Urbanisation and Green Mobility

Navigating today’s urbanised world, in which the quest for hyper-efficiency runs alongside our yearning for the ‘good life’ and community, is a huge challenge. In order to balance these goals and ensure sustainable cities that are socially and economically prosperous, governments, businesses and people must work together as ‘change makers’.

Cities Holds the Solution
Cities are where our environmental, social and community problems are most evident, but they also hold the solutions to many of our global problems. A prime example is Copenhagen, declared the most liveable city in 2014 by Monocle, 2014 European Green Capital and CNN’s ‘healthiest city’. The 4P model – in which People Planet and Purpose are considered alongside Profit – is something I first proposed at the Economist’s Big Rethink conference in 2012 and it’s clear that Denmark is already working along these lines. Urbanisation is at 87% and rising, but the results of the Danes’ purposeful approach to people and planet are clear to see in economic prosperity.

Ecofication and green infrastructure
Our Trend Atlas 2030+ reveals the major interlinking trends already shaping our future cities and influencing green mobility. With urbanisation increasing exponentially, ecofication has become essential and the car-free city is set to reweave our urban fabric. Green infrastructure is a must since, by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will be urban, with the top-five megacities located in Asia. Inspiration for how successful communities will operate in the future can be found in Singapore, which has developed a 15-year masterplan for intelligent transport systems (ITS).

Betapreneurship Drives Autonomy
New Models are essential to support individual autonomy, the welfare state, jobs and competitiveness. Betapreneurship is the fuel for thriving cities like New York’s Highline project  – where locals got together to create a non-profit walkway scheme. This empowered and linked a whole neighbourhoods, and at a cost of $150m, NYC has already gained of over half a billion dollars from the initiative. Social Capital is not just the sum of the institutions underpinning our society – it is the glue that holds them together and there is an evident need for empathic leadership to deliver more inclusive society models. A great case study is the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, where employees who cycle or walk to work are rewarded for improving their fitness and health, by earning an extra week’s holiday. The outcome is reduced sick pay, less road congestion, pollution and repair costs – benefiting both the state its taxpayers.