Welcome to the ECOCITY 2022 Interactive Programme

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During the COVID-19 Pandemic, people are forced to stay at home by the government. This restricts them to go outside which seems to make them bored. In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, there was a moment when more people than before do biking and walking in a certain area of the city during the pandemic. This is an odd moment because active outdoor activities were not so popular for Yogyakarta citizens. This phenomenon is unique because before the pandemic when people are free to do outdoor activities, only a few of them did biking and walking. On the contrary, during the pandemic when they are restricted to do outdoor activities and forced to stay at home, most of them do the opposite. Hence, this study aims to analyze the pattern of people doing biking and walking before and during the COVID-19 in the Yogyakarta area. It focuses on the comparison of the rate of the activities and the preferred routes in doing the activities. This study gathers biking and walking activity data from Strava, mobile app-based software that records its user's biking and walking activity, from January 2019 to January 2021. It is then analyzed using a t-test method and spatial analysis. It results in the influence of the stay at home policy and COVID-19 pandemic to the increasing rate of biking and walking activities and the user's preference in choosing the route. Preliminary, it shows that there are more people who do biking and walking during the pandemic in which they prefer to do the activities in either the downtown or the sub-urban area of Yogyakarta.

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Abstract:

Over recent years, cities in the Global South have shown a shift from public to private modes of transport, along with longer trip lengths, contributing to high GHG emissions. Many rapidly motorizing countries are experiencing a steep decline in physical activity, contributing to 5.3 million deaths annually. Even with inadequate infrastructure, Indian cities have showcased high modal shares of low-carbon transport modes like non-motorized transport (NMT) and public transport (PT), pre and post the COVID-19 pandemic. With an increase in the use of these active transport modes, CO2 emissions and inactivity can be substantially reduced.

Literature suggests that high dependence on personal mobility overlooks the needs of those having a restriction on personal vehicle use (like urban poor or women), causing inaccessibility. These are majorly NMT users who need a safe, segregated, and unobstructed space to walk away from the mixed traffic and encroachment. Additionally, children, the elderly and differently-abled have special infrastructure design needs for accessibility. For longer distances, reliable mass-transit systems like the bus, metro-rail or paratransit, integrated with the NMT are essential to promote healthy lifestyles by reducing personal motorized vehicle use, increasing physical activity and improving air quality.

This paper discusses the current state of active-transportation and their impact on other co-benefits in Indian cities of contrasting nature; Surat, a metropolitan industrial city with a 5.9 million population and Udaipur, a tourist city with a 0.5 million population and a frequent international footfall. The analysis presented is informed by online consultations and in-person field surveys disaggregated by various modes, income groups, gender, and special needs. It lays out improvements to active-transportation modes co-benefitting health, sustainability, and climate action.

Acknowledgements:

This paper is part of an ongoing research project Opportunities for Climate Mitigation and Sustainable Development (OPTIMISM), an international partnership project. This component is funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. We would like to thank UNEP for sharing Udaipur’s LCMP. We also express our gratitude to Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Udaipur Municipal Corporation (UMC) for extending their support.

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In this speech, I will present the role of mobile map and navigation applications as everyday tools that determine people's interest in cycling for recreational reasons as well as the influence on a frequency of using bicycles as a mean of transport among city commuters. I will try to look from local authority's perspective and speak about main guidelines for a strategy of promoting cycling and present examples that illustrate these activities. When describing a different kinds of digital support for bicycle traveling and commuting I will look through several types of apps dedicated to cyclists. I will also list cyclists' most common needs and expectations regarding mobile applications dedicated for cycling. Many researchers already explored different aspects of this issue and that's what I will mention briefly pointing their main conclusions and observations.

Finally I will present some technical aspects of mobile apps for walkers and cyclists that I have been working on with our company team and will bring closer some case studies of such implementations: mobile and web route-planning and navigation solutions dedicated to: 1) 2000 km long bicycle trail called GreenVelo in eastern Poland, 2) a net of trails named VeloMalopolska Trails in southern Poland as well as 3) a summer bicycle action organized in Koszalin City in northern Poland, by Forum Koszalin shopping mall.

My presentation will base on experiences gathered by AmistadMobile company that has been operating on the market of navigation, tourism and information for several years. Our company in partnership with regional authorities and environmental non-governmental organizations introduced the innovative mobile tool in Poland that helps to manage the network of cycling and other trails and routes as well as promotes sustainable transport and travel. It consists of the online database of the network of trails and routes in the destination including GPS tracks and waypoints with attractions (natural and cultural heritage), key infrastructure (resting points, toilets, garbage disposals) and interesting eco-micro-trips. The important part are safety mechanisms and functionalities allowing to interactive in danger situation on a trail and guidelines for responsible attitude influencing positive, environmentally friendly behaviors of users. It is applicable to any destination in the world – from cities and regions to national parks and other protected areas, theme parks, open-air museums, city parks and other open spaces, etc.

Our company follows sustainable business principles (Agenda 2030) in promoting growth and sustainable future based on new technologies, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and action for climate. Our staff commute to work by bike, on foot or using the public transport. We believe that the role and responsibility of each business in the world is to follow the sustainable development goals for the future of our Planet and new generations.

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This is presentation is all about people power and the way that strategies are employed by persons and organizations, with the aim to improve their urban environments – specifically to upgrade the quality and safety of walking and cycling and curb dangerous automobile traffic.

This presentation is based on my Masters thesis at IHS/Erasmus University in Rotterdam, successfully accepted in 2020. The results of the involved research have not been presented in front of a live audience before. This presentation takes the essential points and refers to the research, including both the case studies undertaken by the author as well as a survey performed. The presentation will connect the findings to the wider efforts taking place around the world in other situations.

Content of the presentation: In an effort to better understand how specific strategies are used and when and for what reasons organizations employ a preferred set of strategies, two specific case studies have been undertaken, one in Prague, Czech Republic and the other one in New York City, USA. Both cases involve efforts to transform a road or a highway according to a design that incorporates space for pedestrians and cyclists, reduces the quantity of cars, reduces the speed of cars, or installs safety improvements.

In order to fulfill these objectives, the studied groups perform a range of activities, which can be termed lobbying, co-production and framing. These contributions – whether explicit strategies or forms of direct engagement – filter into a political and social context, generating a process of development, of continuous adaptation, of give and take, acceptance and rejection.

Meanwhile, a certain narrative, or set of narratives emerges, which accompanies the development process. The narratives - akin to a public dialogue or town hall meeting - are influenced in part by the communication strategies and framing process of the protagonists. Values and beliefs come to the fore and in some cases this results in a clash of viewpoints or opposing fundamental conceptions of what a city should look like.