December's Showcase: Institute for Transportation & Development Policy

Look, I'm not being cliche for December! I'll bet you weren't expecting the final showcase to be about public transportation.

This is a good example of how societies can be dramatically improved--efficiency-wise, environmentally, and from certain standpoints, economically--and is a "good idea" that "should happen," but is faced with a lot of resistance when it comes to real-world application.

For instance, I live in Colorado Springs. I would love to to see my city become more of a hot-spot tourist destination because it would bring income into the city and because we've got some pretty nice sights here to share (even though I've seen the Garden of the Gods so many times that it's just normal landscape to me, I've enjoyed sharing it with exchange guests my family has hosted). Frankly, however, our public transportation options suck, and while there are walking trails that go on forever, it's not pedestrian-friendly for everyday life. If you don't have a car, you're pretty much stuck.

Even if people complain and say "we need better public transportation here," no one is really willing to give up the convenience of their cars or pay higher taxes to establish better systems. Sigh... such is the story of many good ideas.

It might just be because of the utter lack of it here, but I really like public transportation (and I am very stubborn about not wanting to get a car, but that's mostly because I don't want to pay for a big piece of metal that will continue to cost me money in loan payments, maintenance, insurance and gas, but that's really just a matter of me whining). I mentioned in the previous entry that I love Japan, which I do, and I love the train systems there. Sure, I had to walk a lot (and got soaked a few times in typhoons), but I could pretty much wake up, decide on a little town to go check out, and then find a train to take me there.

I also love China. To be a little more specific, Hangzhou is one of my favorite cities in the world. It's part big-business and shopping and part tourist destination (for good reason, but I digress). While I studied there for three months, I could go pretty much anywhere. Granted, that was because there were cheap taxis everywhere, but most things I needed on a regular basis were within easy walking distance, and the air-conditioned buses went almost everywhere I ever wanted to go. There were many days when I would just start walking for miles, see where I would wind up and what kinds of places I would discover, and when I felt satisfied, I just needed to find the nearest bus stop and I knew I'd have a way back. It was nice to have both freedom and security.

Part of what made it so walkable was that a lot of the city was planned to accommodate people without cars (that's not to say they don't have congestion problems, though). One of the ways they've done this is to implement a city bike-rental system. You sign up for a card which has a certain amount of cash put on it, and you use that card to unlock and pay for bikes that fill stalls all around the city. You use it for a certain period of time, and then you can just return it to the nearest stall. You can read more about that system here.

Why do I bring this up on a blog about humanitarian organizations aiming to alleviate poverty? Because good ideas should be shared, that's why! But if good ideas are going to work, they need something to back them up, and help see them through. Sometimes that requires a think tank. Hence, this month's showcase is the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP). They work with governments and developing cities around the world to make informed plans for more effective public transportation to support growing city populations.

Cutting down on carbon emissions is just one goal. They also want to make transportation safer, and enable the underprivileged living in big cities to have access to what they need without having to buy cars and get stuck in traffic jams--more transportation options means more possibility for employment, which means more means by which to support oneself and one's family.

And I'll state it again--public transportation makes any city more attractive to tourists! Plagued with problems as it is, we live in a remarkable world, and I'd like to see more people enabled to go out and mingle with it.

Payment Procedures

You all probably know the drill by now. Go to the DONATE page, and be ready with your credit card. Part of what ITDP does is make publications about more effective transportation, and you'll be able to share their knowledge when they send you their annual magazine. After all, ideas should be shared if they're ever going to become more than that!