NECTAR Workshop – ABOUT

Aim

The growth and prosperity of cities and urban areas is propelled by advantages of agglomeration. At the same time cities around the world, and in particular cities in developing countries and emerging economies such as Brazil, struggle with social and economic negative consequences of rapid urbanization and motorization. Governments struggle with policies to address the urban transport crisis associated with severe congestion, air pollution, sprawling metropolitan areas. The advantages and disadvantages are not equally experienced by all members of the population. Groups that benefit from having high levels of access to opportunities and better connections are not the same who experience the burdens such as congestion and poor air quality. This is a globally recurring issue, despite considerable differences between urban areas worldwide in terms of economic context, spatial planning and infrastructure provision. This workshop aims to discuss the complex relationships between transport, urbanization, inequalities in accessibility and air pollution, and the governance and policy implications of the development of smart and equitable cities and transport policies.

Topics of interest

The workshop will focus on three topics:

• Smart cities and inequalities in transport accessibility between population groups in metropolitan areas
• Smart cities and inequalities in exposure to transport-related air pollution
• Social, political and governance issues of equitable and smart cities

Keynote speakers:

Prof. Juan Antonio Carrasco (Universidad de Concepción, Chile)
Prof. Deb Niemeier (University of California - Davis, U.S.A.)