Green Plus Issu 14

COLUMN
by keeping you physically active and reduces
your environmental footprint. Building an
infrastructure for such a mode of mobility may
include more bicycle lanes and green areas.
By moving in this direction, the city will also
become more “livable”, more outdoor green
which not only allows for greater social interaction,
but also improves public safety through
the “safety in numbers” principle. Research has
shown that social interaction gives the highest
levels of human satisfaction. At the other end
of the scale is private car commuting as the least
desirable. Some European cities have gone as
is the case for Oslo, which plans to re-focus
the city centre around people by 2019. Oslo is
not alone; Madrid plans to achieve a car-free
many: greater mental and physical well-being,
reduced environmental impact, and reduced
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ular, however if a viable alternative to private
transport existed, opting to move away from
the car could actually save each household
money on transportation costs. In addition,
taxes collected can be used to further fund
public transportation projects.
THE FUTURE: DRIVERLESS CARS
AND BICYCLES?
-
sultants McKinsey, commissioned by the
European Union, discussed the use of driverless
cars and comprehensive carpooling to enhance
urban mobility and reduce congestion. Such
ideas may be decades out in the future, but
reduce environmental damage, and improve
road safety.
Although driverless cars may seem farfetched,
the increased use of bicycles is not.
mile” problem could be worth pursuing.
-
ate perspiration problems in the hot and humid
tropics. Imagine if you can simply cycle to the
MRT station from your home, take your bike
with you onto the MRT, and cycle a few kilometers
from the MRT station to your work place.
Such a model is already practiced in European
cities such as Copenhagen.
“LIVABLE CITIES”
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Our car-centric society has many unwanted
consequences. As income increases in Malaysia,
the emergence of more and more cars on the
Malaysian road has outstripped our ability to
-
ally causes billions of Ringgits worth of “hidden
costs” through time-wastage, and damages to
the environment from overuse of petrol. Other
subtler costs include adverse health effects
from physical inactivity and a reduced mental
well-being. Something needs to be done, be it
building a more comprehensive public transportation
network or encouraging people to
take to a more active lifestyle, for example
cycling more. Perhaps it is time for city plansocial
space with human interaction that they
used to be? Where cars and their associated air
and noise pollution are not part of the solution,
but perceived as part of the problem?
REFERENCES
Cartoon, infographics and photo by Bjorn Bull Hansen
and Chew Pui Cheng, IEN Consultants, www.ien.com.my
CO2 Emissions Per Type of Transport: http://
shrinkthatfootprint.com/shrink-your-travel-footprint,
http://blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/
global-cyclists-say-no-carbon-opt-cdm
EU & the Circular Economy by McKinsey: http://
www.mckinsey.com/client_service/sustainability/
latest_thinking/growth_within_-_a_circular_economy_
vision_for_a_competitive_europe
Levels of Satisfaction: Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B.,
Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A
survey method for characterizing daily life experience:
The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM). Science, 306,
1776-1780.
NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/01january/
pages/inactivity-twice-as-deadly-as-obesity.aspx
The Economist: published on September 5th 2015,
p59-60. http://www.economist.com/news/international/21663218-sedentary-living-has-reached-epidemicproportions-you-have-waked-me-too-soon
WHO: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/
disease-prevention/physical-activity/data-and-statistics
World Bank Study: “Malaysian Economic Monitor,
Transforming Urban Transport (June 2015)”: http://
www.worldbank.org/en/country/malaysia/publication/
malaysia-economic-monitor-june-2015
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Greenplus TM MARCH 2016