Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD): Instilling Public Confidence on Democracy Through the Smart Mobility Initiative

In this day and age of global democratic decline, the value of local governments in instilling public confidence on democracy is worth revisiting. It is in this light that the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) embarked on the Smart Mobility Initiative as a way to demonstrate that democracy can have a real impact on the lives of the people.

Smart Mobility Initiative is a three-year project which aims to provide guidance to local governments governed by CALD member-parties on developing their smart mobility plans and initiatives.  In designing the project, we, in CALD, were motivated by our belief in these two principles: Governance that’s closest to the people governs best and Good governance rests on stakeholder participation and evidence-based decision-making. CALD, partnered with the local governments of Panglao, Bohol and San Mateo, Rizal in the Philippines in order to translate these principles into concrete and tailor-made transportation plans.  Through multisectoral site visits and consultations, CALD aimed to have a holistic understanding and appreciation of transportation issues and problems that these localities confront. Guided by this knowledge, we then held intensive workshops to share best practices, discuss possible solutions, and systematize action plans.

As a result, result of these activities, officials from these two local governments participated in the creation of, and committed to, the Mobility for All Manifesto – a 5-point action plan to transform mobility in their respective localities. The action plan includes recommendations on the following issue-areas: (1) mobility as a right; (2) environmental sustainability and decarbonization; (3) public transportation as a backbone of mobility services; (4) building safe and walkable residential neighborhoods; and (5) judicious use of digital technology. Guided by these recommendations, the municipalities of Panglao, Bohol and San Mateo Rizal are now in the process of finalizing their respective smart mobility plans and initiatives.

https://cald.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mobility-Handbook_Print-Ready_20240124.pdf