Everybody Deserves a Sustainably Connected Life

Last week, Atkins launched a new business with an intriguing name and a mission to address the urgent need for social and affordable housing in the UK. EDAROTH (https://edaroth.co.uk/) stands for ‘Everybody Deserves A Roof Over Their Head’. The white paper published with the launch is a good read, and describes the problem and sensible strategies to address it clearly. It’s great to be part of a business which is willing and able to look at the big picture in this way.

But right now, I’m thinking about that name, and the simple message it sends: ‘Everybody deserves a roof over their head’. I love the way this focuses directly on a fundamental need that isn’t currently being addressed. This will hopefully serve as a constant reminder of what needs to be achieved.

This got me thinking about what an equivalent phrase for transport planning might be. How can we express the mission which transport planners have, and similarly skewer issues we may not be addressing? The phrase that popped into my head was ‘Everybody deserves a sustainably connected life’. So EDASCL, or EDASCoL perhaps.

It’s a phrase that appeals to me for a number of reasons. It seems to embody the purpose of what transport planners do and the benefit we can bring, and contains some reminders about important aspects that can be forgotten.

First of all, the term ‘sustainably connected’, because transport is not about the travelling, it is really about being connected to places and people. It can also imply connection to a community, which is something good planning should facilitate. It can also relate to digital connections which enable social and economic activity in similar ways to transport, and are increasingly part of the big picture.

‘Sustainably’ is a word which applies to social, environmental and economic sustainability. Transport proposals do need to address environmental concerns, but a proposal which causes social problems or economic disruption is unlikely to be sustainable.

Framing this as something ‘everybody deserves’ reminds us that we have to consider all regions of the UK, all life stages and social groups. They all deserve to be connected in ways that allow them to live their lives and achieve their goals. Some groups have a clearer sense of entitlement and are better at getting their voice heard, but everyone deserves to be heard.

Finally, this is about ‘life’. We each only get one, and they’re shaped by our opportunities to travel and be connected to places and people. Lives now are more complex, we all need to stay connected as we move through the many stages of our lives.

Is this a practically helpful phrase? I’d suggest it’s certainly more helpful than solution-led terms (often including the nebulous word ‘mobility’), as it’s both broader in scope and more specific about what we’re trying to achieve. It also gives helpful perspective on a few of the big issues of the day:

-          The housing crisis pinpointed by the EDAROTH initiative will only be successfully addressed by building sustainably connected communities;

-          In scheme development, the broader issues of social and environmental sustainability have to be considered throughout;

-          Dealing with the climate crisis and decarbonisation is a priority, but progress will stall if we don’t consider the social and economic aspects of sustainability, and the need for individuals to be treated fairly and equitably;

-          And above all, mobility may be intelligent or delivered as a service, but it’s only helpful if it meets these criteria.

It’s easy when working on any transport project to get tunnel vision, focusing only on the immediate needs of the client and the project. But as transport planners I think we could use phrases like this to remind us that we’re really here to think about the big picture.

I’d love to hear from others to know if it resonates with them!