The time we live in offers the opportunity to return to the drawing board and rethink livable cities. As a society, we seem to be on a mission to make systems as efficient as possible. But the question of whether those systems actually contribute to our well-being and happiness needs to be asked more according to us.
In the current design, the system’s efficiency and, as a derivative, urban planning for cars are central. It seems as if cities are made for cars, not for people. Smart cities have dominated the past decade. We use technology as a goal rather than a means, with the system’s efficiency as the outcome.
Consciously or unconsciously, we view mobility through an efficiency lens. Challenging this is vital for innovation.
For example, isn’t it strange that we raise children with the idea that the streets are meant for cars, not for them? Asking these kinds of questions is the least we can do.
In cities, cars occupy seventy to eighty percent of public space. In a city like Eindhoven, with 240,000 inhabitants, more than 2 million square meters are available for parking cars, almost 9 square meters per resident. And this only covers parking space, not even the roads on which they drive. What could you do with this space if it became available? What value could you add?
We believe looking at the current dominant system differently is important for the future. How will we design our cities to improve quality of life, relieve climate stress, and stimulate social connectivity? What role can mobility play in connecting people and neighborhoods rather than dividing them? How can we prevent loneliness by redesigning neighborhoods through mobility, connecting them instead of separating them?
We believe that cities should be designed in favor of happiness and livability rather than technology and efficiency. Extensive research into the key parameters determining happiness in cities provided a lot of insight, after which we launched Happy Citizen Design in 2017. What are the determining parameters of the happy city? How can you steer towards and develop happiness? We made a whitepaper about the Happy Citizen Design.
The world is, fortunately, moving to break the dominant way of thinking. Free public transport in Luxembourg, the bicycle being embraced as the primary form of transportation in Paris, the development of the city of Medellín with the resident at the center of the design, and the creation of superblocks in Barcelona, where nine residential blocks are merged into one to create space for people and greenery. A lot is happening worldwide.
Renewal of cities’ design and mobility’s role in this starts by challenging the existing dominant logic. Which new questions will you ask?
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