Getting around not too fast on the New York High Line.
The previous segment of this series left off discussing how lifestyle choices, infrastructure, and a new economic thinking must work in tandem to change the overall trajectory from a car-first to a people-oriented mobility Zeitgeist that can lead to a reduction of the current global automobile fleet of 1.2 billion to no more than a billion by 2040.
Let's take a look at what a future inspired by this kind of a human-scale, integral transportation epoch might look like.
Downtown Freiburg, Germany: Rebuilt after WWII with carless mobility in mind.
We're all familiar with the slogan "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It's a good one for sure, as it doesn't deny the fact that we live and will continue to do so in a material world while at the same time laying out an easily understood list of priorities to guide us in becoming less wasteful (a fourth "R" — Refuse — as the lead-off would be an appropriate addition). Similarly, the phrase "Eat food, Not too much, Mostly plants" coined by author Michal Pollan conveys a ranking of eating habits that connects personal well being with best practices for the planet in a non-dogmatic, progressive, and easy to digest (pun!) way.
An equivalent motto for a realistic yet meaningful transportation transformation would be "Get around. Not too fast. Mostly walk." On both policy and personal levels, it acknowledges and honors our human desire for mobility (get around) while prioritizing modes of transportation that may be slower but are more sustainable (not too fast) and encouraging the most nimble and healthy way of moving about (mostly walk) whenever possible.
Follow me across the rusted orange axle for a look at preferred transit modes and their role in pushing the lifestyle, infrastructure, and economic trifecta toward a post-auto world.
Streets just wanna have fun! Sunday Streets in San Francisco