Insititution of Civil Engineers Headquarters, London
The subject of “Peak Oil” has been in the news again recently – http://peakoiltaskforce.net – reminding us again of the resource pre-occupations which characterised much of the 1970s, along with power cuts and economic malaise in the UK.
However, whilst some cities and regions learnt the lessons of that time, it’s probably fair to say that no single nation has, to the extent necessary to tackle the similar problems of today.
Unfortunately, a good example of this failure to learn comes from a supposed global centre of excellence for learning in this country : the University of Cambridge.
The following extract comes from an article from Sir Peter Hall in Regeneration & Renewal, 6 July 200 which refers to “a group of urban researchers, led by Professor Marcial Echenique of Cambridge University, who have spent three years seeking to understand the relationships between urban development, transport and sustainability” :
“The Solutions project, conducted in five universities and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, found virtually no relationship between urban form and travel…They looked at three alternative scenarios: a Richard Rogers-style compact city; market-led dispersal, US-fashion; and planned expansion on the garden city model….Until now, such arguments have come from free-market think-tanks or the Treasury, in Kate Barker’s report on planning policies. But the new research, coming from top university departments of planning and transport, will re-ignite the debate. The Department for Communities and Local Government, working frantically on new housing policy options, needs urgently to take heed.”
This is interesting because a report recently published by the “Institution of Civil Engineers” – Entering the Ecological Age: The Engineers Role – strongly suggests that it is precisely “a Richard Rogers-style compact city” of the kind advocated in his Urban Task Force Report “Towards an Urban Renaissance” in 1999 which holds the key to sustainability.
Since the publication of this report, the main problem has been lack of investment in a whole range of sustainable transport measures, as distinct from unwelcome public exhortations. Implementing such measures will be a key challenge for the next administration.
