Once upon a time there was a paradigm called ‘predict and provide’. It was where transport planning lived and where forecasts of most likely futures reigned and dictated how people invested in transport, particularly in roads for cars.

Then the world started to change and some started to say we had ‘had too much of a good thing’. Concern grew about the environmental costs of this approach. In fact people were growing very concerned. Added to this had been the emergence of digital connectivity which seemed to be profoundly changing how people were living their lives. Where was all this heading? People didn’t know, they scratched their heads with a deep sense of uncertainty.

Then a new paradigm called ‘decide and provide’ was found. This is where Triple Access Planning lives. The strange notion of being vision-led rather than forecast led was a preoccupation there. And it was said it was possible for Triple Access Planning to help cope both with uncertainty and climate change and yet still allow people to prosper.

Is this all a fairy tale or might the real world of transport planning be set to undergo important change?

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It was my honour last night / this morning to take the story of Triple Access Planning (TAP) back to where it all began in New Zealand a decade ago. The title of the presentation was “Triple Access Planning – a fairytale new beginning?”

Yes New Zealand, you have a new Government and that will influence policy – but the process of planning that underpins decision making is another matter.

How is it that three issues that are all around us in today’s society that have been hidden in plain sight when it comes to mainstream transport planning? I’m talking about access for goods, digital accessibility and deep uncertainty. TAP brings these out of the darkness and into the light.

Transport planning in the paradigm of predict and provide is akin to Mordor where the darkness of carbon emissions and inequality haunts our dreams. TAP in the paradigm of decide and provide offers the warm feeling of Hobbiton or the sanctity and dreams of Rivendell where the ingredients of a better world reside.

Calling all triple access planners – let’s help change the world for the better.

#tripleaccessplanning

#decideandprovide