Award Ceremony - ap.hunterdouglas....

SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS – HUNTER DOUGLAS DESIGN COMPETITION 2001Dr. Udo Loersch, VicePresident, ExternalAffairs, DaimlerChryslerSouth East Asia, spokeon the issuesconfronting planners,politicians, economists,Dr. Udo Loerschecologists and others, inthe context of the rapid growth in transportation,and the possible solutions available to them.IntroductionThe transition to the 21 st century is marked bytwo developments – the maintenance and furtherdevelopment of the growing mobility of peopleand material; and the change to an informationandknowledge- based, service-oriented society.To ensure that mobility can be maintained in thefuture, transport must be organised anddeveloped in an ecologically and sociallyacceptable way, with the required political andeconomic support, and utilising the innovativecapabilities of all people concerned. Thetransport policy must define and develop thebasic conditions necessary for that purpose.Mobility is a basic requirement of people and anindispensable component of our lives. Mobilitycontributes considerably to the development of theeconomy and society and is a prerequisite for thefunctioning of social and economic processes. Theincreasing separation of home and work, as well asgrowing requirements concerning the use of leisuretime, have led to an unstoppable increase in traffic.Award CeremonySustainable Growth -A Challenge for the 21 st Centurywith more than 10 million inhabitants - in 2015,there will be 26 such mega-cities.Against the background of this situation, newinnovative solutions for the improvement of thetransportation systems and the maintenance of themobility of passengers and goods, are gainingsignificance, in order to meet the economic, ecologicaland social needs of our society in the 21 st century.The initial situationRoad transportation is the dominant mode ofmovement of passengers and goods. And thosewho travel by car, represent 80% of thepassenger traffic. The prognosis is that there willbe an increase of 30% in motorised privatetransport, by the year 2010. The major part, ormore than 75% of this traffic, will be shortdistancemovements (distances up to 80 km).Today, cars and trucks are the principal meansof transportation of passengers and freight. Theywill maintain their significant role in the future.Innovations in this method of transportation areof major importance for improved developmentof towns and for environmental compatibility.Public transport has become the focal point ofinterest in areas where there is a concentrationof population, as certain routes are congestedregularly at peak hours. Therefore, themaintenance and extension of the transportationinfrastructure, is of major importance. However,for years, investments in traffic infrastructurehave actually been decreasing. The gap betweenthe performance of transportation andinvestments in it, has widened even further.As a result, bottle-necks, traffic jams, and theburden on the environment, have beenincreasing.Inadequate transportation infrastructure and itsconsequences, such as traffic jams andunnecessary driving, have neutralised the savingsin fuel consumption, achieved through constantdevelopment of engine technology.The mineral oil industry, for example, is convincedthat the main topic in future traffic development,will no longer be emissions, but rather, theimproved handling of traffic volumes, throughmeasures for the intelligent organisation oftransportation.Traffic in congested areas is of particular publicand political interest. It is a daily annoyance and,at the same time, a long-term challenge.Continuous population growth, as well as themagnetic effect of large cities, have led toagglomerations such as Mexico City, Cairo, SaoPaulo, Tokyo etc. These aggravate traffic problemsand result in negative effects on traffic and theenvironment. Today, more than 50% of the world’spopulation, that is, 3.4 billion people, live in citiesand a great number of them live in mega-cities. Afurther increase to 60 or 70% has been predictedin the coming decades. Today, there are 17 citiesIn view of the growing amount of traffic, solutions have to be found to sustain the mobility ofpassengers and freight.10