Going Places

Feb 2017: The future of transport

Hi folks,

Over the last month, I’ve been curating a series of stories about how the ways we travel will change in the coming decades. It’s been fascinating. We’ve heard stories from all around the world, from many different perspectives and viewpoints.

These stories are just the beginning. The way we travel has an enormous impact on the world around us, and we need to carefully consider that impact when we’re making our own travel plans. Without major changes in the way we transport goods and people around the world, humankind is on course for a difficult future.

Warmly,

— Duncan

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”

— H. G. Wells (attributed)

Here’s everything we’ve published this month:

• We begin each month with an introduction and reading list. In this one, Duncan Geere (that’s me) wrote about how technology and transportation have always been intertwined.
• Christine Ro looked at the ways that different countries approach the issue of safety for women on public transport, isolating the most effective solutions to a global problem.
• Julian Sayarer profiled the bicycle as a weapon against authoritarianism, picking apart the curious politics of cycling.
• Greg Noone told the story of fragmenting ice in northern Canada, and how climate change is setting the stage for the emergence of the first new sea lane in centuries.
• For Muslims currently living in the U.S., the idea of undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca has become a freshly perilous one. But, as Simon Parkin explained, there’s a technological solution.
• Konstantinos Dimopoulos made clear how technology alone won’t provide us with miracle solutions to the transport problems facing the world. We’ll need to think and act politically instead.
• During a natural disaster, seconds count. Tiffany Kelly discovered how early warning systems on transport networks are saving lives around the world.
• Leigh Alexander investigated the phenomenon of seniors retiring on cruise ships. Are they really cheaper than an assisted living facility?
• Ian Steadman profiled a small village in southern England with a big idea that could smooth out spiky renewables.
• Finally, in this long read, which debuted in Medium’s new series format, Duncan Geere (me again) found out why the world’s cities are rushing to install cable cars.

This post is part of How We Get To Next’s Going Places month, profiling solutions to modern transport problems over the course of February 2017.

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