Mobility & Transport

Dear FuturArc readers,

Remember seeing a cartoon or drawing of how people sometimes end up ‘making’ their own footpath even though a paved one is already available, often because the former is the shorter way?

This image came to mind while doing this issue on mobility and Green transport, because it conveys in a nutshell that urban transport often isn’t about moving people based on the most direct or shortest route.

Mass transit methods and transportation networks are often created based on economic and political wants, rather than holistic systems that encompass humanistic, social and ecological/environmental factors. So what can we do with the modes of transport and infrastructures already in place? What do we do with disused or old ones? What can we do now to make more Earth-friendly and direct connections while not adding to carbon emissions that will ultimately lead to a climate catastrophe?

The topic of climate change—tightly connected to carbon emissions—is never far from the narrative in this issue. Not because it is ‘fashionable’ to do so, but because it is the reality of the status quo; even then, we are not moving fast enough. Dinda looks at the ongoing initiatives in our first-ever Climate Feature: why more action and less talking is necessary, and why we can’t talk people into moving themselves rather than their cars.

We spoke to Bryant Lu and Elisa Sutanudjaja to explore the intricate relationship between urban planning and infrastructures for moving the masses—the beauty of densification and how providing sufficient, quality public transport needs to be supported by policies to reduce private vehicle usage to set up truly sustainable systems.

Alaskesh Dutta suggests that current road infrastructures should be adapted to give back to society and Nature—he imagines a future where roads are more than just a means to move motors. Speaking of roads and motors, Joanne Marie Camello presents a case for why the upcoming PAREX is a bad idea for the Philippines, while Bhawna Jaimini proposes that the city of Pune be used as a model to create pedestrian-friendly streets for similar cities.

We investigate projects that attempt to do right by the commuters and the environment in Belgium, China, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Taiwan and more.

Ultimately, transport is a means to move; and movement is always more successful when there is a way to ensure a flow. But will this flow come about from widening roads, building more highways, or producing more electric vehicles?