Compact cities electrified Indonesia

We are standing at a crossroads. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat but a daily reality corching heat, rising seas, and climate fueled disasters are reshaping lives, economies, and ecosystems worldwide. To change course, we must move quickly. We must transform everything how we live, how we move, how we build our cities. One sector sits squarely at the center of this transformation: urban transport.

In their groundbreaking report, The Compact City Scenario Electrified, researchers from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the University of California, Davis with support from the Climate Works Foundation present a stark but hopeful message: if we are to limit global warming to below 1.5°C, we cannot rely on a single solution. We must act on two fronts at once.

Electrifying vehicles is essential but it’s not enough. What’s also needed is a bold shift in how our cities are designed and how people get around. The only path forward is a radical reimagining of urban life, where compact, mixed-use neighborhoods are built around walking, cycling, and efficient public transit, not private cars.

The beauty of this strategy lies in its synergy: compact cities reduce the demand for car travel, buying time for electric vehicle technology to scale sustainably. Together, these changes offer more than just emissions reductions they promise cleaner air, healthier lifestyles, lower transport costs, and cities that are more equitable and livable for all. But climate action must be rooted in local reality.

Recognizing this, ITDP has expanded their global vision into the Compact Cities Electrified Country Series tailored reports that explore how nations can chart their own course toward a zero emission urban transport future. These country specific studies spanning Africa, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States go beyond models to offer realistic, context-driven blueprints for action.

Each country’s journey will be unique. But the destination must be shared a world where our cities are part of the climate solution, not the problem. The window for action is narrowing. Yet this research reminds us that a better future is still within reach. We can choose to build cities that are not just sustainable but thriving, inclusive, and resilient. The decisions we make today will echo for generations. Now is the time to act decisively, together, and with the courage to imagine cities not just as they are, but as they could be.

source:

https://itdp.org/publication/compact-cities-electrified-indonesia-roadmap/