Write a newspaper article on 'Traffic pollution'
Answers
Answer:
Highlights
• Rapid urbanization in developing countries often causes motorization proliferation.
• The links between urbanization, motorization and air pollution are explored.
• Nairobi, Kenya is used as case study city for East Africa.
Explanation:
1. Introduction
Cities have been central to human development (Riffat, Powell, & Aydin, 2016) and to advanced civilization's concept of cultural and economic accomplishment (Droege, 2008). Over the past two centuries, the movement of people to live in cities and large towns has meant that the proportion of the world's population living in urban areas has grown from around 5% to 50% (McMichael, 2000). By 2050, this proportion is estimated to rise to around 66%, with most of the growth being in developing countries (UN, 2014). Urbanization has been associated with increasing pressure on cities worldwide.
2. Background
2.1. The problem
“(A)s cities grow and become richer, ownership and use of motorized vehicles - including private vehicles (as in Eastern Europe), small buses (as in much of Latin America and Africa) and 2-3 wheelers (as in Asia) - grows more rapidly than the available road space. This results in increased congestion and traffic-generated air pollution… As the sources of pollution differ so would the prescribed solutions.”
(Gwilliam, 2013:4)
Gwilliam asserts above that urban economic growth tends to be characterized by increased motorization. While there are commercial drivers of growing dependence on motor vehicles, (for example, to enable supply of goods to/export of products from cities), with more disposable income and poor public transport options, cultural effects can mean individuals aspire to meet their personal mobility needs through car ownership.
(UN, 2016)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) predicts that half the world's population growth in the next 30 years will be in Africa and that, left unchecked, this will be associated with a dramatic rise in the number of cars and volume of emissions in African cities:
“The vehicle fleet will double in the next seven years in Nairobi,” says Rob de Jong, Unep's (sic) head of transport. “The number of cars in Africa is still relatively small, but the emissions per vehicle are much higher [than the rest of the world].”
(Vidal, 2016)
The need to offset transport effects in urban areas is clearly recognized. Urban air in Africa is said to be poor “…because so few cars are new, the vast majority having been shipped in second hand from Japan and Europe with their catalytic converters and air filters dismantled. It is in danger of becoming a dumping ground for the world's old cars – importing vehicles that no longer meet rich countries' pollution standards” (Vidal, 2016). Urban fossil fuel dominated areas need to be replaced by socially diverse environments where economic and social activities overlap and citizens' wellbeing is increased (Riffat et al., 2016). In its recommendations to the UN Secretary General, the High-Level Advisory Group to advance sustainable transport highlights the need for transport planning, policy and investment decisions to be based on the three sustainable development dimensions [social development, environmental (including climate) impacts and economic growth] and a full life cycle analysis (UN, 2016).
2.2. The case of Nairobi
Nairobi has an estimated population of 3.915 million and an area of 696 sq km (UNdata, 2015). The city is unusual in that, alongside its urban core, it has a national park in the central area where endangered black rhino and other wildlife can be found. Due to this wildlife attraction and other more distant attractions, Nairobi is a major tourist gateway for safaris and other forms of holiday. Kenya's capital is one of the largest cities in East Africa and is the region's financial, diplomatic and communication capital (UNCTAD, 2016). A recent Oxford Business Group report indicates that Kenya has been making considerable progress towards strengthening its position as the leading regional transport and logistics centre. However, it also suggests that, while transport investment is recognized to be essential, there is a “hefty infrastructure deficit” (Oxford Business Group, 2016). The Kenya Roads Board provides further insight into the seemingly dichotomous relationship between demands on the transport system and investment in infrastructure to enable sustainable growth. It states that “the transport sector in Kenya combines international quality operators and services, a somewhat run down infrastructure and some inefficient and ineffective institutions”