Lessons learned is a series of writings by Hans Park depicting the life of a Tokyo architect. The part five of the series discusses systems of transport, suggesting an egalitarian approach to traffic design.
A Tokyo transport system.
Safe
Shinjuku station in Tokyo is the busiest train station in the world. Around 500 people per second step out on to the station’s 30-or-so platforms. Little less than 4 million commuters visit the station on a regular day, millions more during busier ones. It is one of the most impressive buildings in the city stretching so far that it barely ends before the next station begins. The station is a major crossing point for people coming in and thus a natural place to meet a friend visiting the city.
My friend works for Handicap International in Vientiane, Laos with issues such as road safety and awareness on disabilities. The link between road safety and disabilities is clear but extending it to human rights issues only occured to me when I realised that the disabled are by far the largest minority group in the world.
A few weeks after meeting my friend in Shinjuku I landed in rainy Hanoi for business and on my way from the airport to the hotel there was an accident causing congestion. As my taxi slowed down I took a glimpse of the accident scene and saw a man lying motionless on the tarmac, next to his scooter. Tokyoites might be terrified by the chaotic traffic in Hanoi and its evident risks. On the other hand, it hit me that road safety is a relative yet an universal issue – Tokyoites hardly ever wear seat belts at the back. The perception of risk is cultural and personal which makes it complicated to build and advocate for safe cities.
Better road safety can also increase positive opportunities in cities. In most places the immediate challenge to act for better roads or alternative ways of transport lies, however, in getting the official authority on board. The Ministry of Transportation decides on where and how people move and the police controls the roads. Unfortunately, both institutions are often corrupt for various reasons. The first tends to team up with big businesses while the other one struggles with low wages which motorists usually top up to avoid penalties. They are normally not accustomed to looking at systems of transport from an egalitarian point of view.
Moving people.
Equality
Lack of access to affordable and safe transportation creates inequality in cities that rob people of time and opportunities. In terms of planning, mobility and the volume of traffic are the key issue discussed at any kick-off design meeting for a new city. Main traffic arteries are planned long before buildings, crossings or public parks. Sometimes, traffic planning still turns out a bad urban design element disconnecting people from the city.
So, how do we design versatile traffic systems that meet the challenges of a changing landscape of mobility, creating opportunities rather than threats for all citizens. I suggest we view transportation from an egalitarian point of view, rather than from a practical one. After all, it is mobility, from cycle lanes to international airspace, that is at the centre of defining cities and the quality of life in them. Not only will transportation be increasingly synonymous with ecological development but with human rights and well-being.
Learning from Shinjuku, we could view the challenge of moving people as an opportunity to make places that bring people, trade and lifestyles together. Shinjuku demonstrates that one complex can in a day host and transfer the entire population of Finland to their desired destinations, safely, profitably and effectively. It shows how density, diversity and congestion can work as incentives for building better and more equal cities.