Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities

limited capacity to manage the demand as well as plan and implement strategies to alleviate the

mounting problems. In addition, the lack of coordination between land use and transport planning

resulted in heavy concentration of economic activities in the central business areas of the cities,

leading to even worse traffic conditions, limited accessibility and deterioration of the urban

environment.

While demand for transport constantly grew, few people were able to afford private cars. Despite the

fact that the modal share of private cars remains low in OIC megacities, they occupy the largest part

of streets causing congestion, accidents and environmental pollution. At the same time, public, as well

as non-motorized transport, are often unable to meet the mobility needs of the citizens. Although the

availability of public transport systems differs significantly between OIC megacities, congestion is a

common problem. Some of the cities examined in this report are or have been among the most

congested cities in the world (Istanbul, Dhaka) or are among those with the poorest air quality

conditions (Karachi). The wider impact of congestion is not limited to air pollution, economic losses

and accidents but is also contributing and increasing the cities’ vulnerability to climate change, causing

long term health problems to the population, increasing the levels of social exclusion, and causing a

general deterioration of the urban environment which loses its human dimension and offers fewer

opportunities for human interaction.

However, it should be noted that many OIC megacities have taken significant steps in order to battle

congestion, solve transport problems and improve the urban environment. For example, Istanbul is

working towards becoming a multimodal city, and Tehran has gained worldwide recognition for its

efforts to improve its traffic conditions. Most cities have managed to implement successful plans with

the support of Multilateral Development Banks and Multilateral Financial Institutions such as the

World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Islamic Development Bank. Different

financing mechanisms have been used in different countries and cases while except for funding,

support mechanisms also include management, monitoring and evaluation services as well as capacity

building. The ultimate purpose of such mechanisms is to leave the cities with useful lessons and

frameworks on which new plans can be based, along with sustainable, integrated infrastructure.

At the same time OIC megacities are making efforts to maintain their cultural and regional identity

while improving urban transport and quality of life. It is often the case that infrastructure and policy

programmes introduced as part of economic development strategies do not take into account all local

needs. Mega infrastructure projects are a very characteristic example of interventions that give little

attention to the needs of local people, often causing fragmentation of the local environment and

radically reducing the accessibility for non-motorized modes. Such projects undoubtedly increase the

accessibility to certain areas of the cities (usually the Central Business Districts) and for certain modes

and people (private motorized vehicles and those who need to access specific areas) but fail to provide

wider social benefits. Istanbul and Tehran have taken significant steps to improve affordable public

transport integrated with interventions for non-motorized modes by introducing Bus Rapid Systems

and restricting the access of private cars to key urban areas. Such interventions help citizens remain

in close contact with the city and each other and as result strengthen the social sustainability and

cultural cohesion of the megacities.

All OIC megacities examined in this report have recognized the importance of urban transport for

achieving sustainability and viability. Efforts to improve transport availability and quality vary across

the megacities in terms of scale and success. Some of the OIC megacities have cooperated with other

megacities in order to learn from their policies and plans (for example, Tehran has put forward its Bus

Rapid Transit plans after a visit in Bogota, Colombia) while others have implemented locally driven

successful plans (for example, Istanbul has improved and expanded its tram network using its pre-

war network as a backbone). It is considered that all megacities have the potential to make significant

improvements in their transport systems and become best practice examples for other cities in both

the developing and the developed world. This report analyses the status of seven OIC megacities as

well as Dakar, and identifies their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in order to

conclude with recommendations for the future, specifically adjusted to the needs of these cities.