Healthy street initiatives versus the car
Arup's transport expert, Susan Claris, has been speaking to Future Cities Forum following this autumn's Budget, saying that she would like to see more attention given to healthy city street initiatives as much as funding for electric cars.
Funds of £540 million in the budget have been given to support the growth of electric cars, including more charging points.
However Susan believes that supporting 'healthy streets initiatives that can be implemented relatively quickly, that we know will have beneficial impacts on cities and people', is key to moving forward.
Susan spoke at our Healthy Cities Forum at The Crystal in London's Docklands in October alongside TFL's Head of Strategy, Lilli Matson.
Arup's published report 'Cities Alive: Towards a Walking World' talks of 'an increasing desire to experience 'cityness' and density' but this is changing the way people live and move in cities. The report continues:
'Owning a car is expensive and gridlock can make driving an inefficient and stressful commuting solution. Statistics show that personal happiness decreases with every mile of commute. Furthermore, the car is no longer a status symbol for young adults, while mobile devices are increasingly at the centre of our digital lifestyles. Thus, many are consciously choosing to shun cars in favour of walking..'