The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways. By disrupting urban systems so deeply, the virus puts before us the question of possible futures for cities in a way we cannot ignore. Cities will recover? how will they be? more inclusive? The dominance of the private car over streets and public spaces will persist or diminish? Mobility.
History is being written and many paradigms, challenged. The path we will take going forward is not clear.
This article is a look at how mobility can change in developing cities. For now it's just a dream - and it certainly won't be a reality everywhere. But let's imagine how we can remember this moment when we're in 2030.
The Rise of Active Mobility
The first phase of transformation begins with social isolation. Almost empty streets and avenues. Masks everywhere. The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways. The offer of services - the frequency and even the routes - is also reduced, but in only one third, to avoid agglomerations, ensure that essential workers can move around and that people can access vital services.
Despite these measures, many people still find it difficult to get food or go to the doctor or work., increasing pressure on public transport systems. in parallel, the drop in tariff revenues creates a financial crisis for transport operating companies. some governments, local and national, intervene to compensate for scarcity and strengthen systems.. not others.
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways, many cities begin to expand public spaces for walking, bicycle and other non-motorized modes of transport. Sidewalks are widened and streets closed to vehicular traffic. Some revert back to pre-car era settings, with space to accommodate pedestrians, queues at establishments and outdoor dining areas, in order to maintain safe distances between people. In others, delivery vehicles are the only ones allowed to circulate to account for the rapid growth of online sales.
Fewer motor vehicles mean less congestion and fewer collisions. The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways. The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways.
Intense cleaning of public transport vehicles, stops and terminals becomes routine. As congestion decreases, the road space begins to be less politically contested, and priority lanes for buses are implemented to further improve agility, the efficiency and reliability of the system.
Systems begin to adapt
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways. Staggered hours for multiple services become the norm. Online Learning Systems for Students of All Ages Explode in Popularity. The new dynamics of urban life begin to physically reshape cities.
No public transport, demand curves at peak morning and evening hours are flat, resulting in smaller fleets and generating significant cost reductions in service provision. The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in many ways, no crowds. As they get used to the new routines and services in the neighborhoods, residents begin to walk or cycle many short day-to-day trips that were previously made by car or bus.
Smoother traffic creates a new perception of public spaces and there is less tolerance for congested and dangerous roads, noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary.
noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary, because they only required brushes, ink and traffic separators – to connect, strategically and permanently, bike paths and transport terminals, creating a safe and integrated cycling network. Bicycle parking areas replace cars in many relevant destinations.
Developing cities around the world recognize their role in creating public spaces. To improve road safety, noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary, noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary, in order to reduce speeds, traffic emissions and deaths.
More visible than ever, noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary, of the media and the population. noise and air pollution and large areas reserved for parking – conditions that were once considered necessary. Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones.. Free parking on the streets, in areas of higher population density, is rethought in many cities. Revenues from charging for externalities are directed towards maintaining public transport services, helping to offset the drop in passengers after the pandemic and keep systems operating longer.
The consolidation of a more inclusive mobility
Cities that have met the challenges posed by the intermittent waves of the coronavirus are reaching a new balance. With increasing space for pedestrians and cyclists, safer streets and a better connection (by non-motorized means) between transport terminals, local businesses are thriving. The economy is more neighborhood based than at any time in recent history and helps to regenerate deteriorated areas.
Due to a more direct service, frequent and fast, Renovated and sanitized public transport systems are recovering their passengers. New sources of revenue, inspired by long-established and consolidated practices, like the Transport payment Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones. Transportation vouchers No brazil, give stability to urban transport agencies, allowing investments focused on quality and modernization. The complete scan of the transport, with extensive use of open data provided by 5G technology, Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones.. The concept of "dial-a-ride", from the decade of 1970, finally becomes a reality beyond car app services.
Faced with the need to rethink transport networks and the flow of new data, many local governments, States and nationals work together and in a more coordinated way to plan and manage mobility on a regional scale.. Many metropolitan regions that previously had dozens of mayors and different transport agencies working at the same time, like in Brazil, Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones., planning, operations control and analysis of transport and transit data. Urban transport operations go beyond municipal borders, with integrated tariffs and less overlapping of bureaucratic responsibilities. The rationalization of the transport offer allows for a significant reduction in costs. for passengers, the experience with shipping is simpler than ever: routinely and without thinking, people combine bus systems, subway, train and boat using the same tariff system.
Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones., including from shared electric and autonomous cars to electric bicycles. Improved regulatory mechanisms, the wide availability of transport data and open access to a consolidated market of users arouse the interest of technology companies, entrepreneurs and investors. Hydrogen-powered electric and hybrid bus fleets, of different sizes and some of them even autonomous, replace diesel vehicles en masse.
A single governance structure for urban transport and land use planning creates new demands for sustainable transport-oriented development in cities, Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones., whose benefits are clearer than ever. Climate finance is increasingly applied to transport projects, Some enact congestion pricing regulations for all vehicular traffic in strategic areas and create car and motorcycle-free zones.. Nature-based infrastructure solutions become routine in transport planning thanks to new financial mechanisms that correctly recognize the multiple benefits of this approach for people, companies and for global climate goals.
the paths ahead
This is the vision of a positive transformation. This will definitely not be the case everywhere.. In cities that ignore the new dynamic or are pushed aside by overburdened or indifferent governments, we might see a different narrative. Public and private transport operators could collapse. Already restricted to many people, Nature-based infrastructure solutions become routine in transport planning thanks to new financial mechanisms that correctly recognize the multiple benefits of this approach for people, especially in cities in developing countries., can decrease even more. A huge variety of motorized and informal transport services would likely fill the gap. congestion, travel times, traffic accidents and air pollution would soar. People living in the poorest communities, on the outskirts of cities, would suffer even more.
Indian writer Arundhati Roy has called pandemics “gateways” – passages between one world and the next. Covid-19 is indeed accelerating humanity's transition into the 21st century. The cities, mainly those of developing nations, should not miss this opportunity, that can be unique in a century: rethink the status quo and build better mobility systems, able to serve more people, more agilely, Nature-based infrastructure solutions become routine in transport planning thanks to new financial mechanisms that correctly recognize the multiple benefits of this approach for people.
The question of what to do with cars has been the main concern of urban planners for most of the last century.. Now it's time to put active mobility and public transport first. It is time to design and implement transport networks capable of reducing the immense distance that separates rich and poor in terms of access to work opportunities., health care, education and leisure, arising from the predominance of mobility designed for cars.
We don't walk through this portal to the 21st century empty-handed. There is a wide variety of sustainable mobility solutions that have been extensively tested in diverse locations and cultures.. As social divisions intensify, we need to act now, even before the pandemic receded, about this urgent cause of social justice. We know what needs to be done to have a more sustainable and inclusive urban mobility. We can move forward now towards this new future.
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