Shifting the Mobility Paradigm of Intermediate Cities in Tanzania : Urban Transport for People
Tanzania’s intermediate cities have the potential to play a critical role in the country’s economic development. To reap the benefits of urbanization, however, cities need to lay the groundwork for productive and inclusive growth, and that requires...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/708141624864417575/Shifting-the-Mobility-Paradigm-of-Intermediate-Cities-in-Tanzania-Urban-Transport-for-People http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35927 |
| Summary: | Tanzania’s intermediate cities have the
potential to play a critical role in the country’s economic
development. To reap the benefits of urbanization, however,
cities need to lay the groundwork for productive and
inclusive growth, and that requires establishing mobility
systems for people rather than private cars. The high rates
of urban population growth in the country are an opportunity
to reap the benefits of agglomeration economies and
contribute to economic growth and shared prosperity, but
they also represent a challenge: to deliver urban services
to a rapidly growing population in a timely and sustainable
manner. One of these services, mobility, is key to bringing
people and businesses closer to each other and spurring
growth. Relying uniquely on private, motorized modes of
transport (i.e., cars and motorcycles) comes with large
economic, social, and environmental costs. It fuels a cycle
of automobile dependence where high motorization rates lead
to congestion, which leads policymakers to invest in more
roads at high expense, which in turn induces higher
motorization and urban sprawl. As many cities in the world
have witnessed, including Dar es Salaam, as a city grows, it
is increasingly costly to retrofit and break this cycle of
automobile dependence; as such, enhancing sustainable urban
mobility at an early stage is key to taking advantage of the
benefits of urbanization in intermediate cities in Tanzania.
This report assesses the state of mobility in intermediate
cities and proposes four areas, strategic vision,
governance, finance, and management, where intervention
would allow Tanzania to prepare these cities’ mobility
systems for a more sustainable future. Sustainable urban
mobility, in practice, is achieved with dense, livable
cities, non-motorized transport (NMT) infrastructure, and
high-quality public transport systems. Aligning the
strategic vision towards these goals, establishing
institutional arrangements that meet urban mobility needs,
tapping into new finance sources for the sector, and
improving management and operations for a more efficient use
of available resources can ensure Tanzania’s intermediate
cities and their mobility systems are ready for future
growth and development. |
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