Leaders in Urban Transport Planning (LUTP)

Curriculum

While each LUTP workshop is tailored to the unique learning needs and context of its audience, the program maintains a curriculum of case studies and group exercises used to facilitate discussion and interactive problem-solving around urban transport in developing countries. This learning approach recognizes that urban transport practitioners in developing countries have a wealth of practical experience and understanding that can be effectively tapped for peer-to-peer learning.

Case Studies

Case studies give participants experience in dealing with complex, real-world situations. Case studies provide curated background information to put participants in the role of decision-makers facing an urban transport problem or project (without giving any recommendation). In LUTP workshops, case studies leverage the fact that participants come from a diverse backgrounds to look at urban transport challenges and projects from multiple perspectives. After reading this background material, workshop facilitators lead participants through analysis of the situation from multiple perspectives and discovery of generalizable lesson to be learned from the case.

LUTP develops and delivers case studies under the guiding principles of Harvard Kennedy School’s Case Program for public policy dialogue. Click on any of the case studies in our collection listed below to learn more.

Public and Active Transport Planning for Resilience and Health: The Case of Seoul, South Korea

Author(s): Kate DeMoss and Joanna Moody

Last updated: 2021, December

Abstract: Declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, COVID-19 has prompted cities around the world to consider more holistically the relationships among public health, transportation system resilience, and quality of life. The pandemic demonstrated diverse linkages between transport and health and spotlighted the vulnerability of connected, mobile, global societies to disease. In South Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is taking steps to reconcile its pre-pandemic vision for urban transport with new lessons-learned during the COVID-19 crisis. This case study explores how Seoul’s urban mobility system addresses resilience by incorporating three important aspects: i) continuity of public transit and other essential mobility services, ii) financial sustainability of urban mobility providers, and iii) health and safety of passengers.

Download the case: English | Spanish

Smart Cities and Intelligent, Sustainable Transportation Systems: The Case of Seoul, South Korea

Author(s): Kate DeMoss and Joanna Moody

Last updated: 2021, December

Abstract: Recognizing that the greatest benefits from new urban mobility technologies and data is in their ability to provide evidence for planning, governance, and operations, Seoul adopted a holistic approach to intelligent transportation system (ITS) management. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) developed the Transport Operations and Information Services (TOPIS)—an integrated traffic center that plans, constructs, and operates Seoul’s ITS. Restructured and streamlined in 2015, Seoul’s TOPIS continues to collect a wide variety of traffic and infrastructure information across modes (private cars and public transport vehicles); provide real-time traffic information to travelers, operators, and incident responders; analyze traffic demand and causes of congestion; and inform transport project planning. This case study explores how Seoul collects and analyzes urban mobility data to support evidence-based planning and city management.

Download the case: English | Spanish

Maseru Transport Problems, Lesotho

Author(s): Ajay Kumar

Last updated: 2022, July

Abstract: In January 2018, policymakers in Maseru, Lesotho were examining results of a Maseru Urban Planning and Transport Study conducted in 2011 to determine what could be done to address increasing traffic congestion. This study was commissioned jointly by the Ministry of Planning, Works and Transport (MoPWT) and the Maseru City Council (MCC), with the support of development partners, to provide an integrated, balanced, sustainable, and effective urban planning and transportation framework to guide the city’s development for 20 years (2011-2030). Between 2005 and 2015, the share of transport provided by buses (both publicly and privately operated) had declined from 74 percent to around 50 percent, while the share of transport by saloon cabs (shared taxis) increased from 6 percent to over 25 percent. As a result, congestion had worsened, especially during morning and afternoon peak periods, road accidents had increased, and air pollution had become a major concern. To address these issues, the Maseru Urban Planning and Transport Study recommended 69 investment projects over a 20-year time horizon. Given constrained resources (financial and human), city officials need to identify the best way to prioritize these projects to most efficiently address growing demand for motorized travel and related externalities.

Download the case: English l Portuguese

Dakar Bus Renewal Scheme, Senegal

Author(s): Ajay Kumar

Last updated: 2022, August

Abstract: In 2005 the World Bank provided a credit for $15.9 million (EUR 12 million or CFAF 7.9 billion) to help renew Dakar’s bus fleet and strengthen the capacity of bus transport operators. The credit was intended to cover 75 percent of the cost of renewals, and the remaining 25 percent was to be financed by bus operators as part of their up-front payment. Though there were some initial delays, the program was seen as highly successful in improving the quality of bus operations in the city. The city authorities were considering expanding the program and were discussing the merits of building on the successes. This case study presents how capital improvements were organized and financed for the informal public transport sector in Dakar and prompts participants to consider the pros and cons of different approaches to improve/reform the informal public transport sector.

Download the case: English l French l Portuguese

Maputo Formalizing Public Transport

Author(s): Ajay Kumar

Last updated: 2022, September

Abstract: In 2016, the Ministry of Transport in Mozambique was facing a big challenge. Financial difficulties for the public sector and the elimination of fuel subsidies had adversely impacted the public transport sector. Because of increased operating costs, state-owned public transport operators reduced service and the number of annual trips on the system declined from 60-million-person trips in 1975 to 10 million in 2015. At the same time, plans for investments in a Bus Rapid Transit system had to be shelved because of the financial crisis. To serve growing demand not met by the state-owned public transport sector, private operators of paratransit services emerged in high numbers, congesting streets and presenting an environmental challenge. The Ministry of Transport, with support from an international team of experts, proposed multiple solutions to build institutional capacity and reform public transport. However, while formalization of public transport brought about some improvements, travelers in the metropolitan region continued to suffer from inefficient transport services and informal transport continued to grow. The provided financing to renew the bus fleet also did not bring about the intended benefits and could not be sustained. The Minister of Transport was wondering what had gone wrong and what could have been done differently.

Download the case: English

Delhi Metro Airport

Author: OP Agarwal

Last updated: 2011, May

Abstract: In early 2008, Mr. Gupta faced a challenging task. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which had built and was operating the acclaimed Delhi metro, had invited offers from interested private companies to part build and operate an express metro line to Delhi’s airport. Mr. Gupta’s company, Reliance Infrastructure Limited, was one of the leading infrastructure companies in India and a member of the Reliance group, one of the largest industrial houses in the world. Reliance Infrastructure would certainly be interested in a prestigious project like this in the nation’s capital. Yet, he was not sure how viable a metro line to the airport would be in a city like Delhi. This case study provides background information for discussion on how viable a metro line to the airport would be in a city like Delhi. The case goes over the large Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project implemented as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and examines the factors impacting transport demand for travel, revenue, and the financial implications of different PPP structures.

Download the case: English

Group Exercises

City group exercises present the context of a city and its diverse set of issues. Groups are asked to prioritize the city issues and brainstorm on applicable short and medium-term solutions to improve the city livability. The city case group exercise is a valuable opportunity to apply what has been learned during the workshop and exchange with people with diverse backgrounds and skills. Groups are then invited to present their work and the recommendations they would give to city leaders.

Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning in Málaga, Spain

Author(s): Laura Piovesan and Joanna Moody

Last updated: 2022, May

Abstract: In 2008, the municipality of Málaga, Spain initiated a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) that was formally adopted by the City Council in 2011 and then updated in 2015. The SUMP was adopted as a ‘special urban plan’ in compliance with the General Land Use Development Plan for the municipality. This document provides background readings in three parts to support a series of group discussions that will explore: (1) the urban transport situation that motivated the SUMP in Málaga, (2) the priority actions that the city identified in its SUMP, and (3) the process of implementing these priority actions.

Download the exercise: English | French l Turkish