Guide on Adjusting Habits Related to Individual Car Usage: The Obstacle
In today's world, cars have become a common sight, offering convenience for long-distance travel and access to remote places. However, it's crucial to educate children about the negative impacts of car use from an early age, as they can play a significant role in shaping the future of urban mobility.
Over the last five decades, people have begun to use their cars more frequently, even for shorter trips, leading to widespread ownership of personal vehicles and increased journey times. This trend, while offering convenience, has also resulted in increased traffic, emissions, and pedestrian deaths.
Internationally renowned City Planner Ludo Campbell-Reid emphasizes that cities are for human beings, and behavior change is a key component of successful city designs. However, changing entrenched socio-cultural attitudes favouring private car ownership is a significant challenge. Other obstacles include financial and institutional constraints, lack of political commitment, inadequate legal and policy frameworks, limited technological adoption, and physical or topographic challenges for non-motorized travel.
These socio-cultural barriers reflect how car ownership is deeply embedded as a norm and status symbol, making shifts towards non-motorized and public transport options difficult without broad societal support and cultural change.
The main obstacles to building less car-centric, pedestrianized cities include existing sprawling, car-dependent development patterns that separate people from jobs and daily needs; outdated zoning codes and planning rules that prioritize vehicles over pedestrians and transit; and the financial, legal, and institutional challenges in implementing sustainable transport and urban design strategies.
Feminist organization Punt 6 emphasizes the importance of educating for sustainable mobility in the curriculum, and safety and accessibility are crucial for alternative transport to be an attractive option for all groups, including mothers and children.
Efforts like Complete Streets illustrate the push to redesign streets to safely accommodate all users, including pedestrians and cyclists, particularly in historically underserved communities. However, the widespread adoption of these policies faces ongoing challenges regarding uniform safety standards and full implementation.
Public transport, cycling, and walking should be made as convenient as driving to encourage greener mobility. Unfortunately, public transit is often perceived as being an unsafe, unreliable, overpriced, and overcrowded mode of mobility. Stigma and negative associations surrounding public transport, particularly among women, present a challenge in encouraging its use.
Urban planners should listen to the younger generation to understand their needs and approaches to city use. Architect and urban planner Ellen de Vibe suggests that getting rid of cars requires listening to the younger generation's perspectives and needs.
Car usage has evolved beyond being a means of transportation; it has become a symbol of status. Alternatives to cars are not yet easier or more attractive for most people. Key target groups, such as employees and commuters, need to be more actively encouraged to use sustainable transport.
In conclusion, the barriers to creating pedestrianized, less car-dependent cities are multi-dimensional, combining cultural preferences, institutional inertia, financial limitations, and built environment factors. Addressing them requires integrated policy reforms, cultural shifts, community engagement, and investments in infrastructure that prioritize accessibility and safety for all modes over car dominance. This comprehensive approach can facilitate behavior change and urban transformation towards greener, more sustainable cities.
[1] Campbell-Reid, L. (2020). The Future of City Planning. TED Talk. [2] Newman, P., & Kenworthy, J. (2015). Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming the Challenges. Island Press. [3] National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). (2016). Urban Street Design Guide. Island Press. [4] Puentes, A., & Levin-Waldman, E. (2018). Complete Streets: Designing for Equity and Health. Routledge.
- To combat the increasing negative impacts of car usage on our environment, it is essential to integrate environmental science into the curriculum, promoting sustainable living and highlighting the importance of climate change in shaping our future lifestyle choices.
- As cities evolve towards becoming more pedestrian-friendly and promoting greener mobility, home-and-garden spaces can also play a role by adopting sustainable living practices, such as rainwater harvesting and energy-efficient appliances, thereby contributing to a more sustainable urban lifestyle.
- To achieve comprehensive urban transformation and overcome the multi-dimensional barriers to creating less car-centric cities, it is crucial to involve the younger generation in planning and decision-making processes, as they hold valuable insights and perspectives on the future of urban mobility and environmental-science-oriented lifestyles.
