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Opinion, debate, insight, individual and collective intelligence.
In a world rocked by a global pandemic, frontline workers have been called upon to perform their roles and continue to deliver essential services. For many, getting to their jobs is possible only via public transport, highlighting the degree to which society’s critical functions are dependent on mobility and the people who make it possible.
The challenge of reducing GHG emissions from our mobility, coupled with people’s aspirations today, means we need to collectively rethink our mobility systems and put an end to the need for speed.
In the wake of the pandemic, 2020 saw a surge in cycling as people opted massively for active mobility. Thousands of miles of bike lanes popped up almost overnight in cities everywhere. But will these temporary installations become lasting side‑effects of the crisis. In other words, will the bike boom keep rolling when things “return to normal”?
The decline in ridership and loss of revenues due to the coronavirus crisis have dealt a blow to public transport networks. According to transport economist Yves Crozet, this new threat accentuates the need to rethink funding and regulation models for urban and suburban mobility solutions.
The ‘invisible’ have become visible. In 2018, the ‘gilets jaunes’ or ‘yellow‑vest’ movement aired the grievances of many different sectors of society, including citizens of rural communities who highlighted the inequalities they face — starting with transport. However, whilst general awareness has increased, Dominique Dhumeaux, vice president of the association of rural mayors of France (AMRF), says many lessons are still to be learned.
Ecological and technological transition, new usage trends, public health crisis — mobility is being impacted by many changes, and so far their transformative potential is hard to gauge. To better understand what’s at stake today, two historians give us their analysis of developments in their countries: France and the United States. They describe two distinct parallel realities — the urban centre and its outlying areas — and a shared challenge: put an end to private car dependency.
Rapidly emptied of cars when lockdown measures were introduced, cities around the world have experienced the unprecedented phenomenon of a mass return to active transport. Pedestrians took over pavements and even reclaimed roads, as walking became the safest and most popular way for city dwellers to get around during the pandemic.
