reach, vulnerable participants through on-street activities or novel co-designed approaches, enabling their voices to be heard in transport policy-making and planning processes.

However, implementing creative and participatory approaches requires a change in how transport consultation, planning, and decision‐making is undertaken.

While increasing inclusion and participation may appear time‐consuming compared to conventional consultation activities, it can enhance the quality of information used to make decisions. As a consequence this should result in more inclusive and equitable outcomes that may, in the medium‐term, turn out to be more robust, cost‐effective, and sustainable.

Examples of participatory methods:

Narratives – Combines storytelling or image creation (photos, art canvases, etc.) that communicate participants’ stories of the future. These approaches can identify specific local contexts and cultural factors that affect planning and infrastructure developments, including existing effects of climate change. They can be used on street, in meetings and can facilitate participation over a longer timeline.

Digital stories – These include photo‐voice (where participants take their own pictures to illustrate their personal situation); documentary photography (where professional photographers take images to communicate someone else’s experiences); and participant‐directed video tours that explore community knowledge.

Participatory mapping – These are methods that collect information from participants in a spatial framework (a paper or digital map). The information can include their knowledge of local mobility. Maps are used to identify locations where residents found particularly challenging and where solutions could be implemented.

Streetscape models – Participants interact with streetscape models (3D representations of the locality) to identify current mobility challenges or to suggest infrastructure improvements. They are engaging and interactive, encouraging widespread participation.

Placemaking activities – These are practical interventions for transforming public spaces to improve mobility choices, road safety and climate resilience. Within these activities, there are opportunities to undertake experiments with infrastructure. These can include the temporary closure of streets to motorised traffic to explore safety and active travel options; or utilising the streetscape for alternative community or economic purposes (for example, recreation spaces and/or cafés or on-street vendors).

Infrastructure experiments – These are temporary changes to infrastructure to encourage a behaviour change typically to improve safety, encourage modal shift, or identify unexpected impacts of a proposed scheme before full  permanent implementation. These sorts of interventions are useful as they can be removed or installed in new locations to maintain the ‘surprise’ element for vehicle drivers.

Deliberative approaches – Useful for deciding on future strategies among a range of options or to work towards a consensus on disputed topics. The Delphi method is an example of a deliberative approach.

The HVT project undertook the following key activities:

• Needs assessment of transport planners, decision-makers and transport providers in developing transport policy, planning infrastructure and offering transport services and the mobility needs of low-income or disadvantaged groups such as women, older people and the disabled in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.
• State of knowledge review of climate impacts on transport infrastructure, including adaptation efforts. An assessment of global best practice on participatory approaches tools, lessons learned and pilot projects.
• Case study analysis of transport planning in Uganda (Kampala) and a second LIC, and application of selected tools/approaches.
• Development of a Guidance Framework for Inclusive Climate Transport Planning in African LIC based on the evidence and practical insights gained from field data.
• Training workshops on the Guidance Framework within Uganda, second LIC; and beyond.
• Dissemination activities to promote the Guidance Framework in the Region.

Case Study #1 

Understanding the impact of a major road junction on the mobility of disadvantaged groups and implications for low carbon mobility.

Background

The majority of trips in Lusaka consist of walking, followed by public transport, and with only 10% trips by car. Despite low car ownership, Lusaka and other Zambian cities are experiencing increasing traffic congestion, road fatalities and poor air quality making it difficult for disadvantaged groups to access economic and educational opportunities. To overcome such challenges and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cities need to adopt urban planning strategies and transport system interventions that promote a shift to low carbon modes, including efficient public transport, walking, and cycling. 

The Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST) tested new ways of working with local people to better understand their journeys, the road safety risks they experience, climate change impact and also their ideas on solutions of how to improve local travel.

Location

Tokyo Way – Kamwala South, Lusaka, Zambia

This location has been identified as one of the most unsafe road traffic junctions in Lusaka, particularly for a large number school children during their travel to and from school. The junction also affects the safety of other vulnerable road users.

Purpose

This case study assessed the experiences of disadvantaged groups who use the Tokyo Way/Kamwala South road junction. It determined what challenges they face and how these impact their mobility and transport mode choices, especially during different weather conditions. It also examined using creative and participatory methods to gain additional insights to mobility needs of disadvantaged groups to provide a more inclusive transport planning process, and one that also considers future climate change.

Methodology

The case study investigated using Participatory Geographical Information Systems (PGIS) and pop-up creative activities to gain insights into the mobility challenges and needs of disadvantaged road users.

Artworks; streetscape models; digital story-telling and photography were used to capture local knowledge and identify co-created solutions and preferences for mobility infrastructure.

Outcomes

Feedback from stakeholders helped identify the key problems of road safety and climate change in this area which were communicated to Lusaka City Council and other central government agencies responsible for transport planning. This also provided the evidence to support the development of the Guidance Document to promote inclusive climate resilient transport in African cities. 

