Mobility in Toulouse: Science-Fiction Between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees
And #nextvisions for urban air travel
We sent podcast host and self-proclaimed “expert on everything” Markus Herrmann on a road trip across Europe to find out how cities embrace the future of urban space. In this episode, we’re in Toulouse, the fourth largest city in France. Due to its strong demographic growth, the city has to get creative. One hope lays in aviation.
For those who simply cannot decide between mountains and sea, Toulouse should be an excellent choice. The fourth-largest city in France, it is only a stone’s throw from both the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean and offers a crazy variety of transport modes.
With 475.000 inhabitants, Toulouse is the fourth biggest city in France.
Since the eighties, Toulouse has developed to one of the most important aviation centers in the world. Approximately 34.000 employees are currently working in this industry and already around 1890, a tinkerer built there the first motorized airplanes.
Due to the pink-colored clay of the numerous brick buildings in the style of the Renaissance, Toulouse is called the “pink city”.
The downsides of growth
Around the core city of Toulouse, which currently has a population of around 475,000, a metropolitan region extends with a population of around 1,290,000 people. The associated strong demographic and economic growth requires new ideas and approaches. According to prediction analysis, Toulouse is expected to grow by another 250,000 people, 140,000 jobs and up to 230,000 additional homes by 2030 (compared to 2008). Without a doubt, this will also have an impact on the cities traffic. Experts foresee up to 4,5 Million daily trips in 2025 in the greater area of Toulouse.
In order to deal with the upcoming challenges, the COMMUTE project was founded. The acronym stands for ”Collaborative Mobility Management for Urban Traffic and Emissions Reduction” — which is already the best explanation for the initiative. One thing needs to be highlighted though: The project does not solely focus on common approaches like car-sharing and autonomous shuttles, but also a change of working conditions. If people would work from home, they wouldn’t have to commute and therefore don’t cause traffic.
Aviation of the future
But dreaming of the future of mobility is not limited to road, rail and cycle paths. One focus point is aviation as Airbus’ headquarters is located in Toulouse. Currently, they are researching how to transfer urban traffic from roads to the air. What sounds like a Science Fiction movie plot is surprisingly close to reality. In the near future, you’ll be able to book inner-city flights with electrically powered helicopters via an app called Voom.
Until you can get from A to Be by helicopter, it’s recommended to explore the city by bike. VélÔToulouse, a bicycle rental system, is operating since 2007 and now has a network of 283 stations with around 2,600 rental bikes, which can be conveniently booked via app. According to the company, over 92 million kilometers have been traveled across the city in the last 12 years on around 42 million trips.
Mobility for everyone
The provider INDIGO wheel is taking the concept even further. Besides bicycles and e-scooters, they offer electric wheelchairs for people with movement restrictions — all via app.
The variety of transport options doesn’t stop here. The Canal du Midi connects the south of France, including Toulouse, with the Mediterranean Sea. In 1996 the 250-kilometer long canal was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is a popular destination for excursions thanks to its green banks. In general, the “pink city” offers about 60 parks and gardens as a change from its brick buildings. With the Jardin Japonais, even a small excursion to Japan is possible.
Aerospace can be experienced in Toulouse not only on the Airbus campus but also in the Aeroscopia Museum or the Cité de l’espace, a theme park about everything that flies through space.
The Stade Toulousain is the most successful rugby club in France. Accordingly, Toulouse is rugby-crazy on match days, which one should spend in the stadium or in one of the numerous bars.
The city’s 60 parks and gardens, as well as the banks of the Garonne and Canal du Midi, are perfect for fun walks.
Markus Herrmann is a blogger, author, and member of the successful podcast “Gästeliste Geisterbahn”. For Porsche, he is testing the mobility level of the Back 2 Tape metropolises in Europe.
The project “Back 2 Tape” is a cooperation between the Porsche Newsroom and music journalist Niko Backspin. It follows the tracks of hip hop in Europe. All further information on this project can be found in the Porsche Newsroom.
An important note: Markus’ trip through Europe as well as “Back 2 Tape” were produced before the outbreak of COVID-19. Porsche, Backspin and the involved agencies and artists are aware of their social responsibility and advise against such a trip at this time out of consideration for the health and well-being of all people.
