World Urban Forum

Yvonne - i think that this is very much a niche solution which in developed world might have some impact but it is not of real relevance to developing cities except to a very small group. The danger is also that it is being used as window dressing.

Why is carbon offset no challenge for developing countries? And why would a niche solution in London not be able to inspire innovation in developing cities. Is this forum limited to developing places?

This is s great example of using incentives to encourage travel behaviour change towards walking/cycling. The London example is very special as incentives are used to reduce crowding on buses and the Tube.

Have a look at the below articles if you interested in how incentives are used to encourage sustainable travel behaviour (Btw: I wrote my MSc Thesis on this topic...):

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8166020/Shopping-vouchers-for-walking-to-school.html

http://www.walk21.com/paper_search/results_detail.asp?Paper=627

It's probably useful to distinguish between specific solutions to urban transport problems that are directed towards "economic reasons / motivations" and those which are policy-based projects. It's probably easier in London to have a concrete result when motivating people to leave their cars than in Mumbai or other cities where public transport is not entirely reliable (or sometimes almost inexistent) and conditions for people on bicycles and walking are not suitable or safe. It's anyway good to see these examples to complement policy-based broader solutions. Thanks!