Non-Motorized Transport Integration into Urban Transport Planning in Africa

This book examines non-motorized transport (NMT) behaviour, infrastructure provision and service delivery development in the African urban context. It challenges the conventional focus on transport network analysis and motor-vehicle dominated infrastructure decision-making, arguing that consideration of people walking, cycling and pushing carts are an essential requirement for urban transport planning and governance in urban Africa. Bringing together in-depth case studies, the volume examines non-motorized travel behaviour, planning and the institutional framework governing non-motorized infrastructure provision, safety of pedestrians and cyclists and reasons why NMT is underestimated.

What challenges do pedestrians and cyclists face in cities of the developing world? What opportunities do these cities have to provide for walking and cycling? Based on in-depth research conducted in Cape Town (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya), this book explores these questions by presenting work on walking and cycling travel behaviour, the status of road safety in these cities, as well as an analysis of the infrastructure for walking and cycling, and the workings of the institutions responsible for planning for these modes. The book also presents case studies relating to particular opportunities and challenges, such as the development and evaluation of ‘walking bus’ interventions, and the opportunities micro-simulation of pedestrian interventions offers within a data-scarce environment.

demonstrates that transport and urban planning remains situated in a logic of automobile-dependent transport planning and global city development. This logic of practice does not pay adequate attention to walking and cycling. It argues that a significant shift in both policy as well as political commitment is needed so as to prioritize walking and cycling as strategies for sustainable transport policy in urban Africa.

This book will be a key text for practitioners and policy makers working in planning, transport policy and urban development in Africa, as well as students and scholars of African studies, development studies, urban geography, transport studies and sustainable development.