RE: Program contents...
"Ed Beale" <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.politics.activism.carfree-network |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Hi everyone, I think it's very useful to have this discussion about what the main focus of the Towards Carfree Cities Conferences should be. I agree with Randy that there are already loads of conferences promoting buses, cycling, high speed rail, even car-sharing and "park and ride" as being equally good "sustainable" (this word is terribly misused) alternatives to single-occupancy car use. There is rarely any critique of the "more mobility is good" assumption. The implication is that we can continue with growth in transport as long as the mode and the fuel used are more environmentally friendly. My own view is completely different to this, and Towards Carfree Cities is the only conference I have found willing to challenge the fundamental direction of development of our cities and transport networks. My vision of a sustainable human society would be one where 95% of the destinations peo ple need to travel to would be within walking or cycling distance. So this would include employment and all regular shopping and leisure needs. The remaining up to 5% of longer distance travel would mainly be to visit distant family and friends. So my vision would be that people would travel vastly smaller average distances each week. The remaining small amount of motorised transport should be electrically powered with electricity generated from renewables, speeds should not be too high both to discourage excessive use and to increase efficiency. The exception to the local travel by foot or bike would probably be small and low speed electric vehicles for disabled and elderly people. However, I don't think there is any reason to place a restriction on walking or cycling distances. I think reliance on those modes for local transport will mean that most people will want to live in small compact communities, but no doubt some people will still decide they want to walk or cycle h alf way round the world, and that is absolutely fine!Best Wishes,Ed--------------------------------Ed Bealeed_beale-wzCN7aUSXSp8rrDCLD/[email protected] _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! [carfree_network] list guidelines and unsubscribe information are found at http://www.worldcarfree.net/listservs/. Send messages for the entire list to carfree_network-3hfIC0tI0F+k/GrYEfjPQuG/[email protected] Send replies to individuals off-list.