Town of bikes Local mobility service (China, Hong Kong)
My bus Personal public transport (Italy, Naples)
Mobile steward A local service for delivery, mobility, and security (China, Beijing-Peking)
Movie Delivery Mobility for entertainment (Italy, Naples)
Alternative mobility Alternative mobility is an articulated transport system, which uses different means to meet different needs, favouring light vehicles and collective services. Urban mobility4, the impact of the urban transport system and the problems it generates, must be resolved principally by facing questions about the territorial distribution of activities. Having said this, we can observe that problems caused by mobility are also the result of a distorted concept of transport system and of citizens’ expectations. This distortion has led to a widespread “car mono-culture”: the idea that there is only one means of transport, the private car, by which to undertake movement of any kind. The resulting improper use of the car, often used by only one person and for short distances, is one of the principle causes of the environmental crisis in the city.
Proposals Introduce local transport systems based on the pedestrianisation of city streets, facilitating the use of light vehicles efficiently linked to fast public transport for longer distances. Generate technological and social networks able to optimise flow, by co-ordinating the different means and facilitating the shared use of vehicles and apparatus, and administrate such a variegated set of transport means and infrastructure.
Characteristics
4 Urban mobility the flow of people and things, which feeds the metabolism of a city. Its intensity is characterised by its nature, configuration and pace.
The alternative mobility proposition is promising in that it improves the overall efficiency of transport systems. In addition, by favouring movement on foot or bicycle, it reduces the consumption of nonrenewable energy and fosters health. Finally, by generating mobility focused on specific contexts, it contributes to their economic and social regeneration. This perspective, which we can call “multi-modal transport”, has had a long history in the debate on city and territorial planning. Today it has been re-launched under current environmental pressure, thanks to the crisis in the old idea of car-centred mobility. On a local level, such as interests us here, the development of alternative mobility involves co-ordinating a multiplicity of alternative solutions as simply and smoothly as possible: pedestrian walkways or cycling paths, custom-made collective mobility systems and car sharing, directed towards user option, according to circumstances, as to which route or mode of transport is most suitable. This requires activating highly innovative systems, whether in a technological, social or cultural sense. 87 ı SUSTAINABLE EVERYDAY