Anticipating post-automobility: design policies for fostering urban mobility transitions

Abstract

Recent developments in urban mobility in many affluent countries suggest that private car use is declining and this trend is beginning to open up opportunities for municipal planners to consider a future of less extensive reliance on automobiles. This analysis examines current efforts by cities to expand opportunities for non-motorised transport and identifies heritage cities, modern green metropolises and eco-cities as three urban archetypes with instructive potential. We then highlight the experience of brief case studies corresponding respectively to these paradigmatic forms: the Old City of Jerusalem, Copenhagen and Masdar City. The investigation entails the formulation and application of 10 planning criteria to assess each exemplar city on the basis of both built and human dimensions. The scoring system aims to identify design policies that can be relevant as planners commence in coming to years to more actively reconfigure urban space to facilitate non-motorised modes of urban mobility.