If you want your city to become smart - increase the mobility choices

Cities have to change their thinking on traffic

In many, many European cities on of the biggest challenge is the mobility problem. As traffic congestion rapidly gets worse, smart cities need to change how they think, before they change how they move. There is a stark reality that traffic congestion is waste. Cities can’t wait until some future solution becomes available – autonomous vehicles, fast rail and hyperloop all sound appealing. So it is time to start think differently and change mindset – from transportation to mobility.

The most important factor is how a city’s leadership thinks. If city leadership sees people moving about the city as a transportation challenge that revolves around roads, it won’t get far. Building more and wider roads will just compound existing problems. Instead, a city needs to look at moving people from the perspective of increasing choices. From shared access to public transport to vehicle and non-vehicle options to not-moving (remote working) a city needs to understand that increasing the mobility choices will not only mitigate traffic congestion, but also make the city more livable. A more liveable city will be a more productive city.

Source: Cities Today