We’re on the brink of a revolution in mobility. The self-driving car is on its way, and fully-autonomous vehicles are expected to be on the scene by 2019. This could be a once-in-a-century opportunity for reclaiming the streets in the cities for people. People, not cars, make the cities.Aristotle thought a population of 10,000 was too small for a vibrant democratic city and 20,000 too big. Now cities are built within cities. The large size is a disaster. Traffic in Bangalore at certain hours of the day moves slower than the average cyclist.
In 1871, Bismarck’s newly-united Germany defeated the French in a short war. Monuments celebrating this victory went up across the country—one of them in the city of Freiburg. It survived both World Wars. But the city filled up with cars in the 1950s and 1960s, so the monument was moved 100m away, where it stands unvisited on the edge of a parking lot. Two World Wars couldn’t change the monument, but the city planners did not hesitate to get it out of the way for cars.
Urban planners are finally recognising that streets should be designed for people and not for metal on the move. Yes, cars are of great help in transportation but for a city to progress, it should focus on its people. In India nowadays, most of us consider automobile ownership an essential key to a productive, fulfilling life. There’s a cycle of automobile dependency. For cars you need a place to park at home, at work and at retail establishments. Cities have become places where cars have a right to housing.
Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody—only when they are created for everybody. It is of great importance to develop cities that are lively, safe, sustainable and healthy. Cities have become engines of economic productivity. But is it too big for what it produces? The bottom line is that we need a geographically smaller city, but that is possible only if we shift from a two-dimensional design dependent on cars to a three-dimensional city designed around the human body.
The differences between what cities should be—pedestrian-centred as opposed to car-centred—are profound. A car’s body is about 30 times heavier than a human’s, it moves 10 times as fast, and takes up about 60 times the volume standing still. Too big! The fuel it belches is catastrophic for the climate.
On the other hand, a city that is designed around the dimensions of the human body and its need for clean air and water as well as healthy food holds tremendous potential to improve the lives of its citizens as well as the health of the planet.
Email: nprabhudev@gmail.com