Mobility of the Future

Road Diet and Mobility Seeker Herald a New Era

Mobility has changed significantly with the corona pandemic. Public transports have become emptier, while we are experiencing an exorbitant bicycle boom. But what will Mobility of the future look like? The course for the future must be set now! Urban geographer and futurologist Dr. Stefan Carsten has dealt with this topic in detail. His findings were published in the Mobility report 2021 of the Zukunftsinstitut.

Results in the Mobility Report 2021: The Mobility Trend Map

Road Diet — away with the cars, all power to bicycles?

Corona has accelerated many trends that were already visible before. Some cities have put their existing Mobility concepts to the test and started transforming their road infrastructure years ago. Space is redistributed. Where wide roads used to provide ample space for cars and freight traffic, that particular space is now increasingly being squeezed back. In the city of the future, pedestrians and cyclists will be given more room, and car parks will become meeting places. Cities like Milan, Paris and London are in the process of planning sustainable spatial architecture and new Mobility concepts. A new urban quality of life is to be created — boulevards instead of street deserts.

Spoilt for choice or revel in diversity? The Mobility seekers

Why use only one mode of transportation when there are so many? Dr. Stefan Carsten sees more and more people in big cities who are happy to take advantage of the large spectrum at hand. The so-called Mobility seekers switch between car sharing, e-scooters, bicycles or public transport, depending on their mood and desire. Is there an approaching storm that makes cycling rather uncomfortable or a big traffic jam on the way to the stadium? No problem for Mobility seekers: just change your means of transport. Accordingly, it makes little sense to buy a car, but rather use sharing services. Ideally, all transport providers should work together, so that users can use all-inclusive Mobility in a playful and demand-oriented way.

Delivery Bots and autonomous driving

In some cities they are already on the move: the delivery robots of various e-commerce companies. They bring consumer electronics, food and medicines. In the future, more space will also have to be made available on transport routes for these delivery bots, and new Mobility concepts will be required. Not only delivery robots are autonomous on the road, but also more and more driverless public transport. Dr. Stefan Carsten is sure that autonomous driving will also be an important part of our future. However, in order to be able to reconcile all the options of locomotion, cities and regions will have to decide which autonomous future to choose: do bicycles and passers-by have priority or rather the technological systems? In any case, autonomous driving would have many advantages. While today we are annoyed by reckless drivers and traffic jams, in the future we will be able to enjoy a wide variety of entertainment in our vehicles and arrive at our destination relaxed. The vehicle will be transformed from a means of transport into an attractive place to stay and work. Furthermore, there are no limits to the furnishings and equipment, depending on the financial situation.

As experts in trend topics, design and architecture, we are fascinated by the Mobility of the future, which is currently heralding a new era. Because it will affect us all and all areas: both the architecture of cities and buildings and the design of means of transport, delivery robots and Mobility apps.