An urban planner turns a bad public transit experience into a career in sustainability
Carlos Montoya
Director, Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group
Urban planner
My first experience with public transit was a bad one. The bus behind my house in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, stopped providing service and I had to walk 7 miles under the hot sun to get to class. Ever since I was a boy, I heard that Juárez was an example of how not to plan a city.
I asked myself, If I have the bad example, what’s the good example? When I served as head of the integrated transportation department for Juárez, I frequently traveled for work. I learned how cities around the world function and was inspired by their design. Public transit is a way to truly live the daily life of the city you’re in.
You must avoid urban sprawl when planning a sustainable city. One indicator for efficient public transit is passengers per kilometer. Compact cities allow for greater passengers per kilometer. The larger your city’s footprint is, the more people are obligated to purchase a car so they can go to work and school. An average of at least six to 10 floors in a city’s buildings is ideal.
Sustainability is good business. When you advocate for environmental issues, you often make enemies because you’re telling people what they’re doing wrong. But when people can see sustainability not just as a responsibility, but as good business, the conversation becomes more productive. Sustainability strategies can help businesses gain certifications, scale up their operations, and save money.
Certifications are key in achieving results. I was tasked with leading the implementation of three bus rapid transit lines in Juárez in under a year. Understanding the stakes of low-quality transit, I implemented a certification that is a norm in Europe to ensure our lines were exceptional. I was recently invited to the Mexican Senate to analyze constitutional reforms and suggest changes using my background in public transit certifications.
I’m chair of the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group’s Latin America chapter. The action group empowers experts and those who are passionate about the environment. It gives them the platform and structure to make an impact. For people joining the action group, I recommend finding what your passion is and what impact you want to have because the structure is already there.
