I am curious about what crystal-ball gazers think our future environments will look like and, fortunately for my interest in these imaginings, there’s no shortage of speculation.
I just read an interesting speculative article in Wired magazine about the humble curb (or pavement, as some of us call it) and its future as a consequence of changes brought about by changing norms and usages. In it, one particular quote caught my attention:
“‘If every personal car space were converted to a pick-up or drop-off, or every personal car trip were converted to a shared ride , you would need a lot less space overall because you’re not storing cars—you’re dynamically moving people in and out,’ says Andrew Salzberg, who heads up transportation policy at Uber. ‘You have the opportunity to do a lot off interesting things: sidewalks cafes, parks, space for bike share, wider sidewalks.'” (my emphasis)
That’s two big “ifs” in there: everyone being willing to give up a personal car space or being willing to share a ride instead of taking a personal car trip.
I am not convinced that the convenience a personal car space or car journey offer are something we will be eager to give up. I have seen firsthand the furore a change in car-parking space allocations can make to employees when companies move premises, and I am of the view we will feel similarly possessive about our entitlements in a personal capacity if asked to give these up for the common good. Perhaps I do our species a disservice. I think for us to give up these privileges, it will either need to be more convenient for me to share than to take my own dedicated vehicle (autonomous, self-driven or shared economy operated) or my taking my own means of transport would need to be more costly (either in actual costs or in the application of some sort of a Pigovian tax). And if I have a car, I will need my own space for it so I am not going to give that up either.
Even in places where the car is less prevalent, such as the Netherlands, curbs are not exactly being repurposed to the interesting alternatives suggested in this piece. Instead, bigger and bigger bike parking lots are being built because bikes are so popular and people want to park them somewhere. Utrecht, for example, is building the world’s biggest bike parking lot.
I am of the view that, before we are given an opportunity to reimagine our curbs, people, and their persistent tendency to act in their own interests and to hell with the consequences are likely to be a factor in preventing these sidewalk specials!