Present in 19 countries
What needs to occur for public transportation to become our default choice?
“The question of imagination is very important. For people to change their behaviour, they need to be able to picture themselves in a city that is different — and desirable. Too often, ecological transition is presented as a series of constraints, as things we will no longer be able to do. I believe that instead, we need to show everything we stand to gain: more time, more peace of mind, better quality of life. And our role, as a street‑level medium, is also to help shape this positive imagination. Through the design of our urban furniture and the messages we display, we can show that the city of tomorrow — with fewer cars, more greenery, and smooth, pleasant public transport — is simply a city where it feels better to live. This shift from constraint to desire is, in my view, the key to change by 2050.”
Samah Kamaki, Founder and Director of the Social Brain Institute, explains how to make public transport our first choice in mobility.
Public transportation has to be the option I naturally want. They have to be affordable, safe and welcoming for a good experience. Transportation must have a positive effect. The choice to take public transport must be made because people want to.
On top of that, the car has to become difficult to use, with parking difficulties for example. If you look at cities like Amsterdam, the bicycle is in the limelight. But in other cities, we have the impression that our bike is not welcome. We need to change this, to reverse this impression and ensure that our bodies, our bikes, our public transport become welcoming, affordable, accessible and where people have pleasant social interactions.
We should also adopt a social justice perspective, taking into account people who live far from their workplace or school. These people need more attention when it comes to these choices, because they are sometimes forced to use their private cars.
Eco-friendly website
0.4
This page is times lighter than average
Emissions from this page
0.24
in grams
of CO2 equivalent
of CO2 equivalent