IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i3p1313-d1332946.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Exploring Capacity Building for Active Travel in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Desmond Lartey

    (Urban Cycling Institute, International School for Social and Business Studies, 3000 Celje, Slovenia)

  • Meredith A. Glaser

    (Urban Cycling Institute, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The promotion of active travel is deemed a crucial component of the transition to sustainable urban mobility. Several barriers hinder its policy implementation and uptake. Some evidence suggests that capacity building could be a useful tool for deepening sustainability efforts. This concept involves the development and deployment of skills and resources. However, a clear framework for understanding the dimensions of capacity building for active travel is lacking. Furthermore, most research and findings use cases within a Global North context, constricting implications and transferability to the Global South, especially to African cities. This study responds to the dearth of scholarly work exploring Global South cases and fills a knowledge gap regarding capacity building in the case of active travel. Through a literature review, we examined the dimensions of capacity building that are necessary to improve active travel in selected African countries. We focus on multilevel transportation governance with highlights from five African cities. Our findings suggest that the literature and policies on transport in Africa have key dimensions for capacity building for active travel but lack the introduction of key instruments and strategic pathways to meet these requirements for improved sustainable mobility. We propose a thematic guiding framework that delineates the strategic application of capacity building at three levels of governance. This framework helps integrate capacity building for active travel policies and implementation at the institutional, individual, and environmental levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Desmond Lartey & Meredith A. Glaser, 2024. "Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Exploring Capacity Building for Active Travel in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-20, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1313-:d:1332946
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1313/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1313/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jinhyun Hong & David Philip McArthur & Mark Livingston, 2020. "The evaluation of large cycling infrastructure investments in Glasgow using crowdsourced cycle data," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2859-2872, December.
    2. Yeran Sun & Amin Mobasheri, 2017. "Utilizing Crowdsourced Data for Studies of Cycling and Air Pollution Exposure: A Case Study Using Strava Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Williams, Martin J., 2021. "Beyond state capacity: bureaucratic performance, policy implementation and reform," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 339-357, April.
    4. Griswold, Julia B. & Medury, Aditya & Schneider, Robert J., 2011. "Pilot Models for Estimating Bicycle Intersection Volumes," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt380855q6, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    5. Kablan P. Kacou & Lavagnon A. Ika & Lauchlan T. Munro, 2022. "Fifty years of capacity building: Taking stock and moving research forward," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(4), pages 215-232, October.
    6. Marialaura Di Domenico & Paul Tracey & Helen Haugh, 2009. "Social Economy Involvement in Public Service Delivery: Community Engagement and Accountability," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(7), pages 981-992.
    7. Mia Luluquisen & Lauren Pettis, 2014. "Community engagement for policy and systems change," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 252-262, July.
    8. Alexandros Nikitas & Stefanos Tsigdinos & Christos Karolemeas & Efthymia Kourmpa & Efthimios Bakogiannis, 2021. "Cycling in the Era of COVID-19: Lessons Learnt and Best Practice Policy Recommendations for a More Bike-Centric Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-25, April.
    9. Supee Teravaninthorn & Gaël Raballand, 2009. "Transport Prices and Costs in Africa : A Review of the International Corridors," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6610.
    10. Banister, David, 2008. "The sustainable mobility paradigm," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 73-80, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesca Pontin & Nik Lomax & Graham Clarke & Michelle A. Morris, 2021. "Characterisation of Temporal Patterns in Step Count Behaviour from Smartphone App Data: An Unsupervised Machine Learning Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Cyril Chalendard, 2015. "Use of internal information, external information acquisition and customs underreporting," Working Papers halshs-01179445, HAL.
    3. Donaldson, Dave & Atkin, David, 2015. "Who?s Getting Globalized? The Size and Implications of Intra-national Trade Costs," CEPR Discussion Papers 10759, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Saujot, Mathieu & Lefèvre, Benoit, 2016. "The next generation of urban MACCs. Reassessing the cost-effectiveness of urban mitigation options by integrating a systemic approach and social costs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 124-138.
    5. Busscher, Tim & Tillema, Taede & Arts, Jos, 2015. "In search of sustainable road infrastructure planning: How can we build on historical policy shifts?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 42-51.
    6. Thomas Vanoutrive & Ann Verhetsel, 2013. "Classifying transport studies using three dimensions of society: market structure, sustainability and decision making," Chapters, in: Thomas Vanoutrive & Ann Verhetsel (ed.), Smart Transport Networks, chapter 1, pages 1-8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Tornberg, Patrik & Odhage, John, 2018. "Making transport planning more collaborative? The case of Strategic Choice of Measures in Swedish transport planning," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 416-429.
    8. Tammaru, Tiit & Sevtsuk, Andres & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Towards an equity-centred model of sustainable mobility: Integrating inequality and segregation challenges in the green mobility transition," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    9. Idiano D'Adamo & Massimo Gastaldi & Ilhan Ozturk, 2023. "The sustainable development of mobility in the green transition: Renewable energy, local industrial chain, and battery recycling," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 840-852, April.
    10. Alvaro Rodriguez-Valencia & Hernan A. Ortiz-Ramirez, 2021. "Understanding Green Street Design: Evidence from Three Cases in the U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    11. Gössling, Stefan, 2016. "Urban transport justice," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-9.
    12. Cavoli, Clemence, 2021. "Accelerating sustainable mobility and land-use transitions in rapidly growing cities: Identifying common patterns and enabling factors," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    13. Allard, Ryan F. & Moura, Filipe, 2018. "Effect of transport transfer quality on intercity passenger mode choice," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 89-107.
    14. Romanika Okraszewska & Aleksandra Romanowska & Marcin Wołek & Jacek Oskarbski & Krystian Birr & Kazimierz Jamroz, 2018. "Integration of a Multilevel Transport System Model into Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, February.
    15. Combs, Tabitha S., 2017. "Examining changes in travel patterns among lower wealth households after BRT investment in Bogotá, Colombia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 11-20.
    16. Minten, Bart & Stifel, David & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2012. "Structural transformation in Ethiopia: Evidence from cereal markets:," ESSP working papers 39, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    18. Tomasz Bieliński & Łukasz Dopierała & Maciej Tarkowski & Agnieszka Ważna, 2020. "Lessons from Implementing a Metropolitan Electric Bike Sharing System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, November.
    19. Bayissa Badada Badassa & Baiqing Sun & Lixin Qiao, 2020. "Sustainable Transport Infrastructure and Economic Returns: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-24, March.
    20. Banister, David, 2011. "The trilogy of distance, speed and time," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 950-959.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1313-:d:1332946. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.