Case Study #2

Exploring the impact of a Boda Boda Free Zone on the mobility of disadvantaged groups and vehicle emissions in Kampala, Uganda.

Introduction

The case study in Kampala assessed the impact of implementing a “Boda Boda Free Zone”  on disadvantaged groups, by using creative methods to engage riders and passengers. It also sought to understand how climate change and air pollution affects the journeys people take.

The case study aimed to strengthen the technical capacity to support the formulation and implementation of more inclusive climate resilient low carbon mobility in the city through close collaboration with the Kampala Capital City Authority.

Background

Boda Bodas (motorcycle taxis) are a common means of public transport used in Uganda and especially in the capital city of Kampala. They are a source of livelihood for young people, convenient and cheap for users, and avoid traffic congestion. Unlike other public transport services, Boda Bodas provide accessibility to nearly all areas of the city. There are currently an estimated 120,000 Boda Bodas operating in Kampala City. Their name originates from the “border-to-border” rides between Uganda and Kenya in the 1960s and 70s.

The Boda Boda Free Zone, was proposed by the Ugandan government during the COVID pandemic first and foremost as a safety and public space quality improvement measure. Other measures to regulate Boda Boda riders included their registration at stages (pick-up points) and through the use of apps e.g. SafeBoda.

Boda Bodas may pose a threat to the health of non-motorized transport users, as they are a source of air pollution and exacerbate road safety problems in Kampala’s mixed traffic. While the ban on them may have benefits for road safety, public space, climate and air quality, conversely, it could also have negative impacts on the livelihoods of youths, as well as reducing mobility options of poorer citizens who rely on Boda Bodas. It may also result in concentrating the Boda Bodas elsewhere, at unofficial stages; therefore, simply shifting the issue.

Study Area

Based on a decision by the Cabinet of Uganda, on 25th July 2020, a proposal was made to restrict access by Boda Bodas to Central Business District of Kampala.

Methodology

Various data collection methods were used in the study to gain different perspectives of the mobility challenges faced by road users (service providers and disadvantaged groups) following the establishment of the Boda Boda Free Zone. These include: on-street interviews, field observations, participatory mapping, scenario and visioning (Delphi approach) and digital story telling.

Stakeholder interviews

Different stakeholders were consulted about their opinions on mobility issues in Kampala; the impact of the Boda Boda Free Zone; and how climate affects their Boda Boda usage. Stakeholders included: motorcyclists, passengers,  planners, decision makers, civil society organizations, and disadvantaged group representatives.

Participatory mapping

Mapping was used to record the locations of Boda Boda motorcycle stages used by passengers and to identify the principal routes they take. This helped identify the busiest areas of the Central business District (CBD). The map is also used as a tool to capture how people visualize the CBD without the motorcycle taxis.

Digital story telling

Using collaborative processes, participants and facilitators worked together to produce powerful stories about mobility challenges facing vulnerable road users. Digital media (photo, video, audio) was used to document, highlight and explain the lived experience of different road users, providing insights into issues that would have otherwise been inaccessible using traditional interview methods.

Representatives from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups produced short digital stories highlighting the routes they usually took, describing the personal difficulties they experience on a daily basis. Presenting their stories enabled them to propose solutions as well.

In addition, cameras were used to observe the traffic situation in Kampala from the perspective of the Boda Boda riders themselves. Selected riders had cameras mounted on their motorcycle to record their journey over a set route.

Deliberative approaches

This is an approach to decision-making that allows participants to consider relevant information from multiple points of view. The case study utilized the Delphi method approach, developed by Rand, where a pool of experts considered a number of statements about the extent to which transport infrastructure is affected by climate change. Over a series of iterations, a facilitator compiled the responses, refined the statements and returned them back to the experts until a final consensus was reached.

Additional sources of data

Finally, the case study compiled supplementary information pertaining to the Boda Boda Free Zone from regulatory agencies responsible for planning and implementing transport policies in the city including: Kampala Capital City Authority, National Road Safety Council, Ministry of works – (Transport Licensing Board), Uganda Police Force ( traffic directorate, vehicle inspection) and the National Planning Authority.

External Collaborators

UNEP Share the Road	Uganda Local Partner
Carly Gilbert-Patrick Global transport and programme manager in transport policy and practice. She leads UN Environment’s Share the Road Programme.	Amanda Ngabirano Lecturer and researcher in transport planning and mobility. She is also Chairperson of Uganda’s National Physical Planning Board (NPPB)
Zambia Local Partner	Uganda Local Partner
Daniel Mwamba Daniel Mwamba is the founder and chairman for Zambia’s leading NGO for Road Safety, the Zambia Road Safety Trust. He is also the country’s Data Coordinator for the WHO Road Safety Global Status Report.	Wasike Yusuf Arby Wasike Yusuf Arby is an Urban Planner and Managing Partner of Newsphere Innovations Limited.