After attending the European Conference on Sustainable Cities in Aalborg (DK), I am puzzled. Many presentations were about sustainable mobility. How can people get on a bike, in public transport, and out of their cars? But there were no presentations about taming the growing mobility monster.
Some of our mobility is necessary for work or study, but much of it is for leisure. Can’t that be done on foot, by bike, and especially in our own neighborhoods? Haven’t we all become a bit over-mobile?
Enjoy your neighborhood
In the spring, on our Sunday stroll to the swimming pool in Amsterdam, we were surprised by the beautiful, fragrant roses in the small facade gardens. Our neighborhood seemed like one big rose garden. I walk a lot in the area. Not a day goes by without me discovering a new spot for clothes, a special gift, a glass of wine, or a bite to eat. It’s a social neighborhood. People greet each other, and even the expats try to say hello.
Flow and freedom
It’s a shame that many streets around my neighborhood are increasingly resembling highways. At high speed, everyone is on their way somewhere on a fast bike or scooter. Sometimes with children, sometimes with a gym bag, sometimes with a tie on, sometimes carrying a stack of pizzas, sometimes FaceTiming, and sometimes just chatting together. They’re all in a rush, with their gaze set far ahead. Don’t disrupt my ‘flow.’ Please don’t infringe on my freedom.
Where is everyone going? It seems like half the city is constantly on the move from one side to the other, and this continues into the weekend. So, it can’t all be commuting. Preferably, they travel straight through the city center. We are spoiled by the ease with which we can travel across cities with bikes, public transport, and taxis. Have we become over-mobile?
Over-mobility
Cities and their citizens are suffering from over-mobility. Scooters, cyclists, pedestrians, and motor vehicles are fighting for scarce space all over the city. The streets, filled with parked scrap, aren’t becoming more attractive, even on the sidewalks, especially not for residents with limited mobility. Mobility is no longer inclusive or fair. Due to this over-mobility, city “cold spots” become overheated and overhyped “hotspots” overnight. You can be everywhere in 10 to 15 minutes. This causes the social cohesion in the neighborhood to disappear. Will this also happen to the new residential areas we will build? I hope not.
Stay Closer To Home
Will mobility soon only be for the privileged urban elite? It seems that way. We need to travel more sustainably and with less disruption in public spaces, but on the other hand, this sustainable mobility must be affordable (by the way, for whom exactly?). This is a challenge for mobility professionals who face wicked dilemmas. Thinking solely about more mobility and (more) transportation modes is not enough. To make essential services accessible to everyone, you also need to consider spatial planning and digitization (Triple Access Planning).
Visit local shops more often, choose a school within walking distance for the children, work out with your neighbors, have coffee with the people next door, pick up a joint from the coffee shop on the corner, tell some slightly tipsy tall tales in the local pub, and bump into that handsome neighbor with the cute dog. When you walk, you see, enjoy, and flirt. Leave the bike, e-bike, scooter, and car at home more often, forget your public transport card, and discover your neighborhood. It’s good for the city and your neighborhood. And it’s also better for your blood pressure. Over-mobility? Could we slow down a bit?
Walther Ploos van Amstel.