(Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/action-asia-asian-auto-243116/)
On the surface, the success of a city seems to be measured in terms of the number of skyscrapers that it has. True enough, the skylines of major cities such as New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles, and Sydney are filled with tall buildings that give each metropolis its unique identity.
But behind the majesty of the buildings runs the true power of a progressive city: transportation and mobility. Without the proper means of moving goods and people from one point to another, a city can never thrive. It is because of this that designers of future cities should really put transportation and mobility at the heart of their planning.
In this article, we share some of the most important mobility principles that make city life a lot more bearable not only for drivers but also for pedestrians.
People Over Vehicles
Among the most pressing problems of the current major cities in the world is traffic congestion, especially during the morning when workers rush to work and again in the late afternoon when employees make their way back home.
Many commuters try to beat traffic by riding motorcycles, which are smaller and therefore easier to maneuver. But each bike driver must learn more about motorcycle safety before they even dare go on the road so that they won’t get involved in litigation-inviting accidents.
One of the many factors that contribute to this jam is the high number of cars that are only occupied by one person. They occupy so much space yet they transport very few individuals.
Because of that, it is imperative for cities to really prioritize people, bicycles, and efficient forms of public transport. They should place an emphasis on means that safely and effectively carry persons in big groups, such as trains. City administrators should discourage the use of cars that not only take up road space but also open the community up to problems regarding parking.
Use of Renewable Energy
Besides traffic, another thing that troubles city dwellers is pollution. The use of various byproducts of fossil fuels in cars and other modern vehicles has made city air quite loaded with chemicals that make it dirty. Plans for the future should try to put an end to this, and one sure way of doing that is turning to cleaner sources of energy. Public transport and even private vehicles of the future should run on electricity and other more efficient sources of power.
Resource Maximization
The shared mobility principles that define future cities must also take into serious account resource maximization. No valuable resource — and this includes space — must be wasted on vehicles and transportation methods that are not efficient at moving large amounts of people. A bigger chunk of a city’s budget and land mass must be allocated to the maintenance and constant improvement of environmentally friendly means of public transportation.
The cities of the future must not neglect the need of their people to be mobile. The vibrancy of an economy hinges on mobility, so those that allow free and waste-free movement within and even in and out of the metropolis will surely progress faster.
