Where is mobility going? (Part 2)

In my previous post, I looked at how changes in mobility might affect the way we live and how we interact with each other in public spaces. In this second part, we turn our attention to status and navigation. How does the human need to show how special we are change when mobility changes and how does the way we move through our cities change when we think about multimodal transport.

How we assert status

There’s a reason teenage boys like to put posters of supercars on their walls. Or that the newest SUV with superior offroading capability and rugged luxury cues becomes the very best way to do your grocery shopping. We like nice things, and we like to show other people that we have nice things too. Cars are one of the ultimate expressions of status in Western culture - moveable proof of how wealthy we are, and for many - an expression of how important we may see ourselves within our society. If we imagine a future that incorporates more multi-modal transport or perhaps where ownership falls away, how are we to show our status to others in public?

Yes, there will be car subscription schemes, we already see these popping up. But will these confer the same levels of status as outright ownership? Perhaps our expectations change where flexibility becomes a sign of your ‘level’, where you can drive a sports car for a weekend through your subscription service, then swap it for an SUV when you go away with the family. This could be just as much a talking point as pulling up in the latest and greatest with your exhaust blaring. For the rest of us though, does this discretionary spend move into other areas where we could show our status more outwardly? Might we see a surge in other luxury goods as spending on outright ownership of cars decreases??

There is a larger point here that is difficult to define, but it relates to the emotional connection we have with cars and forms of mobility. It appears that when things are more mechanical and less ‘abstract’ that we can like them more. Think of the petrolhead’s obsession with American muscle cars or the sound and feedback you get when you press the accelerator in your ICE car (no matter how small). Electric cars now begin to feel like tech objects, incredibly efficient and useful, but do they engender the same raw emotion. Many of them can feel like driving around in a mobile phone. It’s tough to say, but did people feel the same way when we shifted from horses to cars? It’s safe to say that it must be easier to form an emotional connection with a living, breathing being than a car. Perhaps the logical conclusion of this is something like The Line (mentioned above), where mobility is only a service and nothing else - pure efficiency, but no heart. Then again, public transport systems become cultural touchstones over time too - think of the emotion people have about the tube in London. The fact that it has been around for so long and functioned as shelter during the blitz imbues it with meaning. Do we just need more time to have more feelings about electric vehicles?

How we navigate through cities?

Desire paths - the way people (or animals) choose to move from point A to point B - show us what is often the most efficient or desirable route between two points. Mass transit changes this though, as we can only use predetermined routes to get to where we want to go. Our hub and spoke model of transit means we often need to go into a centralised place first and then double back on ourselves to get where we need to go. This is certainly more cost-efficient in terms of construction, but not particularly time-efficient for the user. The rise of multimodal transport means that many people now find themselves able to travel more directly to their destination. A short walk, a hired e-bike ride and a bus (for example) could get us where we want to go much faster. As more of us adopt this model, what will change?

Naturally, stations are places where large groups of people pass through. This makes them a natural place for retail hubs. What happens when footfall drops as more people travel in multimodal ways? We’ve already seen malls battle post-pandemic, as habits change. Over and above the standard convenience type retail we might expect from rail or bus stations – what could step in to fill the potential void? Further to this, we can also expect larger commuter corridors to change. With more people taking more direct routes, we may find ourselves in a situation with many more unique journeys. This will affect retail along a route, but also media too. OOH makes sense when you know a whole lot of people are going to pass through. But what happens when these commuter routes are less well-defined??

This entire movement potentially pushes us more strongly towards the so-called ‘fifteen minute city’ - where most if not all of what you regularly need or access is within fifteen minutes of your home. For thousands of years, we lived in smaller groups and large anonymous cities are a relatively new invention in our timeline. With easier, more cost-effective ways to stay close to home, are we returning to the mean in some way? There’s something to be said for a group of people who recognise you, know you and have common local interests as opposed to a nameless service provider in the middle of a megacity. And just think of all the parking garages we could get rid of…

Our journey into modern mobility is only just beginning. Electric cars are coming, but they’re not here just yet. The same applies to easily accessible multimodal transport. We just don’t know what is going to happen. The best we can do is ask ourselves the right kinds of questions so that we can be prepared for the inevitable unexpected downstream effects of progress. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. We’ll just have to adapt as best we can. We always do.